Tank crashed

[BlakeK.]

The 2 rocks on the top look somewhat cycled. You'd expect a darker color of the rocks that have been in the tank for 8 months. Coralline "skeleton" can remain even on dry rocks sometimes. GHA grows fast so doesn't have to mean it's been 8 months, some get it within weeks. You may also want to test your PO4 which will be a good indicator of how cycled your rocks are. I've never seen cycled rocks that looked that clean...well not since pictures of my dad's tank from a long time ago when they used to think that bleaching rocks was the way to keep the tank nice and clean :)

Dang it. I think I might have been lied to then. That's unfortunate

 

[EmdeReef]

Dang it. I think I might have been lied to then. That's unfortunate

We've all been there, problems, crashes etc. It's unfortunate you had to go through this but the good news is that soon, with a little work and patience, you'll have a great reef tank!

 

[Ludders]

Very costly mistake unfortunately and I don't mean in the financial sense. Some good advice given here, so get it through the cycle and go slow.

Never make big changes to anything and there's always good advice to be had off experienced reefers here.

Good luck

 

[BlakeK.]

The 2 rocks on the top look somewhat cycled. You'd expect a darker color of the rocks that have been in the tank for 8 months. Coralline "skeleton" can remain even on dry rocks sometimes. GHA grows fast so doesn't have to mean it's been 8 months, some get it within weeks. You may also want to test your PO4 which will be a good indicator of how cycled your rocks are. I've never seen cycled rocks that looked that clean...well not since pictures of my dad's tank from a long time ago when they used to think that bleaching rocks was the way to keep the tank nice and clean :)

That's unfortunate. I don't know how she was keeping all of these fish alive if she wasn't using cycled rock. Unless she was and just sold me newer rock for a profit. That't too bad. Welp, guess I'll have to figure out what to do from here. I actually have one more clown still hanging in there. I feel bad for the guy though. Don't know what to do for it.

 

[brandon429]

bacterial threads always seem complex but we show here they distill down to one of three actions, always:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/


in your case its pretty simple. If your current rocks have been underwater 40 days at least, considering the boosts you've had, they're cycled, even if they weren't to begin with.

Cycling is about hydration time, not the other factors. A mere spike of nitrite to 8 ppm doesn't stop it. Ammonia just the same, though instructions online say not to eclipse 5 ppm the real ld50 levels in a tank (loss levels) are much higher, that's only a safe zone offer. Your loss cascade fed your bacteria just fine, and if you did the cycle completion test your tank would pass easily. what are the current levels of ammonia right now with the one fish in place


per that long, unruly thread, the type of rock you had was the unverified Group B. we outlined that word for word months ago, its literally the type of rock you had.

I suspect your rock was cycled and nobody lied. It needed a simple digestion test before use. live n learn

your current setup is more ready to retry, not less, just fallow it out if you want to start clean or if you want to keep the fish you have, when its time to add new fish pay extra for fully quarantine-completed ones. the entire point of that thread is that what we add, too much or too little of, wont do much to a cycle these bacteria are already well insulated against our hijinks. all they need was 40 days underwater to develop the insulations needed. In my opinion don't worry about your original start, begin anew but using the same rocks just start slower and measure. however the loss cascade manifested doesn't matter now, we can start by verifying you are cycled, then adding bioload at the correct time.

easy redo w same materials. I didn't read how sandbed played out here, we lose tanks in sandbed moves commonly...enter the sand rinse thread ha!

if your current setup has been underwater in your house 40 days, we already know where your cycle stands without testing. Once you reset the water column, it will pass the digest test from page 1 in that thread.

 

[EmdeReef]

That's unfortunate. I don't know how she was keeping all of these fish alive if she wasn't using cycled rock. Unless she was and just sold me newer rock for a profit. That't too bad. Welp, guess I'll have to figure out what to do from here. I actually have one more clown still hanging in there. I feel bad for the guy though. Don't know what to do for it.

One clown in a larger tank may actually pull through but it could get stressed in a tank that hasn't cycled. If you have a 10g tank you could set up as an emergency that would be good. If not, I'd do large water changes almost daily to give him a best chance. Not sure if you can get your hands on biospira or Dr Tim's bacteria. Both claim to do pretty instant cycling and some have had good luck with those. Even if it does work I'd take my time before adding anything else. You will need to wait a week or two until your tank stabilizes.

 

[BlakeK.]

bacterial threads always seem complex but we show here they distill down to one of three actions, always:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/


in your case its pretty simple. If your current rocks have been underwater 40 days at least, considering the boosts you've had, they're cycled, even if they weren't to begin with.

Cycling is about hydration time, not the other factors. A mere spike of nitrite to 8 ppm doesn't stop it. Ammonia just the same, though instructions online say not to eclipse 5 ppm the real ld50 levels in a tank (loss levels) are much higher, that's only a safe zone offer. Your loss cascade fed your bacteria just fine, and if you did the cycle completion test your tank would pass easily. what are the current levels of ammonia right now with the one fish in place

Wow, great thread! Best read I've seen on cycling. Thanks for that. Yeah, I'll just start anew and take it slow. Less stress. I learned my lesson from this haha


per that long, unruly thread, the type of rock you had was the unverified Group B. we outlined that word for word months ago, its literally the type of rock you had.

I suspect your rock was cycled and nobody lied. It needed a simple digestion test before use. live n learn

your current setup is more ready to retry, not less, just fallow it out if you want to start clean or if you want to keep the fish you have, when its time to add new fish pay extra for fully quarantine-completed ones. the entire point of that thread is that what we add, too much or too little of, wont do much to a cycle these bacteria are already well insulated against our hijinks. all they need was 40 days underwater to develop the insulations needed. In my opinion don't worry about your original start, begin anew but using the same rocks just start slower and measure. however the loss cascade manifested doesn't matter now, we can start by verifying you are cycled, then adding bioload at the correct time.

easy redo w same materials. I didn't read how sandbed played out here, we lose tanks in sandbed moves commonly...enter the sand rinse thread ha!

if your current setup has been underwater in your house 40 days, we already know where your cycle stands without testing. Once you reset the water column, it will pass the digest test from page 1 in that thread.

 

[BlakeK.]

One clown in a larger tank may actually pull through but it could get stressed in a tank that hasn't cycled. If you have a 10g tank you could set up as an emergency that would be good. If not, I'd do large water changes almost daily to give him a best chance. Not sure if you can get your hands on biospira or Dr Tim's bacteria. Both claim to do pretty instant cycling and some have had good luck with those. Even if it does work I'd take my time before adding anything else. You will need to wait a week or two until your tank stabilizes.

I've been using fluval cycle. I was deciding between Dr. Tim's and the Fluval Cycle and was told that the Fluval brand does a better job. I'm guessing they are pretty similar though. Either way, I added some ammo lock and dormant bacteria in hopes of keeping the last clown alive. The levels have actually gone down SLIGHTLY since this morning which is a good sign.

 

[EmdeReef]

I've been using fluval cycle. I was deciding between Dr. Tim's and the Fluval Cycle and was told that the Fluval brand does a better job. I'm guessing they are pretty similar though. Either way, I added some ammo lock and dormant bacteria in hopes of keeping the last clown alive. The levels have actually gone down SLIGHTLY since this morning which is a good sign.

I’m sure it’s all more or less the same assuming it was stored properly...good luck and keep us posted. I’d still do a water change. Keep in mind that depending on the test kit used adding ammo lock etc may throw off the test kit.

 

[O'l Salty]

IMO those rocks were not cycled. Some look like they've just recently been put into water.