New Tank Problems

Three weeks ago i started to set up my 3 gallon eclipse tank. this is my first sw tank, which I know isn't the best place to start, but i've kept a lot of freshwater tanks.

Anyway, three weeks ago I set up the tank, added four pounds of cured live rock, a rio 50 power-head, stock filter, and some pool filter sand. After two weeks the water perimeters were fine so I added green button zoas. Almost a week later, the lfs again said the water was ok, but for some reason the zoas weren't all opening. So I added a little seachem reef builder.

Yesterda (three weeks after initial set-up) I purchased a small fish, and a shrimp, and decided to add 2 pounds of live sand from an established tank to maybe help with filtration.

I checked the water before adding anything, and to my surprise there was some ammonia!!! I don't know why this would have JUST happened. So I did a 50% water change, added the live sand, and superbac, then added the fish. i again checked the water, and there was still a little ammonia, so I added some prime to make it non-toxic for the fish (the bottle said it was safe for use when cycling). I'm scared too because there is no nitrite, which means it is JUST beginning to cycle, right? Why would the cycle have waited two weeks to begin?

The zoa is still not looking good. Should I take them back to the store until the tank is cylced? What should i do make sure nothing dies? Daily water changes, more prime, etc.? PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

 

3 weeks is a short cycle cycles take atleast a month

 

i dont nessarly think small tanks are harder just more mantince just keep up on top offs but just go slow i would wait atleast a month for your first fish and more for corals but thats just me

 

the most important thing is patience to a successful reef tank.
adding any live rock or live sand to an established or "cycled" tank will trigger a small cycle which will trigger some ammonia in the tank, so in your case, the live sand you added probably triggered that cycle..
50% water change is pretty dramatic, especially to a 3G tank, water changes during cycling period will just disrupt the cycle..
at this point in time, as hard as it is to get rid of your live stock and wait patiently for the cycle to finish, I would strongly suggest doing so..

 

Everytime you add live rock or sand you will restart a cycle. This is most likely what happened. Also, when you add a fish, a spike can be normal. What kind of fish?
Stop with the prime and water changes. The tank needs to catch up to itself. Adding prime or water changes will only prolong the cycle and make things worse.
As to whether or not you take stuff back, that's kind of your choice. The zoa's will probably be ok, depending on how bad the water is. They are very hardy. The fish may or may not make it, depending on what it is.
Also, I would highly suggest getting your own quality test kit. A lot of LFS's will tell you whatever you want to hear if it means a sale, regardless of what the test actually shows. Not saying this is what happened for sure, but that situation does come up on occasion.

 

Did he say pool sand?

 

If I am reading correctly, he never introduced a fish or any kind of bio-load to initially start the cycle - correct me if I am wrong.

 

2 things I am not sure if the pool filter sand was a good idea I have never heard of anyone using that for a substrate I would be concerned about the mineral content Silicates ETC . The 2nd thing is the zoas should be able to weather almost anything I would bet they will be fine. I would do the hardest thing there is for a new reefkeeper now LEAVE IT ALONE for a couple days or a week stop with the additives you don't need them yet . just watch your temp and feed minimally to the fish if at all and let the live rock do its job if it is good LR it will get the tank established.

 

As I learned from the gurus at 3reef (after I had added LR LS and damsels to start my 30gl up) you do not need the fish for cycle.. Just LR and LS is sufficient for cycling purposes.

So when I started my 135 this time all I added was LR and LS and I saw my cycle changing with my weekly testing. It ended up being a 4 week cycle.

 

Yeah, the ammonia showed up before any bioload was added.

I know pool filter sand is fine in freshwater aquariums, so I assume it is fine in saltwater. It doesn't leak anything. I use it in my cichlid aquarium and other people use in their freshwater tanks all the time. Anyway, 2lbs of live sand are on top of the pool filter sand.

Also, I don't understand why adding live sand from an established tank would cause an ammonia spike. Shouldn't nitrifying bacteria be in the live sand since it was in a running tank? When I've moved freshwater tanks, I take out all the water. As long as the gravel/ sand and biomedia is kept wet, when I add the water back in it is still cycled. Not even a mini cycle. Why wouldn't this be the same concept with SW?

I guess I'll just leave the tank alone for know. The fish and shrimp seem perfect despite the low ammonia reading. Thanks for the quick responses.