Hi Everyone I bought a tank four weeks ago an i really need HELP. My NO 3 reading is sitting on 5.0 . I did a water change yesterday and it has not come down at all. .... am worried my fish are going to die I through in AMMOVEC but no change at yet. I have about five pieces of live rock , 6 little damsel Can Anyone help
6 Damsels in a tank which is only 4 weeks old is a bit much... I would not be worried about the NO3 being 5ppm, that is still very low, and quite acceptable for fish. I would be MUCH more concerned about nitrite (NO2) and especially ammonium at this stage - you don't quote any test values for these parameters, do you test for them? PS. I take it that you are using a saltwater test kit - those for fresh water don't work so well in sea water... Hennie
Hi Hennie Did a buy the wrong testing kit... Its for NO2 . Does this mean my fish will die . I did a water change yesterday.... Can I do another water change tomorrow. I also have two little Hermit and two turbo snails . Do you think it is too soon for six Damsel . They are small and they seem happy. My tank is 130 litres.... How do I bring it down why did this happen. I have brown algae growing... Thanks
Slowly bud, slowly. Your tank is still cycling, if there is one thing you cant hurry , that is mother nature. Dont add anymore live stock and try bring the NO2 down with water changes. The algae is part of the tank cycle at this early stage. As for the test kits i do not now them, but have the parameters checked by the LFS or another reefer.
i have had my tank for 6 weeks and i know u have a big problem where in jhb r u i dont mind helping u out u need to get cured live rock fast leave the algae for now it is trying to help u out by useing no3 and po4 the live rock will help out converting no2 to no3
What the average time it takes for the tank to settle....This is more hectic then I thought. This is my first Tank..... How long will the brown algae stay ....How long should I have waited to put fish in... How aftern do you think I can do water changes
so many question oh dare ok each tank is differant some take longer than others mne toke 5 weeks and it is 450l just relax marine are harder the fresh water but u can get though it all u need is disiplen rotine and pations do water changes once every week 10% u need to use ro water that is improtant
From what I see,you have rushed the tank. Do as Alan mentioned. Otherwise, go to your LFS and see if you can get your hands on some Organic Aqua General treatment and Bacteria. This will rapidly reduce your Nitrites.
don't worry about the algae now, its the least of your problems! You can start adding fish to a system after 4 weeks, BUT, only if the water has gone through it initial cycle, and it needs to be done slowly, you can't just chuck 6 fish in at a time, only 1 fish every 2 weeks or so. I'm a bit confused, Is the NO2 or NO3 5ppm? If its NO3, there is no problem, if its NO2, everything should be dead, my test kit only goes up to 1.0. Please confirm NH3/NH4 = ? NO2 = ? NO3 = ?
This is how started. I bought the tank . I used tap water which I conditioned and then I mixed the Salt i then put in volcanic rock which I bought from the pet Shop. With this I put In the following AMMOVEC Organic Aqua General Treatment Organic Health Treatment Aqua Marine B Bac I then let the tank run for a week and all reading where fine. After my first water change I notice the NO2 Reading had gone up. This is now the second water change and I put in all the above chemical as directed. I then bought a live rock yesterday with two turbo snail and two hermit and six little damsel I then did a reading today and the NO2 level is sitting at 5.0 So yesterday I did a 20 % water Change and I put in AMMOVEC and AQAU General Treatment and the live rock but the reading has still not changed I then
Another question How long has the system been up and running for? Oh, and personally, I do not trust Sera test kits. Try out a brand like Tropic Marin.
I've never used Organic aqua before, and don't think I would ever! but here we go.... 1stly, You should be using RO water, not tap water, RO has gone through special filtration and is pure! 2ndly, I've never heard of NO2 at 5 before, sure you have the correct test kit? not fresh water? most test kits only measure upto 1, not 5. 3rdly, pump PLENTY air into the water, I've found this to help lower NO2. 4thly, Is posible, do a water change and get some kind of Bio filters ASAP! I've used "Tetra Marine SafeStart" in the past to help if i've ever had a NH3/NH4 or NO2 problem. (after water change) 5th, try get some one in your area to help you, perhaps hold your fish till your system settles and is ready for some live stock.... As without knowing the whole story, it seems your pet shot doesn't know what they are doing, IMHO.
