High Ammonia and Nitrates

[aquasalt]

I have only one tang in the tank, previously two (both under 4").

[scoop]

Go BB! (LOL) - I just had to say it. The ssb is great as long as you vacuum it w/ your water changes.

[OneDummHikk]

Ammonia spike: Most likely caused by the dead fish decaying before they were removed. It will mini-cycle and level itself off. Keep an eye on it to make sure it comes down.

Sandbed removal: Remove as much water into containers as you can. Move the fish into a container with a powerhead in it pointing at the surface.
Remove the sand. Shovel it out, siphon it out, but remove it.
Fill the tank back up with powerheads pointing at the bottom to stir up anything left in the tank.
Put fish back in tank.
Skim wet and filter aggressively until it clears up.
Re-aim powerheads.

Sandbed replace: Take a piece of PVC pipe 2' long (you can buy 2' sections at Lowes/HD). Feed it to the bottom of the tank, use it as a "director" to put the sand back in the tank. Skim wet and filter aggressively until the water clears back up.

That is nowhere near too many tangs (you only have one) in your 90. I have two in mine.

Good luck with it.

[shaggy420]

Originally Posted by aquasalt

You're probably right, Whiskey. Thanks. I just called my LFS and they sell 20 lbs of Live Sand (seeded) for $24.99. How many bags do you think it would take to get to a DEEP Sand Bed of 3 or 4 inches?

you might want to check on ebay for some LS. I went to petco and paid 25.00 for a 10lb bag of live sand. a few days ago i ordered 30lbs of live sand for 24 something including shipping. Not aquacultured either. just letting you know. i havent receivved it yet so i cant tell you how the quality is yet.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by shaggy420

you might want to check on ebay for some LS. I went to petco and paid 25.00 for a 10lb bag of live sand. a few days ago i ordered 30lbs of live sand for 24 something including shipping. Not aquacultured either. just letting you know. i havent receivved it yet so i cant tell you how the quality is yet.

I have to disagree with that. Don't use Live Sand at all. Simply replace it with regular sand. Within 3 or 4 months, it will be "live". And it is a lot cheaper. If you want, you can seed it with some sand from an established tank but Live Sand is a waste of money.

[shaggy420]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

I have to disagree with that. Don't use Live Sand at all. Simply replace it with regular sand. Within 3 or 4 months, it will be "live". And it is a lot cheaper. If you want, you can seed it with some sand from an established tank but Live Sand is a waste of money.

i bought it mainly for the corralline it comes with =)
the sand that is in my tank, except for the 10lbs was all bought as regular sand, it was way cheaper but my friend at the lfs where i used to live gave me the hook on it anyways so idk what it really costs.

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

I haven't heard mention of corals,.. Is this a FOWLR Tank?

If so I really would stick with about an inch of sand that way you can keep it clean.
for a Swim Tank thats probably a good idea, esp with fish that eat and poop a lot
Whiskey

Originally Posted by aquasalt

Why would you advise against a DSB in an FOWLR? At this point I fully expect someone to jump in and tell me to go BB. lol

Why would you think a DSB would be good in a swim tank? Honestly a BB with adequate circulation, a BIG Skimmer, and good husbandry would go a way, more so than adding a DSB

Originally Posted by Loverotties

Too many Tangs and WAY TO HIGH Amonia(it should be 0),I can't believe anyting is alive.

I kinda agree with Rotties here tho theres a lot of missing info to really determine an answer to your dilema, but if your Kile died from malnutrition related illness brought on by aggression from the other tang, you have too many in there,
You don't say how big the fish are, or mention skimmers or anything else to describe the tanks support system, and with out a pretty complete rundown, people are going to fill in the blanks and offer advice they have found to work in there situation
Don't know what kits you use for basic Amm/Nitrogen cycle testing but you should have 0 ammonia, and a reading of 1 on Nitrite is cause for alarm

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by Doug1

I kinda agree with Rotties here

"Current inhabitants are a Hippo Tang, 2 Firefish, and a damsel"

How is one Hippo Tang too many?

[aquasalt]

Thanks everyone for pitching in! I will be replacing the sandbed within the next week or so following your suggestions, Randy. In the meantime I will continue to skim aggressively, perform 5 gallon waterchanges every other day, and test extensively.

I went back and double-checked my ammonia and it is still elevated. However, I got the value completely wrong in my initial post. Following the color chart the reading is between .25 and .5

Doug, I have a Euroreef RS80 skimmer and the hippo tang is approx. 4" in length. The Kole Tang about 3.5". Both Firefish are fully grown at about 2.5".

I am not worried about the bioload at this point or too many tangs...in all actuality there is very little movement in the tank. The tangs got along great--they swam together and everything without there ever being any signs of aggression. In fact the Hippo Tang used to bully the Firefish while the Kole was alive, and then when he died fully accepted them.

While I am replacing the substrate, I plan to give my LR a good scrubbing. Any practical suggestions?

[aquasalt]

Update: Nitrates 20

[OneDummHikk]

Scrubbing rocks? A quick approach, go to walmart/drugstore and get an electric toothbrush with stiff bristles on it. Clean away, dispose of the brush when done, then put it up for next time. It will get down into the nooks/crannies and won't wear your arm out trying to do it.

If the nitrates are going up, more water changes. It was 15-20 but since it is going up it means the tank is ridding itself of the ammonia.

[aquasalt]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

Scrubbing rocks? A quick approach, go to walmart/drugstore and get an electric toothbrush with stiff bristles on it. Clean away, dispose of the brush when done, then put it up for next time. It will get down into the nooks/crannies and won't wear your arm out trying to do it.

If the nitrates are going up, more water changes. It was 15-20 but since it is going up it means the tank is ridding itself of the ammonia.

That's a good idea, I think I will try that! Do you rinse the rock between scrubs?

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by aquasalt

That's a good idea, I think I will try that! Do you rinse the rock between scrubs?

Yes. Clean 5 minutes, rinse all the "crud" off. Repeat until clean as you want.