Is my tank cycling again?

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Pufferpunk
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by Pufferpunk »

Get an RODI system.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

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lawfuanda
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by lawfuanda »

Yes the reading on the tank with the puffer have gone down a little bit. its showing between .10 and .25(guesses). the color is lighter/more yellow than the .25 but not as yellow as the 0 on the card. i read that Ammonium, which is common in tap water, can be giving it the false reading. I just checked the receipt of my new second filter i have running and its only 8 days old, i know they take a while to get cycled as well and stuff, im guessing that aiding to the cloudyness? the water itself looks clean minus the cloudyness, well it should considering its filtering 400gph for a 20gallon tank. safe to say the cloudyness wont go away for at least another week or two right?
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by lawfuanda »

will look into an RODI system. anything i could do for now or will i be fine?
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Pufferpunk
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My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by Pufferpunk »

You can buy RO water from your LFS.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
lawfuanda
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by lawfuanda »

ammonia levels are still showing just the .25 like it would with ammonium. i got 10 hermit crabs and 15 snails yesterday and put them with live rock and they are doing great. they ate all the bloodworms i put in there for them.

the question is, petco is having their $1 per gallon sale right now and I can go get a new 40 gallon, but would I need to wait to cycle that tank or would I be able to throw what water I have in the 20 gallon in there + 20 more gallons of fresh salt water and the live rock which im 99% sure is fully cured and would I be ok?
nzac
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by nzac »

the short answer is tanks do not cycle, filtration does. If you move everything from the 20 to the new 40 it will be at the same point in the cycle.
I believe what you are seeing with the ammonia in your tap water is chloramines (chlorine bonded to ammonia, more and more common). If i remember correctly ammonia in a ph of under 6.0 will turn to ammonium and won't be near as bad for fish. Basically either start using ro/di or definitely start treating your new water with a chlorine remover that also removes chloramines, once the tank is fully cycled the .25ppm of ammonia from the tap won't be a huge deal as your bio filter will convert it rather quickly.
lawfuanda
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by lawfuanda »

Ah ok, thats what I thought I read elsewhere but i wanted to make sure. I did pick up a bottle of Prime, will be going to get a bottle of stability today as well.

thanks.
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Pufferpunk
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Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by Pufferpunk »

Get Tetra's Safestart, instead.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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dma1976
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by dma1976 »

Ok, one thing at a time....

Fix the Ammonia problem first as this will kill your fish. Then deal with the Live Rock, etc. Baby steps in this hobby. I would leave that in the bucket for now with a heater and flow pump.

I agree with PufferPunk, get a different test kit. Or even have the LFS test it for you.

You can transfer to a larger tank but if you are cycling this won't help that. While it is important to dilute the Ammonia you need to figure out why it's there. If your tap water has it, then you need to use RODI water, get it at the LFS or even at the grocery store. You ask need to know if you have any Nitrate as this would mean that you are indeed cycling.
lawfuanda
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by lawfuanda »

If i buy live rock from someones established tank thats been around for a couple years, can i put it directly in my tank or will I need to cure it again?
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Pufferpunk
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Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by Pufferpunk »

A long as you are sure that tank has no pests, then it is good to go.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
lawfuanda
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by lawfuanda »

Alright well I got the 40 gallon set up and got everything how it should be and everything is good now, water is clearer than it has ever been before. picked up a protein skimmer, put a bag of seachem purigen in one of the filters, been dosing it with stability every day, got around 30 pounds of live rock in the tank now. waters been great, sean has been super happy now after he got used to the rock, but boy was he pissed at first, splashed me two times when i was just standing by the tank looking at it. ordered a second water circulation pump and a full test kit. will also be adding sand to it. thought i would like the bare bottom look more than sand but i was wrong.

question is now, i know if i wanted to take a chance in the future i could try out a pair of clownfish, but what about a sand sifting goby? would he just kill it or pay it no attention? i really like how they move around and sift the sand but if it would just get killed then I dont want to try.
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Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by Pufferpunk »

Is there Stability for SW? Please DO keep testing your water. Moving LR can cause a spike. Are you sure it came from an established tank? What kind of filter is the Purigen in? I'd take out all media except that, unless you plan on rinsing it every few days. No more than 1" of sand. The goby may be OK, they hide a lot.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
lawfuanda
Puffer Fry
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Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2015 3:27 pm
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Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by lawfuanda »

Yeah Stability is for SW as well. The rock did come from an established 250gallon tank, the guy has a new baby and is moving so hes heavily downgrading. The filter is an aqueon 50. the only things in there are the sponge+fine mesh stuff for the fine particles, no carbon as i read its useless. both filters are just sponges+finers mesh material because he's a horribly messy eater and i dont want any junk floating around. I was going to do just a half inch of sand.

ill see if i can get some good pics. it seems as though every time i go to take a pic of him with his nice white belly, he notices me trying to take pics and swims all far from the glass and gets all dark. maybe i can get one of him eating
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: Is my tank cycling again?

Post by Pufferpunk »

Is there one formula of Stability for FW & another one for SW? Using FW filters on a SW tank is asking for nitrate, unless you clean several times/week.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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