HELP- Aquarium Newbie with 4 new Fish

what type of tests are you using?

GREAT to hear you went to a LFS, some are better than others and I think 14lbs of LR sounds good. But what did they tell you about Microbater 7?? I will have to google it

 

This is the kit I used: Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Saltwater Liquid Master Test Kit

 

The industry standard. Good choice, I use them as well.

Can you retest for ammonia again? A clear tube makes me think something went wrong when testing

 

Microbater 7 is bacteria in a bottle developed by Dr. Tim. He has his own version "Dr Tim's One and Only"and is a sponsor of the site so I use his. It helps repair your bio filter or can be used to speed up a cycle.

 

I retested last night and the ammonia test changed colors this time. The ammonia and nitrate level are still zero ppm. Will test again tonight

 

great news...keep us posted.

 

So I repeated today and the ammonia was still zero but the nitrite looked to be 25ppm to me so I changed out 3 gallons of water. Is it normal to detect nitrite but no ammonia?

 

Yes it is normal. Ammonia is the first stage to the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia turn into nitrites and then it's end result is nitrates. Ammonia is highly toxic.
This just means that your beneficial bacteria is turning your ammonia into nitrates. (I think I got that right. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.)
The wc that you did will help reduce the nitrate levels in the tank.
I don't know if I missed it but did you ever get your protein skimmer?
Looks like things are on the right track.
Keep it up.

 

You are correct, except they said nitrite, not nitrate

Ammonia is converted to nitrites, then to nitrates. So yes it is normal to see nitrites and no ammonia, however nitrites are still toxic and you should continue to monitor and do water changes if you detect either ammonia or nitrites.

Nitrates are not nearly as important to keep low in a FOWLR as already mentioned.

 

Thank you!