Possible problem, with new saltwater aquarium.?

Question

Hello, Well here is what is going on. My last three water tests with my liquid test kit, have came back nearly unmeasurable. nitrate 0, nitrite 0, ammonia 0, ph 8.2. So one would think i'm cycled right? Well, thats is not the case, as i took some water to the lfs today his readings differed than mine. ammonia0, nitrite0, nitrate between 0 &.003ppm. ph@7.8 ...that indicates i'm close to cycled with low ph right? Well, here is the problem. I just added a clean up crew 2 days ago(to clean brown alge bloom) 10 red leg, 10 blue leg hermits, 1 coral banded shrimp,1 serpent star. So, if my tank was not completely cycled i will have a hard time now with the added waste(ammomia) from the clean up crew. What should i do?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BTW, I added some ph buffer today for the low ph problem.-----could my last 3 test readings be wrong? or, do you think the 2 different tests gave 2 different readings?

Oh, I forgot to mention, the90 gallon tank has been cycling for nearly a month with live rock 40 lbs, and a livesand bed also, i had 2 damsels in there, that I was told by lfs everyone uses for cycling. well, you guessed it they died. but, I think they had ich due to the sandy look they developed. So, yes my ammonia, and nitrites did spike then drop back down. Thats why I thought it was time for the clean up crew. it's just my nitrate reading was different than the one at the lfs. He also told me not to do a water change untill the nitrates are 0

Answer 1

I agree with Brian. If your tank cycled, you would have had ammonia and nitrites at some point, then nitrate. If you were doing a fishless cycle, you don't need to worry about the ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate levels untill you only have nitrate, then you do a water change prior to adding fish. This reduces the amount of nitrogen products in your tank so any organisms you add can tolerate the tank conditions. At least, this is how cycling a marine tank should work.

If you just did the setup without adding an initial ammonia source (pure ammonia, raw shrimp, fish food, or live rock or sand with some die-off) your tank hasn't cycled, and that's why you don't see nitrate. You need to have an ammonia source for the bacteria to convert to nitrite, then nitrate. If you just added live rock or sand with no source of ammonia, they bacteria have starved. Fortunately, the cleanup crew are small and not big ammonia producers. You'll need to continue to watch your readings to know when water changes are needed.

What type of test kit do you use? If it's a strip, these aren't the most accurate, and they get even less so when exposed to air and moisture. A liquid reagent kit is better, but you have to hold the bottle perfectly up and down to get even sized drops for an accurate reading, and you should clean thee tubes well after each use - it also helps to rinse them with a little water taken from the tank before you test so that chemicals and tap water from the last rinse don't affect your results. And chemicals can go bad after 4-5 years. If you're in doubt as to which results are mose accurate, have a third party test your water. Hopefully, two of the results are fairly close.

As to what to do - I'd monitor the tank for a week or so and see what the levels of the water chemistry do with the critters you added. You'll be feeding the cleaner crew a little, and if the tank is cycled, you should only really notice nitrates. If you only get ammonia, or ammonia and nitrite, the tank didn't cycle. Once you see results after a week of them being in the tank, you'll have a better idea of what to do from there.

As far as the pH - Where I live, the pH won't go above 7.8 even with the buffers in the salt mix and aragonite substrate. I don't know what you're trying to buffer with, but for my tank, kalkwasser was the only product that would get it above 8.2. I try to keep my tanks around 8.4.


ADDITION: Why would you do a change AFTER the nitrate level went to zero? That's the purpose FOR doing a water change - to reduce the nitrates! Ammonia is converted to nitrite, which is converted to nitrate. Nitrate is the end product of the cycle - doesn't "go away" on its own (unless you have macroalgae in the tank to to use it as a nutrient), or you remove it through water changes.

With the amount of live rock in your tank, you may have some macroalgae to use the nitrate, or it's being used by the coraline algae on the rock which could be why the level is so low. But without a sufficient ammonia source, you'll still have bacteria in the tank die. The cleanup crew you added will provide some ammonia, but in a 90 gallon tank with 0 ammonia and nitrite, you might want to try an additional source. If your damsels had ich, adding more fish right away wouldn't be a wise move - any parasites left would infect new fish. The parasite can last a little over a month without a fish host, so you should wait about 6 weeks to be sure your tank is clear of the parasites before you add a new fish (from the time the damsels died). Increasing the temperature in your tank (but staying within the range your organisms can tolerate) will speed up the parasite's lifecycle, as well as increase the reproduction rate of the tank bacteria. Until then, try adding a piece of raw shrimp or some shrimp pellets (this will also serve as a food source for your cleaners) and monitor the water chemistry as I suggested in the original answer.

See this on marine ich: http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/ich.html
http://wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm
http://wetwebmedia.com/cryptnoncures.htm - saltwater ich "cures" that don't work

Answer 2

Actually it sounds like your tank did cycle. Algae blooms after a cycle are very common due to the high nitrates that are the end result of the cycle. I'm assuming you did a large water change after your cycle so that combined with an algae bloom could be a good reason your nitrates are low. You don't say how long your tank has been cycling or what your test results were during the cycle. Did you see a spike in ammonia or nitrites? Did you ever end up with nitrates? Did you use a cycle starter or bacteria starting product?

I would use water changes with the salt mix to correct the pH over using the buffer stuff. It can cause wild swings in pH. It's not uncommon for a new aquarium or one cycling to have a low pH. Water changes are the best way to correct water quality issues. If your tank has not fully cycled you can keep your levels acceptable by doing more frequent water changes. This will extend your cycle but will also keep the ammonia and nitrites under control if they show up.

Also a newly cycled tank can be very delicate. It very much needs those weekly water changes to keep things in check. I would wait at least a week after your pH is under control before adding 1 or 2 small hardy fish. Your best friend is going to be time, patience, and water changes until it really gets established.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

what did you have in there to run the cycle? whats your salt content? whats a clean up crew? who have you been talking too> and whats the question? from what youve just said, somebodies really misinformed you.
no water changes after the tanks cycles, inless you want to start over.

Answer 5

maybe try a new testing kit. i know they arent cheap, but if your lfs is a reputable one, with competent workers, then more than likely they are getting a proper reading. keep up with the proper water changes, and do your tests, in due time with proper maintanence, you will see the desired water quality changes you want and need. good luck, ive been there.