just wanna say whats up

hey all just wanted to say hi. i just started a new reef tank. i used to have an 80 gallon reef a few years ago now i just set up a 20 gallon about 3 weeks ago. anyhow. i have been having problems with the tank. i was told by the aquarium store that when i put some bacteria into the fresh tank it would cycle in about 5 days. at first i was getting low readings on my tests.

ph-8.4
ammonia-.50
nitrite-0
nitrate-40

i threw a couple damsels in to help it cycle about 4 days after i set it up and all but one died that night. at that point i went out and bought more live rock so now i have about 30lbs. my tank started to cycle rapidly at that point and when i saw my ammonia and nitrite drop to 0 i went out and bought a maroon clown a brittle star and snowflake eel and the next morning everything except the eel died and my tank had spiked all my levels. the eel died about 3 days later. i have a 24 inch 24 watt t5 lighting system on it. should i get bigger lights for it. i also have a 55 gallon canister filter along with a 100 watt heater. i put a pure chem bag in the canister today.
does anyone have any advise as to what might be wrong with my tank. i just did a test this morning and my ammonia and nitrite are at 0 and my nitrate is at 80. i just did a water change 2 days ago so i know i dont need to do one again. also there is no fish or coral in my tank just rock at this point.

thanks

 

your tank is still cycling, dont do anymore water changes. you dont want water changes untill you finish cycling, cuz they will prolong it. cycle avg. is anywhere from 4-12 weeks even longer. while your cycling i wouldnt run the pure chem, that will just prolong things even more.... and when u added more live rock the last time that kinda started you over again. gotta slow down, breath, keep a check on your perams. your nitrates will probably go up more but then start to drop. when they get down to somewhere between 20ppm -0ppm then your can start adding again

 

cool thanks. i havent done it in a while and the aquarium store seemed to give me bad advice. thanks again

 

Welcome to 3reef!

You would of save a lot of money if you would just do research first. Never trust a LFS as there are out to make money off people. The ell is going to be a bad addition for a reef tank to begin with. Just put one fish in there and let it be, quit trying to rush things. Quit test for Ammonia, nitrates and all and be testing for Ca, Mg, and ALK as those are the parameters you need to be worried about. Those others are just a waste of a test kit right now. That is something mother nature will do if you just give her time and 5 days to a week is not enough.
This is a eco system you are starting not a piece of furniture you buy and stick in your home. If you don't slow down your going to kill a lot of innocent livestock and blow a bunch of money.

 

Glad to see you found way here.

Good advice above. Slow down...

Secret for long term success is letting your tank fully cycle from the getgo...then understanding that it will not support much of a bioload for quite awhile..

Wish you luck...

Keep us posted.

 

great thanks all. while im waiting on that what should i do about how much lighting. currently i have 2 24w t5 bulbs one blue one white. my tank is about 17 inches deep 24 inches in length and 12 inches in width. i wanna keep as much coral as i can i plan to get mh when i can afford them but for now is this going to be enough lighting. also should i throw a damsel in the tank to help it cycle. or just leave it with just the rock

thanks

 

Your cycle underway...leave out fish.

Dead stuff on LR usually enough to get it going.

 

as far as lighting goes just wait till you can buy mhs then get those

 

Welcome to 3Reef>>>>>>

 

waaaassssssssssssuuuuuuuuuuuupppppppp! (Marlon Wayan voise)

welcome to 3reef!