mayB parasites, and nitrite, ammonia, nitrate problems

[JonV88]

Hi I'm new to the saltwater care and I've had my 6 gallon biotube tank for about a month in a half now recently I've been having Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate problems been feeding my only fish very little every other day same with my fire shrimp, and every three days 50% water changes and vacuuming the gravel, and cleaning off algae that grows every 2 days with a sponge before vacuuming, I dunno why my nitrites and nitrates keep rising, and recently saw somthing that I think is a parasites today I bought kordon ich attack and used it to see if it would help, my coral has been weird in and out since I got it and my levels have been fine until this last week, now my fish is getting white spots, any advice for a newB

[Kennyleary93]

Did you let your tank go through the cycling process?

[JonV88]

yes

[JonV88]

i also used agra-live gravel that was opened for about a week i dunno if that matters

[Kennyleary93]

Do you have any live rock?

[JonV88]

no i dont

[smtank]

What is the rock structure to the left of the coral?
Need parameters/values for nitrites and nitrates. Basically you should not have nitrites in a completely cycled tank.
Do not add chemicals like kordon ich attack, or any chemicals unless you're sure you have a correct ID.

Basically you're tank is too young and too small. Picos are hardier to keep stable when established let alone a newly set up one.

Do smaller water changes in the future, stay away from stony corals for a while. If this fish dies I would wait another month or two before adding another.

Good Luck

[JonV88]

its an artificial rock i got from Petland

[smtank]

Is it salt water safe?

I would get some dry base rock or cured live rock for the tank.

[BlindZide]

Seems like you have VERY little bio filtration in there. A live rock would be more suitable. Those white things pictured on the glass look like pods or snails not a parasite.

What test kit are you using? How often do you test?

I would add some Live Rock as stated above. Your tank will go through another cycle with that. If the fish survives I would remove and drop it in a QT tank for treatment and if it does have ick, no fish for 8-12 weeks.

[JonV88]

I Don't have snails, don't know what pods are, but are they harmful?

[BlindZide]

No. Pods are a form of filtration and food for inhabitants who eat them.

[JonV88]

So what does it mean when pods start appearing on coral and the glass

[smtank]

Welcome to the wonderful world of saltwater,

Research is your friend. If you want to succeed in this hobby research first buy later.

Pods is a catch all term for zooplanktons and arthropods types that become part of the normal fauna of your tank, once the tank becomes established.

I recommend researching biological filter for marine systems and the nitrogen cycle.
Next water chemistry.

[JonV88]

Ok thanks I use API reef and saltwater master test kits

[JonV88]

I have a bio wheel on my filter

[BlindZide]

Nothing at all. Mine are usually on my glass first thing in the morning and a little after when my lights go out at night. Mostly nocturnal but baby snails can hitch hike on corals as well. Just because you don't have any snails in your tank doesn't mean you couldn't bring them home on the corals and in the future the rocks.

In your situation, I would add a little live rock at a time to keep the cycles minimal. Maybe 1-2 lbs per week up until you reach the 1-1.5lbs/gallon. Most people do not follow the 1-1.5lbs/gallon anymore but it is still something to aim for. You could even do a few pieces of base rock with live rock to seed it. Will come out cheaper in the long run, it may just take longer for the bacteria to encase the base rock.

After you do that you will have sufficient bio filtration in your tank. I would also advise you to invest in a nano protein skimmer since you are going to be keeping corals. Corals like dirty water, but not super dirty water. That combined with your regular water changes would make life a whole lot easier for you and your inhabitants.

[BlindZide]

I would chuck the Bio Wheel and any filter it comes with. Instead maybe add filterfloss in place to catch large debris and rinse weekly. You can also add live rock rubble in there as well as Chaeto** (Sp).

API is notorious for wrong readings. It got me for about 2-3 weeks before I decided to give another test kit a try and compare with my LFS. I can officially say I use Red Sea Pro kits and they are WAY better than API.

[JonV88]

thanks for the advice, any ideas where i could find a filter to fit my tank
http://www.petco.com/product/118203/...TanksAquariums

[JonV88]

im hoping to get a bigger one by newyears

[BlindZide]

Considering your size of tank, if that biowheel or any other type of mechanical filter gets loaded with waste your parameters will sky rocket. I am guessing this is why you are having issues now. I would rid your tank of the bio wheel or any mechanical filtration. Add LR rubble to where the bio wheel is.

I would then be very vigilant on water changes. During the water changes vac the gravel as much as you can. If you don't have snails or hermits, I would get a few.

[JonV88]

Went out and bought live rock and 2 blue legged hermits, 2morrow I should be getting 2 turbo snails and a nano protein skimmer took out the artificial rock, it appears like rust at the bottom, hopefully that resolves my ammonia nitrate nitrite problem doing a cleaning water change 2morrow I'll keep you guys updated thank you so much

[JonV88]

Yes they look like hollow worms never seen one move though, I'll take a better pic and post it up 2night

[JonV88]

I recently got live rock and also saw a few on that