HELP AMMONIA AND NITRATES HIGH

[Brew12]

The fact that he's got zero nitrites and very low nitrates leads me to believe that it's an error in the test.

Hard to say what is going on. Unless he has a lot of algae, the low nitrates makes me wonder if the tank was ever properly cycled to start with.

 

[jimmyzhou]

Try reduce feeding than test agian 3-4 days later maybe helps

 

[NicLongman]

First of all, thank you everyone for all of your advice....i think i went through an entire test kit almost. Each time i did a test i did it 3 times at the same time that way i could look at an average in case one was wrong. I did a 15g WC. I probably tested 50 times and im not joking...ive memorized them word for word almost... this morning my tank params were

ph 7.6 (early morning, not worried) ammonia 2.0, nitrates 0, nitrites .25
ammonia was at 1

After a WC and some education on lighting, tonight at 10:30 my tank was

ph . 8.0
nh3 . 0
no2 . 0
no3 . 0.0-5.0 . I couldn't get a great reading on this one...
po4 0.25
ca . 360
ca . 360
kh . 6 / 107.4
sal . 1.026
temp . 78


also right before i turned out the lights i found the dead snail in the sand....i hope i got all of him....this was a nightmare....at leats to me

 

[NicLongman]

Cycling a tank doesn't happen in a set amount of time, and it's not a once and done/forget about it type of thing.

Cycling is the process of adding a source of ammonia to a new tank so bacteria will colonize and be able to convert ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates. If you only added a small amount of starter ammonia, or none at all - the size of the bacteria population won't be all to great. That's why it's not a good idea to throw a whole bunch of livestock in at one time. Your bacteria needs a chance to grow with the amount of livestock/waster being produced.

Hold off on feeding, water change, add more bottled bacteria. monitor closely, and water change as needed to keep ammonia really low

i actually didnt throw all the livestock in at one time. I cycled the tank properly, to the best of my knowledge. I tested it daily, had a brown algea, green hair algea, levels looked good for a solid span. I added 2 fish then watched and left them for a acouple weeks....everything seemed fine so i added a couple more...nothignn happened until i added the anem....my mistake i guess. Thanks for the advice

 

[Antics]

Assuming you're new to the hobby use this as a learning experience for other issues that pop up. Patience and calculated changes within a system are great for this hobby because it's a lot easier to pinpoint (likely) causes.

In other words, when you do something to the aquarium keep that change in mind. Wait a few weeks and reassess the system. Don't get in the bad habit of just opening the stand and fiddling with everything, adding, removing, changing, etc. Then four days later when something unexpected happens you're left guessing.

Not saying you did anything wrong or trying to be preachy but I think a lot of problems new (and old) reefers encounter are actually caused by overanxious reactions to subtle fluctuations in the system.

 

[NicLongman]

Assuming you're new to the hobby use this as a learning experience for other issues that pop up. Patience and calculated changes within a system are great for this hobby because it's a lot easier to pinpoint (likely) causes.

In other words, when you do something to the aquarium keep that change in mind. Wait a few weeks and reassess the system. Don't get in the bad habit of just opening the stand and fiddling with everything, adding, removing, changing, etc. Then four days later when something unexpected happens you're left guessing.

Not saying you did anything wrong or trying to be preachy but I think a lot of problems new (and old) reefers encounter are actually caused by overanxious reactions to subtle fluctuations in the system.

And i am definitely guilty of that....i like instant gratification

 

[NicLongman]

And i am definitely guilty of that....i like instant gratification

but i do know how to hold back now......all i could hear in my head all day was "you should have been more patient"

 

[NicLongman]

Lets see if we can start the day off right today. I was a bit paranoid throughout the night, I guess I never really payed any attention to sleeping fish before....kinda creepy....then i kept thinking they were all dead the whole night because of the nightmare (in my small opion) yesterday. Ill post perameters, in a few hours once the lights go on and everyone is awake