Help with New Tank

Cynfull653 · 06/20/2006, 11:52 AM

Im looking for some help on wether I should do a water change and how to get my numbers okay so I can start enjoying some fish action
I recieved a 150 gallon tank that had 3 large damsels but had a lot of algae we broke it down moved it and it is now up and running fine
Salinity 1.023
Temp82
Ammonia1.0
Nitrites.25
Nitrates15
I have done some reading and questions to my lfs and am confused as what my next step should be should I have the numbers for nitrate nitrite and ammonia at 0 before adding fish to cycle? Should I do a water change at what percent??
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as everyones differnt views are very confusing...TY

hawaiianwargod · 06/20/2006, 12:15 PM

Cynfull653

To Reef Central

hawaiianwargod · 06/20/2006, 12:22 PM

Ammonia1.0
Nitrites.25
Nitrates15
These numbers should be zeroes...except for nitrates. It can be done with proper filtration such as using skimmer and using macro algae to lower nitrates. if the tank still cylcling just wait for a few days and change water around 10 % every two weeks. If no more ammonia and nitrites shows up on your test, it should be good to add few fish and work your way up. hth!

'02CaReef · 06/20/2006, 12:29 PM

IMO, you should not add any fish because your tank has not complete the cycle -- presence of Ammonia and Nitrite. When they reach 0, you can do water change to reduce the Nitrate. Then if this is a fish only tank, you can add fish... slowly because fishes can tolerate some Nitrates. For now you can leave the tank alone to complete its cycle. Putting live rocks or supermarket shrimp in the tank will help accelerate the process. Don't cycle with live fish.

delor · 06/20/2006, 04:59 PM

Glad to see you are rescuing a tank. I would highly reccommend WaterKeepers threads for your learning experience. They are very informative yet still fun to read.

I would start here .

Good luck and have fun.

And remember the only things that happen quickly in a saltwater aquarium are BAD things.....

06/20/2006, 11:52 AM	#1
Cynfull653 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Arizona Posts: 37	Help with New Tank Im looking for some help on wether I should do a water change and how to get my numbers okay so I can start enjoying some fish action I recieved a 150 gallon tank that had 3 large damsels but had a lot of algae we broke it down moved it and it is now up and running fine Salinity 1.023 Temp82 Ammonia1.0 Nitrites.25 Nitrates15 I have done some reading and questions to my lfs and am confused as what my next step should be should I have the numbers for nitrate nitrite and ammonia at 0 before adding fish to cycle? Should I do a water change at what percent?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as everyones differnt views are very confusing...TY

06/20/2006, 12:15 PM	#2
hawaiianwargod Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: 11 54' N, 121 55' E Posts: 1,836	Cynfull653 *To Reef Central* __________________ "To be a successful reefer, one must master the art of mimicry" ~Hawaiianwargod~ [E] levated [L] evel [O] f [S] weetness Current Tank Info: 210+ - "G" Elos 160XL [~]

06/20/2006, 12:22 PM	#3
hawaiianwargod Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: 11 54' N, 121 55' E Posts: 1,836	Ammonia1.0 Nitrites.25 Nitrates15 These numbers should be zeroes...except for nitrates. It can be done with proper filtration such as using skimmer and using macro algae to lower nitrates. if the tank still cylcling just wait for a few days and change water around 10 % every two weeks. If no more ammonia and nitrites shows up on your test, it should be good to add few fish and work your way up. hth! __________________ "To be a successful reefer, one must master the art of mimicry" ~Hawaiianwargod~ [E] levated [L] evel [O] f [S] weetness Current Tank Info: 210+ - "G" Elos 160XL [~]

06/20/2006, 04:59 PM	#5
delor Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 1,124	Glad to see you are rescuing a tank. I would highly reccommend WaterKeepers threads for your learning experience. They are very informative yet still fun to read. I would start here . Good luck and have fun. And remember the only things that happen quickly in a saltwater aquarium are BAD things..... __________________ Surviving is different than thriving! Current Tank Info: Current: 90 gal RR reef tank, LED. Old:55gal RR, 440W VHO, 80# LR, LS, 20gal sump, SCWD. 5 gallon nano, 75 gal FOWLR

06/20/2006, 12:29 PM	#4
'02CaReef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 160	IMO, you should not add any fish because your tank has not complete the cycle -- presence of Ammonia and Nitrite. When they reach 0, you can do water change to reduce the Nitrate. Then if this is a fish only tank, you can add fish... slowly because fishes can tolerate some Nitrates. For now you can leave the tank alone to complete its cycle. Putting live rocks or supermarket shrimp in the tank will help accelerate the process. Don't cycle with live fish.