Emergency newbie needs help please

Newbieneedinghelp

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hi, im in need of a little or maybe alot of help, started up a reef tank just over 6 weeks ago and pretty much went to our few local aquarium shops and relied on them to help us start out with what we needed, (maybe our first mistake) as now all I have done is google as much as I can and found out alot more than they told us. Had brown algae removed that, my tang had ich treated that. We were patient before adding anything, everything was going good until about 2 weeks ago, before that we had made quite a few mistakes, wasn't told we shouldn't use tap water, now using RODI water, about 2 weeks ago realised we had the wrong light (have a feeling this mistake was a biggie) as things have gone down hill since then, didn't know we needed to frequently test the water, didn't know how frequently we needed to do water changes, yes i feel like an idiot so please be nice... started testing had really high ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and slightly high pH. Got advice to lower all this with nitrate remover and water changes ( gradually getting lower day by day. Have lowered intensity of light as advised, have reduced feeding... Have got green algae, brown water and really unsure as to what to do next. Have a 150ltr tank with sump and need help please!!!!
 

Bryn

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Welcome to R2R... Sorry you are having such problems. Seems that you have a lot of issues all at the same time, and some exacerbating the problem. First give us a list of nutrient values. Alk, Ca, Mg, pH, Salinity, Temp. Also pictures of your tank would be good.

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rob s.

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Welcome! If your tank is only 6 weeks old then it more than likely hasn't even cycled yet. That would give you some elevated readings on first your nitrates and then your ammonia until it cycles. I'm relatively new to reefing and have found this site more helpful then i could have thought. Ask as many questions as you need and i have no doubt someone has already faced what ever issue you may be encountering and has great solutions and suggestions. Also try and develop a strong relationship with a LFS you trust and pick their brains also. Lastely find someone local that already has an established tank and once again, ask questions. The most important thing I've learned so far is patience is golden. The worst thing to do is move too fast......Go Slow and enjoy it. Good Luck and Welcome
 

Bosreef

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Sorry your having trouble and we are here to help.

I would suggest breaking your issues down to specific questions/concerns with bullets or separate paragraphs. Or even start numerous threads. You will get more specific answers that way. Otherwise people are just gonna tell you to watch 52 weeks of reefing by BRS as it seems like you need a whole understanding of the hobby.
 

rwreef

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Take a breath and repeat.

Nothing happens fast in reef keeping. You are moving fast as a new reefer and this is creating issues for your new tank. I recommend a general education around the hobby, so watch 52 weeks of reefing from BRS. Post your parameters and pics as others above stated. We can help. But remember nothing is going to happen quickly. Consistent habits build successful reef tanks.

Welcome to R2R
 

rob s.

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A 6 week old tank would be cycled.
i took my tank almost two months to complete its nitrogen cycle. Did i do it wrong? I took readings every other day until both the nitrates and amonias were stable. I want to get another tank soon so i'm asking to maybe change the process i used. I added my rocks, media, and sand, Left all lighting off and also added some bacteria to kick the cycle off. Sound rite?
 

Arabyps

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I highly recommend you school yourself with the plethora of YouTube videos explaining cycling, testing RODI, etc. All the basics are there and explained in video detail. Once you have the basics down and the tank in some sort of equilibrium then specific questions wold be more appropriate.
 

BeltedCoyote

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giphy.gif


Welcome to R2R!!

as others have said, deep breath in, deep breath out. Rushing in this hobby rarely leads to a happy ending.

to start with:
How did you start your tank? Were you instructed on how to get the nitrogen cycle
going?

what test kits are you using when you test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, etc?

if you are concerned about your lights, what lights do you have? Do you have or plan to have any corals? If so, which species/types?

Please, Please do not worry about asking questions. That’s what we and the forums are here for!
 
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