Possible emergency I have no clue now.

Seagre

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Hi guys,

ok so I’ll put down what I’ve did and where I am and you guys can suggest what I should do as I’m confused and unsure now.

about 7 weeks ago I setup my tank. I used Tim’s ammonia in a bottle (which I overdosed a bit accidentally) my LFS who guided me through all of this didn’t give me bacteria he just gave me the ammonia so I wasn’t off to a great start but after a week or so I went and purchased two big bottles £140 worth of bacteria has been put into this tank because the ammonia was so high and just refused to come down.

I’ve had my water tested weekly for ammonia it started with the sera kit as extremely dark and blue/green which is the highest it can read. Now it’s testing light/dark green which is in the middle like 5mg/l.

I’ve gotten matured rock from LFS several times to try and introduce more bacteria to speed this up. I’ve got live rock and live sand also in the tank.

I went to LFS yesterday and he said it should have come way down by now so he said he would give me two drums of water from his marine tanks in the shop which he did so last night I siphoned out 20 litres or so and refilled with his water.

I’m just feeling at a loss with this I know patience is key but it’s taking forever and the ammonia and nitrites are high I wish the ammonia would just drop down. I used my low range Hanna checker to test nitrates I have 5ppm + nitrates too so I’m assuming the bacteria is converting ?

In the last 4 days diatoms have appeared also so I’m not sure if this is a good thing. He said to give it 3-5 days after introducing his water and mature rock he said it should work.

he also told me at the start the coral in the middle (frogspawn) wouldn’t die and would be ok to be put in the tank.. funnily enough it’s not as it’s almost fully retracted now.

the mature rock he gave me yesterday has two Kenya trees attached to it surprisingly they are up and swaying around looking fine.

should I wait this out or ? Anyone got any advice I’d really appreciate it.





thanks for reading this giant story.

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Koh23

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Well main problem is that u want to rush things......

And with every addition, just make things worse.....

Leave it be, measuring anything for a first two months is pointless, just pushes you into feeling that u need to "do" something to "correct" things....

Nature needs time, i believe that all of this "bottled mirracles" work, but, not in my tank, ever....

Be patient, leave it be, putting euphilia in 2 month old tank, with such water parameters instability - not great idea....
 

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Yes, wait a bit more. Test your ammonia daily. In the mean time, do you have a QT system? Start a QT tank and get the fish you want in there. By the time the tank is ready so will your fish.

Hobby does take time and patience, however you can do stager it in a way that is efficient.
 
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Seagre

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Yes, wait a bit more. Test your ammonia daily. In the mean time, do you have a QT system? Start a QT tank and get the fish you want in there. By the time the tank is ready so will your fish.

Hobby does take time and patience, however you can do stager it in a way that is efficient.
I don’t have a QT I don’t have any fish either. I’m just going to wait it out I think.. I know it needs patience I wish my LFS didn’t say it would be done by now etc hopefully it equalises soon enough :)
 

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Generally with initial cycle, you add Dr Tim’s or other bacteria and starting day 10, closely monitor ammonia and nitrate. You can add a black or silver Molly (acclimate slowly) and feed it
Day 14-21.test daily
When ammonia is steady with zero reading and nitrate at 20 or below steadily…. You are cycled
 

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Testing doesn't make a tank cycle any faster.

If I were in your place, I'd replace > 90% the water in the tank and then test Nitrate.

If you can see any Nitrate, the tank is cycled, just chuck in some Snails and then a few days later chuck in a fish.

All tanks cycle in 30 days, Overdosing Ammonia slows it down which is what you are seeing.

Reset by replacing water, and then move on.
 
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Seagre

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Testing doesn't make a tank cycle any faster.

If I were in your place, I'd replace > 90% the water in the tank and then test Nitrate.

If you can see any Nitrate, the tank is cycled, just chuck in some Snails and then a few days later chuck in a fish.

All tanks cycle in 30 days, Overdosing Ammonia slows it down which is what you are seeing.

Reset by replacing water, and then move on.
Do you think this will work? This sounds like a much better idea than waiting for what could be a very long time ..
 

gbroadbridge

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Do you think this will work? This sounds like a much better idea than waiting for what could be a very long time ..
Yes, Been there myself.

Replace the bulk of the water and check Nitrate. If you see any the tank is cycled.

You have simply overloaded the tank with Ammonia. It will take forever to clear as the ammonia is stopping the cycle.

You just have to take my word on this, but I will guarantee that snails and a couple of fish will be okay.
 

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I just recently started my tank. Like you I dosed ammonia and then waited a week to dose bacteria to hope a little would start naturally. After about 2 months I still had a bit of ammonia in my tank but nitrites were getting eaten all up. I did a 90% waterchange, went out and purchased my first fish (White tail tang) and just watched the levels. He has thrived and havent had any issues since (nock on wood).

I would just do a massive water change and continue on with your progress with getting snails and fish!

Depending on your nitrate levels and ammonia your Frogspawn will be angry, it looks like in the first picture the left head is dead or bailed out. If you havent been doing water changes start. Weekly 10% is quick and easy and will really make life easier on you as you start.
 
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Yes, Been there myself.

Replace the bulk of the water and check Nitrate. If you see any the tank is cycled.

You have simply overloaded the tank with Ammonia. It will take forever to clear as the ammonia is stopping the cycle.

You just have to take my word on this, but I will guarantee that snails and a couple of fish will be okay.
Ok thanks I’m going to go for it I’ll keep you updated!!
 
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Yes, Been there myself.

Replace the bulk of the water and check Nitrate. If you see any the tank is cycled.

You have simply overloaded the tank with Ammonia. It will take forever to clear as the ammonia is stopping the cycle.

You just have to take my word on this, but I will guarantee that snails and a couple of fish will be okay.
Will I be ok leaving the current water in the sump? And just emptying the tank so I can try save some snails etc by keeping them in the sump?
 

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What starter bacteria did you use? A $12 bottle of Bio-Spira would have been sufficient.

7 week old tank. Overdosed Dr. Tim's Ammonia. Added bottled bac and live rock after. Still reading high ammonia.

Either false positive on ammonia test or it actually is ammonia in which case I'd just do a 100% water change and add a fish. Stop testing for nitrate until nitrite gone.

@brandon429
 

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Do you think this will work? This sounds like a much better idea than waiting for what could be a very long time ..
Already you are in a hurry again. Lack of patience will cause you great frustration in this hobby as others already mentioned.
 

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Will I be ok leaving the current water in the sump? And just emptying the tank so I can try save some snails etc by keeping them in the sump?
I don't know how much water is in your sump.

You need to change 90% of the total system water to dilute the ammonia to 10% of what it is currently showing.
 

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Already you are in a hurry again. Lack of patience will cause you great frustration in this hobby as others already mentioned.
at 7 weeks his tank should be cycled. It wont be perfect but should be able to support a small bio load as the bacteria grows and matures. But I wouldnt push my luck with 12 fish etc
 
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Already you are in a hurry again. Lack of patience will cause you great frustration in this hobby as others already mentioned.
It’s far longer than it should have been due to my own mistake of overdosing. this isn’t lack of patience I’m trying to save the coral and fix the problem I caused.
 

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Either false positive on ammonia test or it actually is ammonia in which case I'd just do a 100% water change and add a fish. Stop testing for nitrate until nitrite gone.

@brandon429
Thats a good point.

Nitrite will interfere with most Nitrate tests.

I'm assuming that the tank is cycled as it must be after this amount of time so Nitrate == cycled. :)
 
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What starter bacteria did you use? A $12 bottle of Bio-Spira would have been sufficient.

7 week old tank. Overdosed Dr. Tim's Ammonia. Added bottled bac and live rock after. Still reading high ammonia.

Either false positive on ammonia test or it actually is ammonia in which case I'd just do a 100% water change and add a fish. Stop testing for nitrate until nitrite gone.

@brandon429
I used dr Tim’s bacteria and ammonia :)
 

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at 7 weeks his tank should be cycled. It wont be perfect but should be able to support a small bio load as the bacteria grows and matures. But I wouldnt push my luck with 12 fish etc
Agree, but he didn't add starter bacteria initially so his cycle took longer but now he is showing nitrates so his tank is cycling. A water change will help also as gbroad recommended but you can tell by his posts and adding corals to a tank that is not ready, that he is impatient. Probably getting bad directions from his LFS.
 
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Agree, but he didn't add starter bacteria initially so his cycle took longer but now he is showing nitrates so his tank is cycling. A water change will help also as gbroad recommended but you can tell by his posts and adding corals to a tank that is not ready, that he is impatient. Probably getting bad directions from his LFS.
I’m not impatient my friend. I only did what LFS told me to do. I’m impatient now because all this could have been avoided if I just asked you guys first and did it the correct way.
 
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