newb help!!
 

hey guys i set up a 35 gallon cube aquarium and it looks like everything is dying. I put in sand and washed it. I also put live rock directly from another aquarium. It went through a mini cycle and all my parameters are in check.
ph 8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

I then added a xenia tree and a ricordea wich seemed to be doing great and then a couple days later i added a couple clown fish.

The water was really cloudy for a couple days but then cleared off a bit but it is still there today.

The xenia tree has just fallen over and look like its dying and the ricordia keeps shriveling up and has so slime on it. the clown fish just sit together in a corner and don't move.

I am also using city water and i add prime to it. also underneath i have a sump and the water is really clear in there.

Helllppp!!!

How old is the tank.

Get some carbon going

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...526_084629.jpg
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...526_084730.jpg
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...526_084804.jpg
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...526_084826.jpg

also at first my powerhead was a bit too strong and was moving sand around so i went and got a smaller one yesterday and it also hasn't made a difference.

the tank is 3 weeks old. i did have some carbon in there but took it out yesterday because i wasnt making a difference at all. I had put some in a filter sock and stuck it in the sump. Can i possibly be that there is still something in the sand or maybe my city water because i can smell the chlorine when it comes out of the tap

Yeah the run off water in spring has more chemicals in it.

But your tank is not old enough and your readings are probably not correct.
Leave the tank fallow for another month

your tank is brand new, this is likely part of why you are seeing this. its likely you might be moving a bit too fast, I would slow down, let the tank mature first, wait a few weeks yet before adding anything to it

ive tested my water with 2 different kits and the results are identical

What type of test kits are you using?

api saltwater

I've tossed my api, as they arent the most accurate. I would looking into salifert or elos personally

Was this alive when you added it??

It looks like ammonia to me. It might be crashing, how does it smell? Retest ammonia please.

it still is alive. just not too healthy.

ill go out and get a new kit and retest and let you guys know when i get back

I meant the big white skeleton, not the little greenish blob.

Skeleton? I just thought it was a rock. I picked it up from the aquaruim that i got my live rock from

Selling dead coral skeletons as live rock is the worst sign of an LFS. Don't give these bozos any more of your businesses.

Hey buddy:) give us your whole equipment list, livestock list including amount of rock and sand. How did you go about trasfwring it to your house? ?

If it doesn't look better by tomorrow text me in the morn Could swing by when I'm coming through Edmonton Sunday and help you get a plan going:)

looks to me like a lot of dry rock compared to live rock?.....if so, I would think that three weeks is too soon for two fish in tank with very little live rock.....slooooow down.....everything you add at this point is going to throw the tank out of balance....if you dont allow the tank to balance its self out between additions, it will be in a constant state of trying to catch up biologically to what you are adding, making the whole process an uphill battle....


get some water change water mixing and do a w/c, run some carbon somehow, look for some amquel or prime or prodibio "start"....the prodibio start would probably be the best route as it will both neutralize any ammonia and kick start the beneficial bacteria and help feed it

That tank looks extremely immature. Give it some time to age and buildup bacteria and micro organism populations. Once you've got some algae growing on the surfaces and little 'bugs' running around you'll be almost ready for some coral. My own recommendation is to wait 6 months before adding anything remotely difficult to keep and in my experience xenia and ricordia can be pretty sensitive. You may also want to seed your tank with a few pieces of matured live rock or sand from someone else's system. In addition to what equipment you're running also list your salinity and temperature please.

Yes, I think a big water change (don't use tap, you can get the "Great Value" distilled water at Walmart for cheap . . . In prepackaged jugs . . . Don't use the machine) is in order. A few big water changes are probably the best thing you can do for your tank right now. Mix it in a bucket (powerhead works well) to your tank's SG, bring it up to temp, siphon out tank water, and add the newly mixed saltwater. I'm sure you know is, but after some posts i've read on another forum . . . not everyone does.

The API test I have an issue with is the nitrate one. The ammonia and nitrite tests should be just fine for you right now.

You may need to add some bacteria (I know Red Coral has some products to help a tank cycle), and maybe some Ammo Lock. You might like to stuff a bag of Purigen into your overflow (or some where else all of the water will pass through).

I know you feel like crap right now, but don't worry. You'll get through this. We all have a lot to learn when we start out, and sometimes an answer to the challenges we face isn't easy or forthcoming. There will be livestock losses for one reason or another. That's a fact of reefing.

No need for a new ammonia test kit, even the cheap ones work fine for detecting ammonia. If that cloud is ammonia your nose will confirm Get your nose up near the surface and take a big whiff, if it smells nasty then you have a problem.

Any uneaten fish food pooled in a corner or in the filter?

hey i just got back from the lfs and talked to a few guys told them the story and showed them the pics and they say its a bacterial bloom. he gave me a bottle of microbacter7 to create bacteria but i dunno if this will be enough. The corals seem to look worse already. Does anyone want to babysit some corals and a couple clownfish for a bit? ill pay :biggrin:

no there isnt a bed smell or food either.

Do a 20 or 30% water change, add some carbon, ensure NH3 reads 0. Don't feed the tank anything for a couple days, or at most, drop in a couple of pellets for the fish and make sure they eat them.
The cloudiness is probably just a combo of bacterial bloom and new sand dust. Not a really terrible combination. Don't panic :) It's not that bad.

Make sure you keep the tank stable and cloud free for a month before adding anything else.

I wouldnt shop there they are obviously trying to make a buck off you rather then help you solve the problem. There are 100's of experience reefers on here to help you. Listen to them and problem solved.

I hear you and that's why im here. They didnt have any other tests kits other than the api. I bought the microbacter7 to see if it made a difference. This lfs isn't where i bought my live rock. I didnt buy it from a store.

+1

The problem with the pet stores is they might not have any more knowledge than you do but what they do have is lots of aging bottles of stock that they want to sell you.

I don't know Edmonton LFS but I am sure there are some good stores. Find a good one and then don't be shy and say "I am new to reefing I want to talk to your most experienced reefer."

As stated your best resource right now is here. Read previous threads, read the stickies and ask lots of questions.

First thing you need for us to help you is list your tank contents, hardware and history

I'd say you'll be OK if you take the advice here :wink:

I didn't realize he was from Edmonton,:) your very lucky we have lots of great stores here like red coral, blue world aquatics and marine aquaria, those are my top three not in any specific order for advice and good products. I would check them out also they are all members here which is an added bonus.

Ive been to all three of them and the service is phenomenal. I was recently in red coral and their tanks are amazing. Steve and his mom are great people to deal with.

Thats not really "Live Rock" thats Dead rock added back to the water.... Its not Alive yet.... When it goes purple and things are growning and runnning around all over it, then its live rock.....

This is live rock....

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=h...UBMAQ&dur=1303

Yours is Dead and white.....

What are you using as a filter???? (Sorry is i miss it)