Water help ...

[LJC6780]

I currently have a newly set up BC29 with some live rock (with corals), live sand, a bag full of Matrix and 3 large Damsels. I had planned to do a fishless cycle in my new tank but the 75 gal I bought came with the rock, corals and fish. I plan to rehome the 2 largest fish but might keep the smaller one for a while. Anyway, since the tank came with all of that I sort of had to jump right in. Thankfully the rock came from the guy's 600 gallon tank and was cycled. I also used a bottle of biospira and added some new Matrix in the sump area. Water testing as of just a while ago is:

Temp 76.5
pH 8
Ammonia <0.25 (was 0.25+ yesterday)
Nitrite 0.5-0.75 (was 0.25 yesterday)
Nitrate around 30
Kh 7-8
SG 1.022

The biospira didn't give any water changing instructions so I'm wondering if I need to do a water change to lower nitrates or if I need to just let it be for a certain amount of time and just keep using Prime daily to protect fish and corals.

Can someone help me out?

 

[Joey waid]

You are going to need to do water changes until your bio system can keep up. Prime may help in a emergency, but you need to keep seeding bacteria and do water changes.

 

[LJC6780]

You are going to need to do water changes until your bio system can keep up. Prime may help in a emergency, but you need to keep seeding bacteria and do water changes.

Ok so I'll have to get more biospira then. It instructed to pour the entire bottle in. I've been using Prime daily since Tuesday.

In FW I would normally do a 50% water change daily if ammonia + Nitrite >=1. If <1 I would just treat with Prime and retest the next day. Is there a "rule" to follow for SW that is similar? Should I be testing for anything else?

 

[Joey waid]

Salt water fish are less tolerant to ammonia. If I was you I would get a standard bacteria seed. My under standing, biospria is for established tanks. If you do water changes you have no idea where you levels are with the biospria. I have read where they put too much in and killed the tank.at this point you need to keep track of your ammonia everything will fall in to place once you bio system catches up.

 

[Brew12]

Ok so I'll have to get more biospira then. It instructed to pour the entire bottle in. I've been using Prime daily since Tuesday.

In FW I would normally do a 50% water change daily if ammonia + Nitrite >=1. If <1 I would just treat with Prime and retest the next day. Is there a "rule" to follow for SW that is similar? Should I be testing for anything else?

No, you don't need any more biospira. And don't use any more Prime.
Test your ammonia 1 or 2 times a day. If you see ammonia over 0.5ppm add some Prime. Nitrites are extremely toxic to fresh water fish but are not readily absorbed by salt water fish so you don't have an issue there. You can have 100+ Nitrates and it won't hurt your fish. If you are still seeing ammonia in 3 or 4 days you should consider getting more Biospira but I doubt that will happen.

Not really a rule with salt water that way. I think you know what you did was less than ideal but you should be fine.

If you have a skimmer running that will help with nitrates. Otherwise do your routine water changes and you should be just fine.

 

[Brew12]

Salt water fish are less tolerant to ammonia. If I was you I would get a standard bacteria seed. My under standing, biospria is for established tanks. If you do water changes you have no idea where you levels are with the biospria. I have read where they put too much in and killed the tank.at this point you need to keep track of your ammonia everything will fall in to place once you bio system catches up.

Biospira is a nitrifying bacteria product that you add once to a new tank to get it cycling. You can't hurt your tank by putting too much in, but there isn't any reason to add too much.
I typically don't like doing water changes when measuring where in the cycle you are at, but since he has fish in the system he will need to do regular water changes. The bacteria cling to the sand and rock so water changes won't hurt.

 

[Joey waid]

Biospira is a nitrifying bacteria product that you add once to a new tank to get it cycling. You can't hurt your tank by putting too much in, but there isn't any reason to add too much.
I typically don't like doing water changes when measuring where in the cycle you are at, but since he has fish in the system he will need to do regular water changes. The bacteria cling to the sand and rock so water changes won't hurt.

That's odd because I read a whole thread on his tank crashing due to it. Granted he thought he got a bad batch.

 

[LJC6780]

That's odd because I read a whole thread on his tank crashing due to it. Granted he thought he got a bad batch.

You must be thinking of someone else. I just set this tank up Monday and added fish, rock and corals from a larger tank purchase on Tuesday. The bottle says to add to up to 75 gallon tank for quicker cycling. It actually says to pour in the bottle then add fish ... definitely not ideal, but it is what it is.

Why not add Prime to detox the ammonia and Nitrite? It doesn't remove it, just makes it not harmful for the fish and corals.

I did do about a 10% water change. I'll check again tomorrow and see where things stand. I may go ahead and try to rehome a couple of the fish in the next few days, if I can make it to the fish store. That will lessen the bioload and hopefully cycle faster.

This is my first time with SW tanks and i have already NOT done as I'd planned. SLOW is how I planned! lol I guess my 75 will be slow! Oops!

 

[Tautog]

Slow Down. No rushing.
Do a WC in 2 weeks, and every 2 weeks.
Are you using R/O water, save your Prime for WC water, don't add everyday, it's a waste
Give your tank time to age. Period

 

[Brew12]

Why not add Prime to detox the ammonia and Nitrite? It doesn't remove it, just makes it not harmful for the fish and corals.

The only reason I wouldn't is because there is no reason to add it if you don't see higher levels of ammonia. Keep it available if needed. That's my opinion, if you are more comfortable to keep adding it, you won't do any harm. One nice thing about Prime is that it also doesn't prevent bacteria from breaking down the treated ammonia.

With as high as your nitrates are, you have to be close to having enough bacteria for your bioload. The only reason I would rehome fish at this point is if you think your bioload will be too high for where you want to end up.

It sounds like you know what you are doing. You know how to test and you know how your products work. I think you will know if you need to rehome fish or if your cycle stalls for some unknown reason.

 

[LJC6780]

The only reason I wouldn't is because there is no reason to add it if you don't see higher levels of ammonia. Keep it available if needed. That's my opinion, if you are more comfortable to keep adding it, you won't do any harm. One nice thing about Prime is that it also doesn't prevent bacteria from breaking down the treated ammonia.

With as high as your nitrates are, you have to be close to having enough bacteria for your bioload. The only reason I would rehome fish at this point is if you think your bioload will be too high for where you want to end up.

It sounds like you know what you are doing. You know how to test and you know how your products work. I think you will know if you need to rehome fish or if your cycle stalls for some unknown reason.

Well, the reason I want to rehome fish is that these guys came with the 75 I purchased and they are not my first choice. They are also quite large for the 29 they are temporarily being housed in. I've been told by several folks that damsels can be pretty mean and I've already seen them peck at each other here and there. I think I might keep the smaller one and trade the other two in for something I'd rather have or store credit.

I'm actually working on setting up the 75 in the garage to get the rock curing. Some of it is cleanish but a lot has dead corals and funk all over it and definitely needs to be cured. I also have to refinish the cabinet so it'll be a long process and the rock can be curing/cycling in the mean time. I have a ton of rock! I was actually just about to weigh it all to see how much I got! There is enough to completely cover the bottom of the tank with probably about ½-¾ covered with a second layer! I'll have plenty of options for aquascaping!

Anyway, thanks for the help!

 

[Brew12]

Well, the reason I want to rehome fish is that these guys came with the 75 I purchased and they are not my first choice. They are also quite large for the 29 they are temporarily being housed in. I've been told by several folks that damsels can be pretty mean and I've already seen them peck at each other here and there. I think I might keep the smaller one and trade the other two in for something I'd rather have or store credit.

I'm actually working on setting up the 75 in the garage to get the rock curing. Some of it is cleanish but a lot has dead corals and funk all over it and definitely needs to be cured. I also have to refinish the cabinet so it'll be a long process and the rock can be curing/cycling in the mean time. I have a ton of rock! I was actually just about to weigh it all to see how much I got! There is enough to completely cover the bottom of the tank with probably about ½-¾ covered with a second layer! I'll have plenty of options for aquascaping!

Anyway, thanks for the help!

Sounds like you have a great plan in place. Good luck and keep us posted! By the way, we love pictures so start a build thread! ;)

 

[LJC6780]

I've got one started! CJ's 75 gallon tank. [emoji4]