NEED GSP HELP

[SHocka]

My parameters are as followed
nitrate 20
nitrite 1.0
alka 300
saltwater ph 8.4
i give up i can not fiquire out what is wrong with this tank and my gsp. I bought this little fish from walmart and with no prior warning, jumped in to the brackish water world. Last night i did a water change for him and a few hours later he is swimming around the top of the tank sucking in air and getting bloated. Then he just stops moving. Ive brurped him a few times now, but he is still doing this. Honestly i dont know the first think about cycling tanks, how to know there done, and what to do if the parameters are off. the only thing i have managed to do is keep the saltwater levels constant along with the temp. My girlfriend will shoot me dead if i kill this little puffer. Someone help please.

[Pandora]

There is an article in the library about cycling, are you in the USA? I ask because there is a product there called biospira that instantly cycles your tank, try and get hold of that but make sure they have it in the fridge, theres a topic in General Discussion on cycling using this stuff. Do another 50% water change to try and get rid of that nitrite, did you add anything to get the water chlorine out like tapsafe?

[Nick]

Yea, you need to know your ammonia as well, massive daily water changes until toxins in the water are reduced.

[Agnate]

Pick up the dechlorinator called Prime. It'll help detoxify the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate while your tank is in the process of cycling. Plus it dechlorinates the water for you!

Can you tell us what your salinity is (salt level in terms of SG - Specific Gravity)? You can measure this with one of two devices: hydrometer or refractometer. Hydrometers are easier to come by at your local fish store, but are known to be far less accurate than a refractometer.

What is your temperature at?

[SHocka]

my water temp is 74 amd the is 1.022 The water is really merky and has
been that way since i started this 10 days ago. as far as biological elements i have stress zyme for bacteria, amquel plus to remov nitrites nitrates ammonia chlorine and chloramines and ive got a water conditioner. Im running a ten gallon tank with a hang on filter. I put some sand and a rock from the beach in there.

[Agnate]

How big is the puffer? If he's only 1-3 inches, you definitely don't need to have to salinity that high. However, since it's already in marine conditions, you can make your life VERY simple by running to a marine fish store and getting yourself a small piece of CURED live rock. This will basically cycle your tank and give you some breathing room to work with.

Cured live rock is expensive, but you don't need a filter with it. You just need a small powerhead to push water around.

Also, 10 gallons is too small for any size of GSP. You're going to want to find a 30 gallon tank as soon as possible.

The murky look (I assume it's like a cloudy white?) is because there has been a bloom of beneficial bacteria in the water (due to the presence of ammonia and nitrite). This will go away as it settles onto the substrate/decorations/filter media (which is a good thing) if you can get the tank cycled (ie. get some live rock).

[Agnate]

PS - get a piece of live rock that's about 5-8 lbs. You don't want to use up too much space in your 10 gallon (you need as much water as you can get).

[Pufferpunk]

I'm afraid dropping a FW fish in to an uncycled SW environment that is too small, isn't very good for it.

[Tapiana]

I have foiund Bio Spira at Tong's on Magnolia and Warner next to the Plowboys.

I too got my GSP from WalMart - seems pretty common. If he is as small as mine is - I would reduce the amount of SG down to 1.004-.005 (that is just me). At this SG - you can use the Freshwater Bio Spira - if it is any higher the bacteria die. If you decide to keep at the higher SG - there is Marine Bio Spira at Tongs too.

I would recommend PRIME by SeaChem to pretreat tap water and to de-tox any Nitrites/Ammonia that turn up on the tank water - it is fast and effective. You can get at Tongs or PetSmart. It has worked the best for me.

If you reduce the SG - do not get the LR - it will die in that low of a salinity and throw off your tank again.