How are my Paramiters??

[Mockmo]

So i just got dont changing my carbon but before i tested my water. I am a newb to saltwater aquariums, i have a 55 gallon tank with 60 pounds of live sand, and 63 pounds of live rock i have 2 clown fish and a yellow tang, some frogspawn, about 10 heads of candy canes, 2 small tourch heads, a small Trachyphyllia brain, 2 mushrooms, and a white anemone. my tank has been up for about 4 weeks it already cycle and i got the ok from 3 LFS to put in livestock about 3 weeks ago, the yellow tang has been in there for about 2 weeks clownfish about 3 days, and the coral and anemone about 2 weeks some just yesterday.

Phosphates = .25 ppm
calcium = 420 ppm
carbonate hardness (alkalinity) = 179 ppm KH
Nitrate = 15 ppm
pH = 8
ammonia = in between 0 and .25
nitrate = 0

I'm running a fluval 305 with carbon and filter pads in there, i just changed the carbon and pads today, skimmer will be up and running today.

is there anything that seems alarming or anything i need to worry about??

Thanks in advance.

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by Mockmo

So i just got dont changing my carbon but before i tested my water. I am a newb to saltwater aquariums, i have a 55 gallon tank with 60 pounds of live sand, and 63 pounds of live rock i have 2 clown fish and a yellow tang, some frogspawn, about 10 heads of candy canes, 2 small tourch heads, a small Trachyphyllia brain, 2 mushrooms, and a white anemone. my tank has been up for about 4 weeks it already cycle and i got the ok from 3 LFS to put in livestock about 3 weeks ago, the yellow tang has been in there for about 2 weeks clownfish about 3 days, and the coral and anemone about 2 weeks some just yesterday.

Phosphates = .25 ppm
calcium = 420 ppm
carbonate hardness (alkalinity) = 179 ppm KH
Nitrate = 15 ppm
pH = 8
ammonia = in between 0 and .25
nitrate = 0

I'm running a fluval 305 with carbon and filter pads in there, i just changed the carbon and pads today, skimmer will be up and running today.

is there anything that seems alarming or anything i need to worry about??

Thanks in advance.

ANY ammonia is a bad sign. Slow down on adding stuff. I personally believe adding a yellow tang and 2 clown fish that soon, is too fast. I wouldn't add another fish for a month or so. Watch your nitrates and ammonia for a few weeks.

Nitrates are a little high IMO for such a new tank. Well the first nitrate reading is at 15. The second says 0 but I am sure one of them is supposed to be nitrite.

Nothing good happens fast in this hobby. Slow down and be patient. Let the tank mature a little and balance out all the new additions.

[Mockmo]

the NITRITE is at 0 sorry for the misunderstanding

[IridescentLily]

Hi, Welcome.
The lfs person that said you were good to add livestock after having been cycled after one week is kinda irritating me. Be careful. Like the first poster saidlowers bit slower because You may have some problems creep up. For now keep watching things.
The "white anemone" worries me a little bit. Most (not all) anemones shouldn't be white. What does it look like or what did the lfs call it?

[Mockmo]

the reason why they said my tank is cycled is bcos of the bio-spira that i added at the begining which helps the tank cycle in like 3 days, as for the anemone im not sure of the name but its suppose to be white

[Angel*Fish]

I just read the instructions for the stuff, I don't know what to say other than I'm stunned and I hope you didn't use tap water (as per instructions).

At any rate, the ammonia either means you are not quite cycled or are having a mini cycle, which is more what it sounds like. A mini-cycle could be caused by adding animals faster than the denitrifying bacteria can increase its populations to keep up. So if the stuff is as good as it claims, adding another bottle should fix it. Slowing down will help also

[geccles]

Looks like you're still going through the initial cycle. The tank has only been up for 4 weeks and it was only up a week before livestock was added. Most anemones get way too big for that tank so you may want to see if you can take it back.

Just slow down, do a lot of reading, and you'll be OK.

[Mockmo]

i only use salt and ro water from LFS, thanks for all the quick responses

[crobattt]

couple things

It seems you're taking all you info from your lfs, remember they're salesmen and are there to make money off of you. Nothing aganist them, but that's their job.

Honestly, you may not be cycled, and you may not be allowing enough time for the bio-load that your fish are making to be turned into to nitrates. I would wait a little longer and let the bacteria grow more, that way your ammonia and nitrites will go down. Until then i would do a water change maybe 10% hopefully this will lower the ammonia, and bring up the Ph.

Also you have a yellow tang in a 55 gallon? whats the size on it?

[Mockmo]

its about 2 inches, its a smaller yellow tang. And my nitrites are at 0 ppm

[pmgaudio]

I am still wondering how ANYTHING LIVE can live on a shelf for months!>?!? Turbostart has a one minth REFRIGERATED shelf life cause it contains actual LIVE bacteria. Now while I have not used it YET (New tank in a week) I have heard fantastic stuff . NOTHING LIVES IN A BOTTLE ON A SHELF

[Angel*Fish]

Bacteria are amazing. Some have been known to survive on meteorites, but generally they hate Chlorox

[Dyzio545]

Another thing. When adding too much livestock too fast, the bioload increases and the biological/nitrifying bacterias cannot catch up with it. For you right now, I recommend just monitoring your livestock as is and not adding anything for a while. I also would say that you should buy Zeo Bak drops. This increases your biological bacteria that is crucial in an aquarium. Dose 2 drops per 50 gallons twice a week. Turn off your skimmer for an hour or so.

[Mockmo]

oh and i forgot to mention my water is not as clear as it was

[Dyzio545]

Originally Posted by Mockmo

oh and i forgot to mention my water is not as clear as it was

Run some carbon or Chemi pure elite. That will clear up your water.

[briankmarsh1980]

Agree you added fish to soon I would do some water changes every couple days to keep your params in check. And for the nem does a CONDY (Condylactis gigantea) ring a bell ?

[Rockys_Pride]

I know it sounds like a lot, but everyone is basically saying the same thing.
Be sure to check your media filters in your fluval. While it can be ok, it's really easiest to get rid of it now and replace it with a sump.
Also, have you picked up any books? I would suggest reading The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner and The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paletta. You can probably find them at your local library, that's where I found mine. If they don't read the book by Paletta first, it's cheapest and readily available at your local PetCo.
You'll want to take back the yellow though, even though he's good for now. He'll grow up and be stressed, getting ich, then you got all sorts of issues. You can probably get a Tomini Tang, they are smaller and look way better if you ask me. When you're reading the book by Paletta, be sure to check out the fish chapter. It'll clearly state the addition standards, in relation to aggressiveness, of new fish.
To reiterate what everyone else says, slow down. You'll have a freaking sweet tank in no time. BTW, what kind of flow do you have in there?

[briankmarsh1980]

I would also look into trading the yellow at some point for a smaller sized tang like a tomini or kole. I have a yellow eye kole in my 60

[Angel*Fish]

Mockmo, what are your nitrites, nitrates and ammonia today?

[jlong11]

well another sign of a tank being cloudy could be a very strong ammonia cycle if it gets high enough it can start to cloud the tank like everyone has said my suggestion would be to just take everything out because all the coral and anemones will die with ammonia present for a long period i learned from experience even though the bottles of bacteria claim to cycle in a couple days the tank is going to do its natural cycle eventually so i think its best to do it naturally the first time and be very patient i usually wait at least 4-6 weeks and i try to overload with ammonia that way the bacteria will build up very strong but patience is definitely the key

[Dono]

Those yellow tangs sure are poop machines. This early in your tanks "cycle" I would say the tang and extra livestock is what's causing it.

Also, just for your clarification on tank "cycling":

I really hate how LFS's and even people around here tell newcomers to the hobby that there is a definitive point to where a tank is 'cycled'. Yes, it is true, there is a point where your tank has enough minimal bacteria to break down Ammonia > Nitrite > Nitrate, but all this says is that your tank is only capable (for the time being) of being able to handle whatever die-off or breakdown you provided it with.

Over the course of your first few months you slowly add things like Snails & Hermits (week 3-4) > Nano or first fish (week 5-6) and so on and so forth slowly adding to your tank. Each time your 'reef cycle' is growing the capability to breakdown more ammonia and nitrite produced by your livestock.

It is a cycle, and cycles dont end. treat it as such.

[Dono]

edit: double post

[Mockmo]

Wow thanks for all of the advice, i will be checking my water here in a few hours and i will let you guys know what i get, the water seems to have cleared up a bit but my lights lights still havent switched on.

Another question i have my
blue lights coming on 1pm -10pm (9hrs)
white lights from 2pm -9pm (7 hrs)
moon lights from 10pm - 1pm (15 hrs)

my question is am i keeping the moonlights on for too long, do i need to keep all the lights off at any point in time?

And Condylactis gigantea sounds right lol

[jlong11]

where is your tank located and rule of thumb try to recreate the natural living conditions but from what u said it doesnt sound to bad its good to keep the daylights down a little but i mean everyone has there own opinion the more coral soft or hard the more light and more time there needed on but first thing first try to get your tank to get a little more stable

[jlong11]

i mean is your tank in a room where there is no sunlight in the room or is the room lighted with the sun even if its not super bright