Sorry. I keep adding to my posts.
As far as ammonia killing everything on your live rock......not really. Decomposing shrimp or fish food won't spike fast enough. If you dumped in too much pure liquid ammonia, yes....possibly.
need quick advice- TANK HEALTH AT RISK
26 posts • Page 2 of 3
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blueshoes2208 - Posts: 1077
- Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:01 pm
okay hum... is pure ammonia still an option? and this may seem like a stupid question but does the ammonia lvls jus go down over time as well as the nitrites?
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schigara - Posts: 468
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:42 pm
Pure ammonia is still an option but most people shun the idea for people who have never had a tank before because, using it is a shortcut and doesn't help to teach patience like the shrimp, flake or pellet food method for introducing ammonia to start the cycle.
In any case, you need to go and get 3 kits from Petco.
1.Ammonia
2. Nitrite
3. Nitrate
You could pull the shrimp and add .5 (one half or 1/2) teaspoon of pure ammonia for your 70 gallon tank and then check an hour or so later to see what the ammonia level in the water is with the test kit. You want 2.5 - 5 ppm ammonia level.
I'd say stick with the shrimp and just wait for it to decompose for a week and check then with the test kit.
If you want to go with liquid ammonia, you MUST find a clear, 100% pure ammonia that states on the label it contains zero surfactants. This means, no dyes or fragrances, etc. Shake the bottle.....there should be no bubbles or foam at the top of the bottle. It can be difficult sometimes to find truly pure ammonia, so be very careful.
In any case, you need to go and get 3 kits from Petco.
1.Ammonia
2. Nitrite
3. Nitrate
You could pull the shrimp and add .5 (one half or 1/2) teaspoon of pure ammonia for your 70 gallon tank and then check an hour or so later to see what the ammonia level in the water is with the test kit. You want 2.5 - 5 ppm ammonia level.
I'd say stick with the shrimp and just wait for it to decompose for a week and check then with the test kit.
If you want to go with liquid ammonia, you MUST find a clear, 100% pure ammonia that states on the label it contains zero surfactants. This means, no dyes or fragrances, etc. Shake the bottle.....there should be no bubbles or foam at the top of the bottle. It can be difficult sometimes to find truly pure ammonia, so be very careful.
Last edited by schigara on Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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schigara - Posts: 468
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:42 pm
By the way, there is no hurry or rush. The bacteria and living creatures in and on your live rock will be just fine for as a long as a few weeks without any food or ammonia.
Remember, patience is the best thing to have in this hobby.
Remember, patience is the best thing to have in this hobby.
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blueshoes2208 - Posts: 1077
- Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:01 pm
ehhh ill jus wait it out haha i really am in no hurry ill jus watch my lil dead shimp float around down there haha to give you an idea of my patience i started researching this back in february or so, only got the tank in july the filter in august and here i am in september jus now got water :) what can i say, thanks for your help schig btw
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Snowboss4492 - Posts: 2098
- Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:24 pm
Blue,
Schigara is giving you the most solid thorough advise I've seen to date, we all have opinions and prctices of our own that work and don't work, not to put anyone off but at this stage of "newness" i would strongly suggest listening to one or maybe two people ...........it's very easy to get confused from information overload {been there done that, lol} after you have established your system, then it's time to pick everyones brains for information on specific fish etc etc
great presentation Schigara, I'm taking notes, lol
Boss
Schigara is giving you the most solid thorough advise I've seen to date, we all have opinions and prctices of our own that work and don't work, not to put anyone off but at this stage of "newness" i would strongly suggest listening to one or maybe two people ...........it's very easy to get confused from information overload {been there done that, lol} after you have established your system, then it's time to pick everyones brains for information on specific fish etc etc
great presentation Schigara, I'm taking notes, lol
Boss
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blueshoes2208 - Posts: 1077
- Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:01 pm
haha yeah the part where if i accidentally get ammonia that has something in it or if i use too much it could kill my poor rock.. which has some cool lookng plant/ spider things so i think ill jus hang back and stuff
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schigara - Posts: 468
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:42 pm
Thanks Boss. I appreciate the sentiment
Blue,
That's cool. I never wanted you to switch over to another method It just seemed like you were a bit anxious because of the heading of the post and just wanted to show you all the options available to you and ultimately advised you to stay with your current course of action with the shrimp.
I would like to suggest a book for your library or any other salt junkie out there. It is, "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner". It is an excellent read that covers all the basic and many advanced ideas about saltwater fish and reef tanks.
I got this book about a year ago and still find it to be great after having 4 years of tank experience and many hundreds of hours of reading online. It is not too much for someone new and is not too little for someone with experience.
Blue,
That's cool. I never wanted you to switch over to another method It just seemed like you were a bit anxious because of the heading of the post and just wanted to show you all the options available to you and ultimately advised you to stay with your current course of action with the shrimp.
I would like to suggest a book for your library or any other salt junkie out there. It is, "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner". It is an excellent read that covers all the basic and many advanced ideas about saltwater fish and reef tanks.
I got this book about a year ago and still find it to be great after having 4 years of tank experience and many hundreds of hours of reading online. It is not too much for someone new and is not too little for someone with experience.
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puffedupseagull - Posts: 623
- Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:38 am
Hey there Blueshoes.
Sorry for not being around, been underground mining for coal, well actually fixing machinery underground. had a miner stuck near the coal seam and needed it back online, took 3 days. 16hours, 4 hour break and then back in. Not happy.
Anyways Schigara is right. Prawn in tank and make water go rotten. Ammonia will increase, then come down, then Nitrite will increase then go down, once that has happened nitrate should gradually increase. Like i say because you wont have anything in there straight away nitrate should only increase minimally. Dont 100% agree on adding any chemicals, the prawn (shrimp) should be enough. My tank cycled in 1 mth with just that. And you say there seems to be life on the rock, you want that to live, better in the long run. Your on the right track. Mate if you want instant reply dont hesitate to private message me.
Cheers
Sorry for not being around, been underground mining for coal, well actually fixing machinery underground. had a miner stuck near the coal seam and needed it back online, took 3 days. 16hours, 4 hour break and then back in. Not happy.
Anyways Schigara is right. Prawn in tank and make water go rotten. Ammonia will increase, then come down, then Nitrite will increase then go down, once that has happened nitrate should gradually increase. Like i say because you wont have anything in there straight away nitrate should only increase minimally. Dont 100% agree on adding any chemicals, the prawn (shrimp) should be enough. My tank cycled in 1 mth with just that. And you say there seems to be life on the rock, you want that to live, better in the long run. Your on the right track. Mate if you want instant reply dont hesitate to private message me.
Cheers
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fihsboy - Posts: 1837
- Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:20 pm
Do you suppose you could just pee in your tank? Thats pretty much pure ammonia......that would certainly start a cycle.....Just curious....
