Newbie with 3 tanks but need advice quickly......

[I.Puff.Too]

I was just thinking it may not be, it sounded like the 10G is a recent set-up; nevertheless it may have some bacteria, hopefully at least for the first stage of the nitrogen cycle.

[supgirl]

Again, thank you for ALl the advice, tips and useful information. To answer the main question, No, the 10 gallon was not really Cycled properly. I made the mistake with the 10g tank, by stopping into the LFS on the way home from picking up the 10g tank and spoke to a clerk back in the Fish Dept. She told me she used to keep GSP's and that she was very familiar with how to set up this tank.

She sold me "Instant Ocean" live sand and said to go home, put this in the tank, use the little packet of bio speara and add my fish. I told her it my tank had came with misc deco items and was it safe to use these items in the new tank. She told me I should take a pot of boiling water, add some vinegar and dip everything in the water, including the tank and then rinse in hot water. I also asked about the 5g filter and was told it wasnt necessary. So I did this exactly as instructed. But the tank was SO cloudy and gross that I couldn't bear adding my fish into the tank. I read that it could take several days for it to clear up. I even did a partial water change because there was so much stuff floating around the tank.

Because I had some difficulty registering for the forum and because I'm an idiot, I wasn't able to post any questions until last weekend, I went to the LFS and tried to find out what I was doing wrong, since my water was still so nasty looking. Fortunately, I found a girl who was pretty helpful and she told me it could take up to a week for the water to be clear. I had been doing water tests and asked if I should be using the API salt water master test kit, but b/c the water was only 1.08, was I using the right kit. She told me I was actually fine with the fresh water kit. Went home did the fresh water test and then just to be safe, did the salt water and everything came out in then appropriate ranges. During the next day and a half, the water cleared up and I took all the decorations from the 5g tank, put those in the 10g, checked water parameters again and started adding each fish. Took a plastic container with a bit of the old water and 1 fish and put the container into the new tank to let him float around get acclimated to the water temp and soon, he was dumping the side enough to swim out into the tank. Eventually, all 3 were happily swimming in their new home. Continued to monitor water parameters and everything was always at 0 with both the frest & salt water kits. pH stayed in the 7.8-8.0 range and ammonia was between .25- .50 ppm, which worried me, so I would do daily partial w/c and test the water again an hour later and still ended up showing same similar ammonia results. I was at a loss, so went back to talk to the LFS and was told as long as I didn't mind doing partial w/c and if the fish were eating, showing no signs of stress and coloring didn't change ( except when begging for food or pouting) the fish were fine until I could find more suitable housing for them.

So that is my 10g cycling answer. They have been in the 10g tank about 2 weeks. I am going to check the water parameters in the "Mansion" today. The salinity is a bit high, (1.12, and they are currently in 1.10) so plan on removing a bit of water first to get it more in line with what they are used to. Don't want to give them too much of a shock overload. I need to find a cover for the top as well, as it did not come with a hood (just a light bar) and I hear these fish can jump. That would be my luck after all this. I ordered a fitted one last night, but I would imagine a piece of plexiglass should be okay for a temp roof.

So here is a dumb question, the tank came with a Fluval canister filter, can I go to a the current type of filter (obviously a larger, more powerful one to handle the 75g) that I can just slide my filter cartridges into? I'm sure it is more cost effective to use the canister, but I like the convenience of the cartridges. Sorry for such a long post, but the puffer saga has been a very long and stressful one and I'm hoping after all this, these 3 little guys will be happy and thrive in their new home. I hope I didn't "seal their demise" by naming them this weekend!

[supgirl]

So, I'm back with an update since it took 4 days to see my post. The day I picked up my 75g tank, we went to the speciality LFS and wanted to get some "knowledgeable SW" assistance with the best way to set up this new tank. I was told to use "Erase CL" in my 10g tank and partial w/c every 3 days to help with the ammonia spikes until I could get the big tank cycled. Continued with instructions for both tanks and did water test both AM & PM daily. By Wed, my new tank had done the ammonia spike, but that morning it was down to 0.0!!!! The N02 was at 0.50 and N03 was 20-30 (color chart is so difficult to determine and it wasn't as dark as the 40 color). I was pretty happy and thought it would be a couple of days when all would be at 0. Then as I was doing water tests in the other tank, my littlest guy "Chopper" was curled up on the bottom, looking pretty pathetic. As I'm watching, he starts floating up to the surface, still curled up and continued to sit curled up, floating by the filter. I had run out of salt when I filled the other tank, and was waiting for to "Crate" I ordered to arrive, so was getting dressed to go buy salt so I could do a w/c when Fed Ex arrived with my salt!! Did a 50% w/c immediately, took another test and ammonia was still too high. Thankfully, Chopped perked right up and was swimming and back to his old self. I tried to find my answer online and finally called Brightwell Aquatics to see if their product would still show ammonia in my readings. That afternoon their Rep called me back. I explained the situation and after an hour of discussion, he said go ahead and get my babies into their new home. Also, go to the place I purchased the Erase from and purchase Microbacter 7, use it daily for a month, no w/c for a month and limit feelings to every other day. I asked him about filter and he agreed, my canister was not the best solution, as it doesn't provide as much oxygen as the hang on type. So purchased a new one of those and included my 10g filter into the new one as well. He gave me his cell number and said to feel free to call anytime with questions or concerns.
Did all items as instructed and the N02 & N03 readings have dropped another level and still no ammonia. Puffs seem great (although my 2 larger ones seem to be Surfing the Glass endlessly) their color is really good, temp is @ 80 degrees and salinity is 1.10. Not sure why they keep surfing and it is the depth portion of the tank, not the length. The water seems to be flowing good. I have less than 6 inches total of fish combined, in 75g of water with a ton of hiding spots, caves

image.jpg

Any thought or suggestions on why they are still surfing? Also ordered a protein skimmer and is due to arrive today, so plan on hooking it up and getting it started (I know I won't find anything in the basket until I'm up to full salinity, but was told it is good to get it going).

All is good and I was even able to take a relaxing shower last night. First time in almost a month, I've been in such a crisis management each night, I've taken just enough time to take care of my necessities, but no extra..... I just hope I've cleared the "hump" and will be able to relax and enjoy these guys now.

[Pufferpunk]

Well, I'd say that LFS was an idiot because your puffer should have been transferred over to the larger tank immediately! Why cause it to sit in a toxic small tank, when it's wastes could have been diluted in the much larger one??? The best thing you could have done for the poor fella was transfer her him right away & add Tetra's Safestart to the filter or just add cured LR from an established tank & brought it up to SW & your tank is instantly cycled. Then you could drip-acclimate the puffers to the marine tank. Return the Microbacter 7. Anything recommended to use daily, will NOT cycle your tank. Also, anyone who told you to not do WC for a month, I'd never speak to again!!!

I'm glad things are good for them now. Try adding a TON more decor--things that go all the way to the top, breaking up their lines of sight. Here's my 55g GSP tank:

[Pufferpunk]

Also, at 1.010, you've got a ways before a skimmer will work on that tank. They're no good <1.018.

[supgirl]

Well, I'd say that LFS was an idiot because your puffer should have been transferred over to the larger tank immediately! Why cause it to sit in a toxic small tank, when it's wastes could have been diluted in the much larger one??? The best thing you could have done for the poor fella was transfer her him right away & add Tetra's Safestart to the filter or just add cured LR from an established tank & brought it up to SW & your tank is instantly cycled. Then you could drip-acclimate the puffers to the marine tank. Return the Microbacter 7. Anything recommended to use daily, will NOT cycle your tank. Also, anyone who told you to not do WC for a month, I'd never speak to again!!!

I'm glad things are good for them now. Try adding a TON more decor--things that go all the way to the top, breaking up their lines of sight. Here's my 55g GSP tank:

Thanks PP!
What kind of live rock should I add and what is the best way to get my guys up to full SW without putting them into shock? Are there any live rock, coral or plants that I could purchase now and have them survive as I do the salt increases or should I wait until I get to 1.22 before I start adding these items?
It seems like the 2 bigger guys have finally settled in and are now just cruising around the tank and checking out the rocks, coral and caves. Thank goodness!

BTW your tank is Gorgeous!!! Are all those items live? Truly AMAZING!

[Tim]

BTW your tank is Gorgeous!!! Are all those items live? Truly AMAZING!

Those are fake corals . But good looking fake corals none the less.

[Pufferpunk]

I would have raised the SG & gotten the LR situated before moving the GSPs into the larger tank. At this point, you can just take your time with it now.

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[sgtmyers88]

@OP Nice tank. What are the H/L/W dimensions? I never seen a 75g like that before.

[supgirl]

It's 48 long x 15 deep x 24 high and the stand is 3 feet high.