Am I Ready to add fish?

[ame16]

Apologies for another basic question - mostly looking for a gut check amidst pressures from the family to run out to the LFS today to add a pair of clowns. :)

I have a IM 20L. I added about 3 pounds of live rock along with another few pounds of dry rock. I also have bioballs and the IM media tower.

I’m using the Simplicity cycle test kits. They’re frustratingly imprecise in terms of color (or I’m more colorblind than I previously assumed) but my readings 21 hours after dosing ammonia to ~ 1ppm using Dr. Fitz Fish Fuel:

Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 2ish
Ammonia: between 0-.25

Salinity is holding steady at around 1.024-25 and temp around 78.

There’s a hitchhiker snail in the tank we’ve been observing, and he seems to be doing great. I’m still inclined to wait at least another day, but family pressure persists (not sure who’s more persistent, wife or the 3 year old LOL)

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I would dose the ammonia to 2 ppm to be sure and wait for it to drop. Seeing nitrate at only 2 doesn't give me confidence.

And I am sorry to be a wet towel, but I think that is a 5 gallon tank? It is much too small for a pair of clowns, the suggested size for a pair of clowns is 20 gallons.

 

[ame16]

I would dose the ammonia to 2 ppm to be sure and wait for it to drop. Seeing nitrate at only 2 makes me not sure.

And I am sorry to be a wet towel, but I think that is a 5 gallon tank? It is much too small for a pair of clowns, the suggested size for a pair of clowns is 20 gallons.

It’s a 20 gallon long. This tank is going to be used as an observation tank as I slowly stock my Tideline 47 AIO (scheduled to arrive next week!) I got impatient so I grabbed the IM off FBMP. Most expensive $50 I’ve spent in awhile!

For more context, my wife and daughter fell in love with the Mocha Storms at the LFS. They are down to only a few guys left, so that’s driving some of the pressure to get the current tank ready.

 

[NCsalt]

How long has it been set up? Have you been adding a little food to it consistently?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Well you can't disappoint your family lol, it sounds like it should be cycled, I just feel better seeing nitrates at least 10, 2 is too close to zero know what I mean. If you have any other cycled media you can add then that should help make it safer IMO. Good luck

 

[ame16]

Added the live rock Thursday and the dry rock yesterday. Dosed the ammonia yesterday.

I’m not chomping at the bit to disappoint the family, but I also appreciate that I’m responsible for the wellbeing of these fish, which I don’t take lightly. It’s also easier to manage the disappointment of a waiting a few more days than her new fish dying. I’m risk adverse by nature, so I guess I’m just trying to gauge how much “risk” there is with my current parameters.

 

[NCsalt]

Imo i’d either keep dosing the ammonia or add a little food everyday for another week. Nothing good happens fast. I know its hard. But gets easier with practice.

People harassed me for months about speeding up my process on my 180 set up. I ignored them and things are looking great.

And i’m not saying things won’t work out if you get them now. But dead or burned lung fish is no fun.

 

[ame16]

Decided to dose some more ammonia. I’ll recheck tomorrow AM and go from there.

 

[Reef Jedi]

It’s a 20 gallon long. This tank is going to be used as an observation tank as I slowly stock my Tideline 47 AIO (scheduled to arrive next week!) I got impatient so I grabbed the IM off FBMP. Most expensive $50 I’ve spent in awhile!

For more context, my wife and daughter fell in love with the Mocha Storms at the LFS. They are down to only a few guys left, so that’s driving some of the pressure to get the current tank ready.

You could buy them and have the LFS hold them for a week. I know my LFS will do that and I’m guessing yours would too? That way they are held when you’re ready.

 

[ame16]

Glad I waited. Ammonia is reading around 1 at today’s test. Nitrites still near 0, but Nitrates are down. I’m going to let things be and test again tomorrow. Hopefully the tank will be ready by next weekend, but today was proof that patience is vital, so I’ll take the “it’s ready when it’s ready” approach.

Optimistically, the snail is still doing well and I’ve even discovered another in the tank that appears to also be doing well. Of course, that’s not dispositive that the tank is ready, but it’s at least sustaining life.

 

[ame16]

You could buy them and have the LFS hold them for a week. I know my LFS will do that and I’m guessing yours would too? That way they are held when you’re ready.

This isn’t a bad idea. I may run over there if I get some time this week and ask if they can accommodate.

 

[ame16]

Quick little update. Still haven’t added fish, but hoping to get my clowns today, schedule permitting!

Ammonia spiked a few days ago and has since been consistently reading 0. Nitrites and nitrates are present, but I’m reading that this isn’t too worrying for marine life. To be extra cautious, I may take a sample to the LFS to confirm nothing is crazily out of whack, because these test strips are fine for trends but not the best for accuracy (though the ammonia test is pretty clearly yellow, which was nice to see lol).

 

[ame16]

Ok, so got an Aquaspin test. Good news is ammonia is 0. Bad News is Nitrites are at 3.7 ppm and Nitrates are at 50. I understand a lot of people are of the mindset that Nitrites don’t matter, but the store owner said he’d still like to see those numbers be lower before adding fish. So that’s what I’ll be doing. FWIW, there was no attempt to sell me anything other than time. In fact, he let $160+ walk out the door, so that’s gotta count for something I’d think.

 

[NCsalt]

Way to go. Waiting was the right call. Since you decided to wait, there was an ammonia spike, and you found out you were dealing with a good place to do business with.

It will be even more exciting when you bring them home, and you will have more confidence in your system.

Patience produces in this hobby.