Nitrate/Nitrite/Ammonia Issues

[kaoriblackheart]

So to begin with, I've had plenty of freshwater tanks before, but I am brand new to saltwater tanks. I've had my setup for about 3-4 months now and have been letting it cycle, but I think I messed up.

I had tested my water parameters on Sunday and everything (except ammonia/nitrate) seemed fine. Nitrite was at 0, pH was at 8.5, Ammonia was high, but not so high I was concerned, same with Nitrates. I added Ammo-lock and Pristine as directed for my tank size (10 gallon).

Monday I got a bit too eager and acclimated an anemone and two clownfish to the tank. I woke up this morning and they're all still alive, but don't seem to be doing so hot, so I decided to test the water parameters again. Now I'm panicked, somehow my Ammonia levels are off the chart, Nitrate is off the chart, and Nitrite is at 10ppm. The pH is still sitting at around 8.0 - 8.5.

I know I messed up adding fish too soon, but what can I do at this point to rectify the awful parameters I'm seeing? I've added filtration for Nitrogen and Ammonia. The last time I added Ammo-lock was Sunday and Pristine was yesterday. Can I dose the tank again? What should I do? I know the fish may not survive and I know I made a mistake.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

unfortunately, ride it out IMO. Like you said, its a mistake, good for you for recognising that, now might as well use the fish to cycle your tank. Products such as seachem vibrant will help the beneficial bacteria to grow faster

 

[Jekyl]

Ammonia shouldn't be showing up if the tank is cycled. What test are you using and what was the reading? Being a brand new tank may want to consider returning the anemone. They need a mature tank with stable parameters.

 

[kaoriblackheart]

Ammonia shouldn't be showing up if the tank is cycled. What test are you using and what was the reading? Being a brand new tank may want to consider returning the anemone. They need a mature tank with stable parameters.

The test is API Ammonia Test Kit. Let me test it again and get you an exact reading.

 

[Jekyl]

The test is API Ammonia Test Kit. Let me test it again and get you an exact reading.

Welcome to R2R btw! We can help you get your issues sorted out either way here. API are notorious for not being the best of kits. Especially with ammonia. Lots of other have gotten the .25 reading when it wasn't necessarily true.

 

[kaoriblackheart]

Welcome to R2R btw! We can help you get your issues sorted out either way here. API are notorious for not being the best of kits. Especially with ammonia. Lots of other have gotten the .25 reading when it wasn't necessarily true.

Good to know! I've always used API but again, that was for freshwater. Here's my reading I just did. I know it looks black but I promise it's just a dark dark blue green.

 

[Jekyl]

Good to know! I've always used API but again, that was for freshwater. Here's my reading I just did. I know it looks black but I promise it's just a dark dark blue green.

This goes beyond the usual false positive of the API tests. I would do a large water change to get the numbers back down. Full tank pic and a description of how your tank was cycled will help us get you on the right track. I have to put it out there again, may be best to try and return the anemone. It will not make it through conditions like this. Best to try and get a refund or at least save the animal if possible.

 

[NauticalMiles1010]

So to begin with, I've had plenty of freshwater tanks before, but I am brand new to saltwater tanks. I've had my setup for about 3-4 months now and have been letting it cycle, but I think I messed up.

I had tested my water parameters on Sunday and everything (except ammonia/nitrate) seemed fine. Nitrite was at 0, pH was at 8.5, Ammonia was high, but not so high I was concerned, same with Nitrates. I added Ammo-lock and Pristine as directed for my tank size (10 gallon).

Monday I got a bit too eager and acclimated an anemone and two clownfish to the tank. I woke up this morning and they're all still alive, but don't seem to be doing so hot, so I decided to test the water parameters again. Now I'm panicked, somehow my Ammonia levels are off the chart, Nitrate is off the chart, and Nitrite is at 10ppm. The pH is still sitting at around 8.0 - 8.5.

I know I messed up adding fish too soon, but what can I do at this point to rectify the awful parameters I'm seeing? I've added filtration for Nitrogen and Ammonia. The last time I added Ammo-lock was Sunday and Pristine was yesterday. Can I dose the tank again? What should I do? I know the fish may not survive and I know I made a mistake.

what filtration are you using?

 

[Azedenkae]

So to begin with, I've had plenty of freshwater tanks before, but I am brand new to saltwater tanks. I've had my setup for about 3-4 months now and have been letting it cycle, but I think I messed up.

I had tested my water parameters on Sunday and everything (except ammonia/nitrate) seemed fine. Nitrite was at 0, pH was at 8.5, Ammonia was high, but not so high I was concerned, same with Nitrates. I added Ammo-lock and Pristine as directed for my tank size (10 gallon).

Monday I got a bit too eager and acclimated an anemone and two clownfish to the tank. I woke up this morning and they're all still alive, but don't seem to be doing so hot, so I decided to test the water parameters again. Now I'm panicked, somehow my Ammonia levels are off the chart, Nitrate is off the chart, and Nitrite is at 10ppm. The pH is still sitting at around 8.0 - 8.5.

I know I messed up adding fish too soon, but what can I do at this point to rectify the awful parameters I'm seeing? I've added filtration for Nitrogen and Ammonia. The last time I added Ammo-lock was Sunday and Pristine was yesterday. Can I dose the tank again? What should I do? I know the fish may not survive and I know I made a mistake.

3 to 4 months definitely should not be too soon to add fish.

Best do a big of a water change as you can now. A lot of temporary solutions cannot handle too high parameters, like for example Seachem Prime's limit is 5ppm.

How did you cycle your tank?

 

[kaoriblackheart]

Alright here are front and side pics of the tank setup and a picture of the water conditioner I used while cycling for each water change. I used tap water mixed with the water conditioner and ocean salt from the aquarium store.

My first problem was my tank had too much salinity about a week after I set it up. I did a 50% water change with just tap water and water conditioner with NO salt. A week later I checked salinity again and it was in a normal range.

Aside from that I did bi-weekly 10-15% water changes with tap water, water conditioner, and ocean salt from the aquarium store for each water change for the 3-4 months I cycled it.

I feel like I made a wrong turn somewhere I just don't know where.

 

[Azedenkae]

Alright here are front and side pics of the tank setup and a picture of the water conditioner I used while cycling for each water change. I used tap water mixed with the water conditioner and ocean salt from the aquarium store.

My first problem was my tank had too much salinity about a week after I set it up. I did a 50% water change with just tap water and water conditioner with NO salt. A week later I checked salinity again and it was in a normal range.

Aside from that I did bi-weekly 10-15% water changes with tap water, water conditioner, and ocean salt from the aquarium store for each water change for the 3-4 months I cycled it.

I feel like I made a wrong turn somewhere I just don't know where.

Your rock looks like it was dry rock. Did you introduce nitrifying microbes through any means?

 

[Jekyl]

Sounds like you never added bacteria or a source of ammonia during the cycle. The bacteria needed to handle fish waste didn't have a chance to grow. Now the fish are providing that source. I would get a bottle of bacteria to assist (like Dr tims or fritz). If wanting to keep coral or anemone you should check into getting either an RoDi system or purchasing distilled water from the grocery store. Tap water has more than just chlorine that is harmful. A good refractometer with calibration liquid also to ensure you keep salinity at 1.026. Fish can handle a minor salinity swing but coral and anemone will be upset. They also require strong lighting. I may be wrong, but from the pics it seems like you just have some cheap stock lighting which isn't meant for coral.

 

[kaoriblackheart]

Your rock looks like it was dry rock. Did you introduce nitrifying microbes through any means?

You are correct it was dry rock. No I did not.

 

[Azedenkae]

You are correct it was dry rock. No I did not.

So chances are your aquarium has never cycled. Unfortunately a lot of people still throw around the notion that an aquarium will just 'cycle itself' by leaving it run for a few months. Some people (even on here) do often cite to fret not as nitrifying microbes can even be found in the air and can colonize our saltwater aquariums.

However reality is, this is often a very slow process, and may not be very effective. Or may not even work at all. Yours seem to fall in the second category. The presence of nitrite implies that there are some ammonia oxidation going, but not to the extent needed. And may never reach that extent, if the 'wrong' type of nitrifying microbes are established. Different nitrifying microbes are adapted to different salinities after all.

Anyways, moving on from that. Like what @Jekyl said, you'd need to add nitrifying bacteria some way. Live rock (established), bottled bacteria, etc. I don't think you should add live rock now, unless you want to add more to your scape, or if you are willing to replace some. Instead, just buy a bottle of something trusted, like FritzZyme Turbo Start 900 or Bio-Spira and dose it. Both should work very quickly, though the former seems to be the best product.

 

[kaoriblackheart]

Sounds like you never added bacteria or a source of ammonia during the cycle. The bacteria needed to handle fish waste didn't have a chance to grow. Now the fish are providing that source. I would get a bottle of bacteria to assist (like Dr tims or fritz). If wanting to keep coral or anemone you should check into getting either an RoDi system or purchasing distilled water from the grocery store. Tap water has more than just chlorine that is harmful. A good refractometer with calibration liquid also to ensure you keep salinity at 1.026. Fish can handle a minor salinity swing but coral and anemone will be upset. They also require strong lighting. I may be wrong, but from the pics it seems like you just have some cheap stock lighting which isn't meant for coral.

Good to know. The intention for this tank is to only have 2 clownfish, an anemone, and a brittle star. Eventually I'm going to upgrade the tank to a 40 gal and then I may add additional animals. I do have an aquarium store near me that sells pre-mixed salt water. Would that be okay to use? I'll look into the bacterias you suggested as well. I just wanna get this right. Thank you SO much.

 

[Jekyl]

For now best to just get your nitrification process in order and keep the clowns alive. Large water change to get the ammonia down. Then check at your local fish store (lfs) for nitrifying bacteria. Brands are usually fritz, dr tims or seachem and dose according to the bottle. Watch ammonia closely. Water change ad necessary and feed very sparingly.

 

[Jekyl]

Good to know. The intention for this tank is to only have 2 clownfish, an anemone, and a brittle star. Eventually I'm going to upgrade the tank to a 40 gal and then I may add additional animals. I do have an aquarium store near me that sells pre-mixed salt water. Would that be okay to use? I'll look into the bacterias you suggested as well. I just wanna get this right. Thank you SO much.

Sounds like you're going to try and do the right thing here. Everyone has hiccups. The water sold from your LFS is much better than tap water. It's sent through a filtration system to remove all sorts of harmful things. I had an awful time with anemone until my tank was about 9 months old (as well as many others). Now that my tank is more mature they are thriving. I keep them with moderate flow and in the 200par range for lighting. (Mine are bubble tip anemone)

 

[brandon429]

Your cycle is fine and done. All questions about your tank are answered here

Sustained Ammonia spikes are misreads

The reason you think your reef tank can’t control its ammonia is due to false training from old cycling science. That and you don’t own a seneye on the tank in question: if you did, you wouldn’t ever think your ammonia was out of control...

www.reef2reef.com

we need to add your thread to that thread as well for clear reasons. Welcome to non digital testing.

 

[Jekyl]

Your cycle is fine and done. All questions about your tank are answered here

Sustained Ammonia spikes are misreads

The reason you think your reef tank can’t control its ammonia is due to false training from old cycling science. That and you don’t own a seneye on the tank in question: if you did, you wouldn’t ever think your ammonia was out of control...

www.reef2reef.com

we need to add your thread to that thread as well for clear reasons. Welcome to non digital testing.

Would that apply here? No bacteria or source of ammonia was added before fish. Seems like this would fall under a fish in cycle?

 

[Azedenkae]

Would that apply here? No bacteria or source of ammonia was added before fish. Seems like this would fall under a fish in cycle?

Yeap. I don't think Brandon even read the original post this time. Or any of the subsequent posts. Dry rock added, no nitrifiers added. Live stock not doing very well, so clearly something is off.