If I have nitrates, am I good to go?

[lmsmith]

I moved LR from my old tank to my new setup. The old tank was fully cycled and up and running for 4 years. If my nitrates are reading 5 after 48 hours, that means the nitrate cycle has started and I'm good to move the fish over, right?

[bnumair]

what r the ammonia and nitrite reading. nitrates can be 5 due t moving rocks around. check for ammonia and nitrites. and feed the tank for few days to see if ammonia buildsup. if it doesnt build up then yes ur good to go.

[kevin32]

I would wait a bit longer to see how it goes. Just to make sure.

[hollister]

How many fish? I would spread it out over a few weeks if possible.

[lmsmith]

I don't test either nitrite or ammonia, I've never had a need to. The tank they're in had LR moved in it too so there Will be a level of decay in there too. I think if they're at least at my house, I can check them and do water changes.

[lmsmith]

Fish - blue tang, 2 clowns and a dottyback. At the moment they're living in a small tank with not enough water changes, so I think I'd rather move them.

[Stu Pickles]

Why ask for advice if your not willing to take it? You should test ammonia and nitrites.

[bnumair]

unless u test ammonia and nitrites and feed the tank for few dys to check if levels go up there is really no way to know if tank is cycled or not. using live rock from an existing 4 yrs setup is not a guarentee that its good. moving/transfering LR can cause mini cycles and those mini cycles can easily kill fish.
i think those 2 tests along with ghost feeding will be ur best investment before u go buy fish and they dont survive.

[lmsmith]

Originally Posted by bnumair

unless u test ammonia and nitrites and feed the tank for few dys to check if levels go up there is really no way to know if tank is cycled or not. using live rock from an existing 4 yrs setup is not a guarentee that its good. moving/transfering LR can cause mini cycles and those mini cycles can easily kill fish.
i think those 2 tests along with ghost feeding will be ur best investment before u go buy fish and they dont survive.

I already HAVE the fish, and they're currently living in a smaller tank that has had LR moved in it too. It's just about which tank will be less risky for them, and I think the tank at my house that I can monitor is safer.

[bnumair]

small amounts of ammonia can burn gills and damage organs without u knowing.
anyways u have it ur way and i just hope best for those fish.
really if u cant get 2 test kits that cost maybe less than $10 then ur in a wrong hobby.
good luck to you and ur fish(they need it more)

Note: i just pray that ur LR brought enough bacteria to stablize the bio load put on them. thats the only way they will survive.

[lmsmith]

Originally Posted by bnumair

small amounts of ammonia can burn gills and damage organs without u knowing.
anyways u have it ur way and i just hope best for those fish.
really if u cant get 2 test kits that cost maybe less than $10 then ur in a wrong hobby.
good luck to you and ur fish(they need it more)

Note: i just pray that ur LR brought enough bacteria to stablize the bio load put on them. thats the only way they will survive.

The bigger issue is that there's nowhere open that stocks test kits. The earliest I can get test kits is tomorrow, which means they have to be in either tank a or tank b until then. And man, i wish they were $10 here! (everything fishy in NZ is about 4 times the price of the US, and marine stuff isnt stocked at many places) Both tank a and b have had rock moved, one within my control, and the other not. It's not the money of the test it's, but rather that it's past 4pm on a Sunday and all the petshops at closed.

The difference is if the fish are at my place I can monitor them and do water changes if necessary. If they aren't at my house they'll be in the same conditions but unmonitored.

Ps I didn't mean to yell before, I'm o n my iPad and this thing has a mind of its own. It tried to correct ammonia to lollipops before :/

[bnumair]

man i am not mad at you. and i totally understand the 12 hrs difference in time and difficulty obtaining test kits.
in ur case just have some saltwater made to do water change if they start looking lazy and puffing and restless.
i strongly recommend doing 10% water change every 24 yrs till u get the kits or have water tested. if ur ammonia and nitrites are at 0 then yes ur good to go.

So you think the Kiwi's are ready to take the Indies in up coming cricket tour?

[cloak]

Originally Posted by lmsmith

I moved LR from my old tank to my new setup. The old tank was fully cycled and up and running for 4 years. If my nitrates are reading 5 after 48 hours, that means the nitrate cycle has started and I'm good to move the fish over, right?

Five's cool. It could be a HELL of a lot worse... Which test kit?

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

[lmsmith]

Originally Posted by cloak

Five's cool. It could be a HELL of a lot worse... Which test kit?

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

The new fancy pants red sea ones.

[lmsmith]

Originally Posted by bnumair

man i am not mad at you. and i totally understand the 12 hrs difference in time and difficulty obtaining test kits.
in ur case just have some saltwater made to do water change if they start looking lazy and puffing and restless.
i strongly recommend doing 10% water change every 24 yrs till u get the kits or have water tested. if ur ammonia and nitrites are at 0 then yes ur good to go.

So you think the Kiwi's are ready to take the Indies in up coming cricket tour?

I use NSW and live about 5min from the ocean, and also have enough stored for a 100% water change. I was going to do a 20% before they go in, 20% every 8 hours until I can get the test kits. The good news is the corals I moved are looking great, and the rock was never taken out of the water so that should have minimized things.

I forgot how stressful moving fish is!

Thanks

[smsreefer]

You moved 4yr old established live rock into the new tank and are using NSW ?
You were ready to put swap everything else over 48hrs ago.
Your live rock will handle the tiny spike you might get.

[jerpa]

I agree. If you moved established rock from your tank to another and kept it wet there should have been no cycle. You may have had a small spike that is showing as nitrates now but you should have no additional cycle. I've done this twice in the past year. Now to be fair I always tested for ammonia an hour or two after I moved the rock and before adding the livestock back in but never saw any ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate.

[mfinn]

As long as the live rock wasn't out of the water for any lenght of time, the bacteria in the live rock will handle any small ammonia spike, provided there is enough live rock. You didn't say how much.
I have moved live rock from one tank to another, then moved fish and corals in the same day with no problems.

[MrTuskfish]

Originally Posted by mfinn

As long as the live rock wasn't out of the water for any lenght of time, the bacteria in the live rock will handle any small ammonia spike, provided there is enough live rock. You didn't say how much.
I have moved live rock from one tank to another, then moved fish and corals in the same day with no problems.

Sure. Quickly moving established & functioning LR into NSW should never cause a problem. What is there to start an ammonia spike, "stressed'' bacteria?