First fish tomorrow but phosphate .25

ziggyjane07

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Hi All,
Just new to the hobby, but I have had my tank up and running since 1st October. Parameters have looked fine and consistent
Calcium - 420
Alk - 12dKH
Mag - 1400
NH3 ammonia - 0.001mg/l (ppm)
NH4 - 28.67 (ppb) don’t know if this ok
Salinity - 1.024
Temp - 24-25 degrees Celsius
pH - Seneye reef says 7.82 but test stick says around 8
I poured Dr Tims one and only in around Sunday the 3rd oct and have left it
I am not sure about the fish however I have my very first 2 clown fish coming tomorrow, I was unable to get them sooner as i have to get them flown to me.
But my phosphates I have just checked gone to .25 and then recheck .21 - I am worried that my tank is now not ready for my 2 clowns and I really didn’t want anything to happen to them?
I have not done a water change at all as I was trying to build up the nitrifying bacteria which is hard to get here. The only thing I have now is the API quick start?

Will my new fish be alright? Or what should I do?
I am so new at this and obviously panicking as I am trying for nothing to happen to them? #reefsquad

I would appreciate anything that will help me keep my newbies alive #reefsquad
Thanks heaps
 

lapin

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NH4 is the non toxic kind
Po4 is high but will not harm your fish. It will cause algae to grow and should be reduced to around 0.1 to avoid such problems
 

blaxsun

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I’d be curious what your nitrates are (I wouldn’t worry too terribly much about the phosphates at the moment). Your alkalinity is a little on the high side (7-11 dKH is the typical accepted range). pH will fluctuate during the day, so if you tested in the evening it will typically be lower than when tested midday.

I assume you also have some rock present in the tank? You should be ok to add your fish, but it would be helpful to know what you have setup for filtration, ie: filter socks, filter floss, any media, protein skimmer, etc.

I mean, the fish are on their way - and leaving them in the bags isn’t an option, so you’ll want to get them acclimated and introduced to the tank on arrival (be sure to read up the best way to do this).
 
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ziggyjane07

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NH4 is the non toxic kind
Po4 is high but will not harm your fish. It will cause algae to grow and should be reduced to around 0.1 to avoid such problems
Sorry still getting used to what is what - when I look at my seneye reef It seems to be happy enough with the figures however the pH fluctuates from 7.78-7.79 to currently 7.82 as I’ve been leaving windows open at home and it seems to be slowly increasing.
To reduce I have some searches Phosguard - should I put in a bag and place that in? Or would it be to early?

thanks so much
 
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ziggyjane07

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I’d be curious what your nitrates are (I wouldn’t worry too terribly much about the phosphates at the moment). Your alkalinity is a little on the high side (7-11 dKH is the typical accepted range). pH will fluctuate during the day, so if you tested in the evening it will typically be lower than when tested midday.

I assume you also have some rock present in the tank? You should be ok to add your fish, but it would be helpful to know what you have setup for filtration, ie: filter socks, filter floss, any media, protein skimmer, etc.

I mean, the fish are on their way - and leaving them in the bags isn’t an option, so you’ll want to get them acclimated and introduced to the tank on arrival (be sure to read up the best way to do this).
My nitrates I checked and they were a 1 on the Nyos nitrate test but i will do them again in a minute i think.
Yes I have rock in the tank - a mixture of rock I bleached and Marco rock.
I have a Clarisea sk5000 which I’m not overly sure is working? a Nyos 160 skimmer which I am still trying to figure out how to get those nice bubbles rather then it shooting over the collection cup and going mad.
Some of those media balls, a media brick and a black strip of filter thing its not foam but catches stuff before going back to the return pump.

I have not put any phosban in a media bag as yet?? It says wash it or rinse first and it generates heat?? I haven’t done it yet as I am just not sure… especially with the generate heat on initial contact part??

Thanks so much for the help
 

moz71

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1 week old tank!!! you are going to go though some wild swings I Would let things settle. you basically have a brand new set up. I would not be chasing numbers yet with gfo’s etc. let it settle. You are going to drive yourself crazy. If just adding a small fish you would be fine. Definitely no corals for awhile
 

NoahLikesFish

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Hi All,
Just new to the hobby, but I have had my tank up and running since 1st October. Parameters have looked fine and consistent
Calcium - 420
Alk - 12dKH
Mag - 1400
NH3 ammonia - 0.001mg/l (ppm)
NH4 - 28.67 (ppb) don’t know if this ok
Salinity - 1.024
Temp - 24-25 degrees Celsius
pH - Seneye reef says 7.82 but test stick says around 8
I poured Dr Tims one and only in around Sunday the 3rd oct and have left it
I am not sure about the fish however I have my very first 2 clown fish coming tomorrow, I was unable to get them sooner as i have to get them flown to me.
But my phosphates I have just checked gone to .25 and then recheck .21 - I am worried that my tank is now not ready for my 2 clowns and I really didn’t want anything to happen to them?
I have not done a water change at all as I was trying to build up the nitrifying bacteria which is hard to get here. The only thing I have now is the API quick start?

Will my new fish be alright? Or what should I do?
I am so new at this and obviously panicking as I am trying for nothing to happen to them? #reefsquad

I would appreciate anything that will help me keep my newbies alive #reefsquad
Thanks heaps
phosphate dosent kill fish
 

blaxsun

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Protein skimmers will take a bit of time to break-in. One thing you can do is ensure you have the skimmer at the right water height (for the Nyos Quantum 160 this is about 8-8.5” water depth).

The Clarisea is probably working just fine, but as there’s not really any waste to filter it probably doesn’t look like it’s doing much. I don’t know what you have for cleanup crew (snails, crabs, etc.), but you should add a few as soon as possible.

What size and type is your tank? I’m assuming it’s over 100 gallons based on some of your equipment choices?
 
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ziggyjane07

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1 week old tank!!! you are going to go though some wild swings I Would let things settle. you basically have a brand new set up. I would not be chasing numbers yet with gfo’s etc. let it settle. You are going to drive yourself crazy. If just adding a small fish you would be fine. Definitely no corals for awhile
Thank you all… it certainly puts my mind at rest knowing that. As yas can see I have stacks to learn and don’t know much not even how the equipment works… hahaha
but its so great that so many fantastic reefers in the one place are here to give a hand.

I am extremely appreciative thank you everyone :)
 
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ziggyjane07

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Protein skimmers will take a bit of time to break-in. One thing you can do is ensure you have the skimmer at the right water height (for the Nyos Quantum 160 this is about 8-8.5” water depth).

The Clarisea is probably working just fine, but as there’s not really any waste to filter it probably doesn’t look like it’s doing much. I don’t know what you have for cleanup crew (snails, crabs, etc.), but you should add a few as soon as possible.

What size and type is your tank? I’m assuming it’s over 100 gallons based on some of your equipment choices?
Oh ok - i did not know that blaxsun - I think i have the right water height but again i need to go and check it again, but to get it tuned at least semi is taking a bit.. lol.. My tank is a redsea 525xl
No i don’t have any clean up crew i wasn’t sure when I should look at them? And I’m not overly sure how many I should put in??
 

blaxsun

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I have a Red Sea 750 and Nyos 160, so I’m intimately familiar with both. To adjust the water level in the rear chamber (the one adjacent to the return pump chamber), there is a plastic plate with 2 plastic screws adjacent to the black foam that you loosen, slide the plate down, then tighten. Adjust this so the water level in that chamber is 8-8.5” and you should be set.

As for the Nyos, this is what I did to tune mine. Turn it off, then turn the dial with the arrows all the way closed. The adjacent air chamber will have a small black plastic screw that you can observe move up or down as you turn it. Lower it all the way down, then raise it so that the tip is just inside the thread (with maybe a 0.5mm gap around it for air). Turn the skimmer back on, then slowly turn the dial with the arrows open. You want the foam to reach the underside of the collection chamber, so continue to make small adjustments to open until the foam reaches that height. Voila.

You will have to make some minor followup adjustments to both the screw and the open/close dial over the next week or so (mainly to keep the foam height but also reduce any noise), but you’ll be well on your way. I’ve found that once set and fine-tuned you really don’t need to touch the Nyos again.
 

blaxsun

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Cleanup crew. I would probably add (like now) a half dozen trochus snails and 3-4 small hermit crabs to start. You may need to initially supplement their feeding with some seaweed (nori) every few days. I rubberband a small piece to a rock to feed my crew.
 
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ziggyjane07

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I have a Red Sea 750 and Nyos 160, so I’m intimately familiar with both. To adjust the water level in the rear chamber (the one adjacent to the return pump chamber), there is a plastic plate with 2 plastic screws adjacent to the black foam that you loosen, slide the plate down, then tighten. Adjust this so the water level in that chamber is 8-8.5” and you should be set.

As for the Nyos, this is what I did to tune mine. Turn it off, then turn the dial with the arrows all the way closed. The adjacent air chamber will have a small black plastic screw that you can observe move up or down as you turn it. Lower it all the way down, then raise it so that the tip is just inside the thread (with maybe a 0.5mm gap around it for air). Turn the skimmer back on, then slowly turn the dial with the arrows open. You want the foam to reach the underside of the collection chamber, so continue to make small adjustments to open until the foam reaches that height. Voila.

You will have to make some minor followup adjustments to both the screw and the open/close dial over the next week or so (mainly to keep the foam height but also reduce any noise), but you’ll be well on your way. I’ve found that once set and fine-tuned you really don’t need to touch the Nyos again.
Yeh wow a big 750!! Nice!!!! Excellent I’ll give it a crack on the nyos!! Cheers hopefully i can get it happening
 
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ziggyjane07

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Cleanup crew. I would probably add (like now) a half dozen trochus snails and 3-4 small hermit crabs to start. You may need to initially supplement their feeding with some seaweed (nori) every few days. I rubberband a small piece to a rock to feed my crew.
As for the clean up crew - yellow footed hermit crabs would they be alright?? And 10 trochus snails??
The crabs come in 3 and the trochus come in 10
 

nereefpat

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NH4 - 28.67 (ppb) don’t know if this ok
28.67 parts per billion = 0.02867 parts per million. Call it nearly zero and safe.
I agree everything looks fine, and the phosphate isn't a problem for fish.

I would have spent a little more time cycling before adding fish, but with the Dr. Tim's bacteria maybe you'll be okay. I would monitor ammonia daily for at least a week after adding the clowns to make sure it doesn't get above 0.25 ppm or so.
 
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ziggyjane07

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phosphate dosent
28.67 parts per billion = 0.02867 parts per million. Call it nearly zero and safe.
I agree everything looks fine, and the phosphate isn't a problem for fish.

I would have spent a little more time cycling before adding fish, but with the Dr. Tim's bacteria maybe you'll be okay. I would monitor ammonia daily for at least a week after adding the clowns to make sure it doesn't get above 0.25 ppm or so.
Thank you nereefpat I wasn’t overly sure what I needed to test daily.
if it starts to go up would you use something g to bring down or water change? What would be the best way being a new tank?
thanks
 

nereefpat

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if it starts to go up would you use something g to bring down or water change? What would be the best way being a new tank?
thanks
Big water change and, if you have the ability, added bacteria in the form of live rock or bottled bacteria.
 

lapin

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I have not put any phosban in a media bag as yet?? It says wash it or rinse first and it generates heat?? I haven’t done it yet as I am just not sure… especially with the generate heat on initial contact part??

Thanks so much for the help
Put some in a bag. Rinse it for a min under tap water. Then place it in your sump in a high flow spot. Measure the difference after 2 days then 4 days. This will give you an idea of how much product it takes to reduce it a certain amount. Po4 will get used up naturally as green, brown, red and other stuff starts to grow on your rocks. Dont panic its all in the process. As stated above your tank will go thru a lot of changes before becomming stable.
Good luck with your tank.
 
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