Help!! Tank Crashing?!

[sdnd]

So still new to the hobby, thought my tank was doing fine the other day when all water parameters were at 0. Water yesterday got a little hot, got up to 83..was trying to keep it between 80-82.

Well checked phosphate and nitrate levels last nite and they are way up. nitrates up to 40, and i've noticed that a lot more "stuff" is floating in the tank as of yesterday...don't know if that had to do with me turning on 2 powerheads at the same time or not, cuz I know that it did stir up the sand a bit.

stats:
90g tank with trapezoid middle overflow.
20g sump with sock + return pump
2 hydor 1400s (only using 1 now since it seems 2 was too much)
60lbs live sand
60lbs mixed live rocks plus some corals

any idea what i should do?

i was thinking of changing out 25% water tonite and see if that helps control the levels. any suggestions be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[toromp]

Are you still cycling??

 

[toromp]

Post up all your parameters ASAP!!

 

[sdnd]

the day before everything was 0.

ph 8
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0

then yesterday i just tested nitrates & phosphates and the hardness of the water.
phosphates was high forgot the number off top of my head
nitrates was 40

salinity is about 1.026 using 2/3 NSW and 1/3 established water from another tank I got rocks/corals from.

 

[sdnd]

water's been going for almost 2 wks with the sand and filtration.
just added rock last week, so 1 wk post rocks.

everything was looking good till yesterday.
the water just seems to have more debris floating around since the other day, after i added the extra powerhead. but i have since then stopped it, in hopes of the sand settling but i don't think its sand.

 

[toromp]

..so lemme get if straight, you are currently cycling correct?

 

[toromp]

If you don't have any livestock in your tank, I wouldent stress bro. And as far as the "too much flow" ..no such thing as too much! Just keep in mind that you don't want your sand bed to be disturbed, if the powerheads are moving if sand around, position them so they cannot do that. This also could have been due to the sand you added, happened to me recently I added new sand, and it spiked my phosphates and nitrates.

water's been going for almost 2 wks with the sand and filtration.
just added rock last week, so 1 wk post rocks.

everything was looking good till yesterday.
the water just seems to have more debris floating around since the other day, after i added the extra powerhead. but i have since then stopped it, in hopes of the sand settling but i don't think its sand.

 

[sdnd]

well i tried positioning it in all different ways but it seems like the sand keeps getting stirred. i have fine sugar sand. should i add some grain to it to keep it a lil settled more?

well sand wasn't added, it was already in there for at least 2wks. so don't know if the spike could be from the powerhead stirring up the sand?

no livestock yet other then some corals, just don't want them dying off.
was hoping to put in a chromi at the end of the week to see how the water is.

should i still do a water change tonite? 20-25%? and add in a bottle of bio-spira bacteria to speed up the cycling time?

thanks for the input!!!

 

[toromp]

I don't think its cuz of the powerhead stirring up the sand, I think its just part of cycling man.. maybe it started a small cycle, as far as the phosphates.. I'm stumped, I don't think doing a water change will help you cycle faster.. you should also clean out/replace your filter sock, that could also be the problem.

 

[sdnd]

yea i was going to clean out the sock tonite, or do ppl usually just replace it with a new one?

the booklet says if phosphates levels are up, then i need to do a water change...but i just thought i'd ask the community first b4 i go ahead with it.

well i will check levels again tonite and if it's still high mite just clean the sock out and wait another day? is it harmful to the corals?

tia!

 

[fishboi]

Wow that's really high nitrate. You should get some chaetos because that will help with the nitrate a lot. I have it in my sump and my nitrate level is at 0. You can try putting a chromi in there since there pretty hardy.

 

[dorkymk3]

I would run without the filter sock for now until you start inserting live stocks and begin feeding. Try facing your powerheads upwards towards the top of the surface. What kind of sand are you running? Usually if your running fine grain sand you will get a sand storm. Also your tank is still in the middle of cycling. I would do a slight water change probably 5-10g at most.

 

[GoReef165]

I'm confused... you mention up for 2 weeks and are stressing about nitrates being high? You also mention about your corals? You have corals in the tank while cycling? Is it just me? What am I missing here? You need to leave the tank pretty much empty for about 4 weeks other than live rock. Then start doing weekly water changes to bring your nitrates down. Nitrates are a bi-product of nitrites which are deadly. Add only hardy corals back into the tank slowly. Pace your self. Patience in this hobby will save you lot's of $$$ and frustration.

 

[5ft24]

So still new to the hobby, thought my tank was doing fine the other day when all water parameters were at 0. Water yesterday got a little hot, got up to 83..was trying to keep it between 80-82.

Well checked phosphate and nitrate levels last nite and they are way up. nitrates up to 40, and i've noticed that a lot more "stuff" is floating in the tank as of yesterday...don't know if that had to do with me turning on 2 powerheads at the same time or not, cuz I know that it did stir up the sand a bit.

stats:
90g tank with trapezoid middle overflow.
20g sump with sock + return pump
2 hydor 1400s (only using 1 now since it seems 2 was too much)
60lbs live sand
60lbs mixed live rocks plus some corals

any idea what i should do?

i was thinking of changing out 25% water tonite and see if that helps control the levels. any suggestions be greatly appreciated!!!

You are cycling the tank... the temp climbing probably made a bacteria bloom, which would have come sooner or later anyway. Water from an established tank won't do anything for cycling etc... The bacteria is in the rock and sand, not the water column. With the water, did you mix it yourself, and if so, what water did you use? RO/DI or tap water?
If tap water, start doing water changes and ONLY use RO/DI... tap water has copper and other crud in it that is detrimental to the saltwater critters, fish and coral.
Also, do you have a Phosphate reactor? if not, get one and use GFO in it... Phosphates kill coral even at low concentrations....

 

[Armen]

Just keep doing water changes.
Make sure with a good water.

 

[sdnd]

TIA for all the replies.
Some recap...so the water I'm using is NSW from Scripps...the water I got when I got some rocks from an established tank breakdown was stuff that he had mixed himself. The reason for the corals is because I bought the rocks from the guy and he had corals on there already...so it wasn't anything that I added myself...the corals looked like they are doing good...just don't want them dying on me soon since all these spikes in phosphate and nitrates.

I will do a water change tonite and clean out the sock.

I'm trying to be as patient as possible that's why I haven't bought any fish yet. I was going to get some CUC to help the tank, but maybe I'll wait on that till this whole issue is resolved.

 

[danagui]

Technically nitrates are not considered toxic unless it's in high concentration....at about 20-30ppm u start getting die off on ur rock and sand that will cause ammonia, nitrite and phosphate to spike....since ur in ur cycle I'd say ur tank is doing fine....just keep up with water changes until it's stabilized

 

[BeanMachine]

IMO havin nitrates and no ammonia or nitrite means your tank has cycled. Did you notice if you ever got any type of ammonia or nitrite reading?

Water changes are the best way to remove nitrate. Just give it time. Don't add any livestock including a chromis... No point in that othe than to stress out the poor little fish.

 

[Clifford]

IMO havin nitrates and no ammonia or nitrite means your tank has cycled. Did you notice if you ever got any type of ammonia or nitrite reading?

Water changes are the best way to remove nitrate. Just give it time. Don't add any livestock including a chromis... No point in that othe than to stress out the poor little fish.

+1 Its common for the nitrates to spike after you have colonized enough bacteria to handle nitrite and ammonia. Do a water change, add 16oz of activated carbon, and get something to control your phosphates either GFO or Ecobak. Biggest ? is what is the current condition of the inhabitants. Radical changes in any direction cause stress on them. Like others have said relax and go slow.

 

[james-lee]

Do you have a skimmer by chance? I noticed in your first post you didnt mention a skimmer but had everything else listed.