New Reef Tank.Help ?

[zaitmi]

I am from India, kolkata, the temperature here is 31 Degree celcius, i have new 29 gallon tank filled with saltwater from last 2 weeks, i have added last week some live rocks( 8kg.) from my petshop which he said were cured, after smelling i found very light smell almost nothing, but after adding them in my tank, i have found that my water is stinking whenever i put my hand in the water, my hand stinks badly, but the water is ok when u smell it by putting the nose above the tank. Yesterday my nitrate is 10mg/l, my ammonia test is also 0 , and ph is around 6.5 to 7. No fish is added yet, i have 1 internal filter and 1 powerhead. I have the lights but i am switching them on for 3-4 hrs. every evening. I have changed 20% water 3 days earlier and the bad smell has gone down a bit but today it was coming back again. My salinity is 1.022 (earlier it was 1.028 in 32 degree celcius temperature and I am using bottled mineral water and my home Kent RO water purifier.
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Plz help what is wrong why my water is stinking. Is my live rock dead. Should i replace more water. Should i add fish.
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Imtiaz Khan

[whatevva]

Welcome to TRT!!

First and most important...DO NOT add any livestock yet...be patient

Your water smells due to die off on the rocks (It's curing)

No need to run the lights yet...

Continue water changes, but blow off the rocks first, or at this point you may be able to take them out and rinse them in a bucket of salt water.

Raise your salinity to at least 1.024 (1.025-1.026 is best)

Your PH is WAY too low. It should be around 8.3. How are you testing???

Be patient!!! Could be a couple months before you add any livestock...waiting is the hardest part...

[zaitmi]

Originally Posted by whatevva

Welcome to TRT!!

First and most important...DO NOT add any livestock yet...be patient

Your water smells due to die off on the rocks (It's curing)

No need to run the lights yet...

Continue water changes, but blow off the rocks first, or at this point you may be able to take them out and rinse them in a bucket of salt water.

Raise your salinity to at least 1.024 (1.025-1.026 is best)

Your PH is WAY too low. It should be around 8.3. How are you testing???

Be patient!!! Could be a couple months before you add any livestock...waiting is the hardest part...

Thanks a lot for your reply.
I really need help ?
Is the stinking alright. I mean does it happens with everyone.
I have brushed the rocks very politely 10 days back in a unused bucket with tap water. They are almost 90% clean but i see some very small algae are flying.
Salinity was 1.028 till 3 days earlier. It has gone down due to water changes. My pet shop owner says here in India Salinity should be 1.018 coz the temp is vey high 32 deg C to 35 deg C or more in summer time.

For PH I am using Merck Indicator Paper(1-10). Its a thin yellow strip. You just put the paper for a few seconds and you get the color, then u match its color with color card provided by Merck.

Okay will try to increase for increasing PH should i use baking soda or add some more Red Sea Salt.

1 small packet bacteria was supplied in the tank during the first week of the cycle.

I dont have nitrite test kit but i have ammonia, PH and nitrate.
I want to send u a current pic. of my aquarium(u just need to see my live rocks are they okay or not). How do i do that.
Plz reply.
What about yopur tank can u show me urs?
Thanks in advance.

[whatevva]

Honestly, I don't trust dip strips or test kits for PH. A Pinpoint meter with calibrated PH probe is best. At the very least have the PH checked from a second source (different test kit, or the LFS)

Gotta run..more later...

[zaitmi]

My PH is 7.5. Okay i will try with another kit and reply accordingly. (coz PH Meter are pretty expensive)
just did my test aftrr 24hrs. Results are as follows:
23rd Sep09
ammonia - 0.
Nitrite - no kit.
*Nitrate - 40mg/l (yesterday 10mg/l)
ph - 7.8
salinity -1.022

23rd Sep09
ammonia - 0.
Nitrite - no kit.
Nitrate - 40mg/l (yesterday 10mg/l)
ph - 7.8
salinity -1.022
Is *partial water change required immediately. Should i change water daily or on alternate days.
Plz reply at the earliest.

Thanks in Advance.

Set up information :Its an Internal Filter(Brand : Resun)(like a rectangle box) I am using LIVE SAND, 1 small Bacteria Pack was provided in the tank 10 days back with the internal filter on. My pet shop owner told me its sufficient for a 29 gallon tank. Everything is running the powerhead the filter from last 2 weeks. What else info. do you need. Plz tell me. How can i show u a pic. of my tank to you guys.

Plz Help.

Anyway Thanks.

[whatevva]

I think you need like 20 posts before you can post a picture here, but you can upload it to Photobucket and link it.

There's really no reason to do a WC (water change) at this point unless the smell is getting to you. Let the tank go through it's cycles. No need to turn the lights on either.

What brand of salt are you using? I find it odd that the salt didn't bring the PH up to at least 8.0 or higher.

[zaitmi]

I am using Red Sea Saltmix. I didn't mix it in a seperate container. I thought it was not required. Just dropped it slowly from the top of my tank with the powerhead on. From now onwards i will do it in a seperate container. Tonight i will add more saltmix after mixing it in a seperate container to increase the PH.

[zaitmi]

I am waiting for your reply. whr r u bro ? can i move from salwater to coralpro salt at this stage or later. My lfs says to add atleast one fish now to colmplete the bioload as my ammonia is 0.

[zaitmi]

r u thr or not ?

[zaitmi]

whats wrong no reply?

[Twitterbait]

No worries if you don't get a reply, i'll give you a hand.

About the PH, keep in mind you need to use a PH test designed for saltwater. if you can't get a meter then look at the type where you put some water in a glass vial and then add a solution. if the PH kit does not say it is for saltwater then it will not work correctly.

the smell you are getting is common and is nothing to worry about. for now just let the tank sit with your filter and the powerhead running. no lights are needed until you add fish later. you can expect to wait at least 4-6 weeks before you want to dare adding anything just to be safe.

i don't see anything to worry about right now.

I will say that your pet store guy is right in that you will need a lower salinity if you have a higher temperature. is there any way to get the temp lower? somewhere around 25 degrees. if not then you will want between 1.017 and 1.019 in order to keep enough oxygen in the water for your fish.

look for a good PH kit and let us know what it is. if you need a fast reply feel free to click on my username to the left and send me a private message.

[Loverotties]

I agree!

[zaitmi]

30th Sept09
Test results.
Nitrate 20 ppm (yesterday 20 ppm)
ph - 8.0
salinity - 1.022 (the Red Sea salt pack says to keep 1.019 in 30 deg. celcius)
temp - 31 deg. celcius.


I will try my luck with 1 damsel or.........

Lights reqd. for the foul smell as per my LFS.

Now regarding the smell(odour in my tank) It is still there(comes and goes after water changing). Here is column i got from the net which says to keep your lights on to kill Hydrogen Sulphide (So i am keeping my lights on for 8hrs. daily (T5 + Aqua Coral). My LFS also insisted to keep the lights on for the bad smell to go away.

Rotten Egg Smell – Hydrogen Sulfide
Filed under: Aquarium Environment
If your saltwater aquarium smells like rotten eggs (or eggs in general), you’re smelling hydrogen sulfide. In an aquarium environment, hydrogen sulfide is usually caused by organic material (i.e. food particles, feces, dead material) rotting in a place without oxygen.
Usually the only non-oxygenated area in your saltwater aquarium is beneath your substrate. Organic slipped beneath your substrate and is decaying without oxygen. This is basically the nitrogen cycle without the oxygen.
Hydrogen sulfide could occur if you’ve had a power failure and organic material left in the filter has started decaying without oxygen. Make sure you flush out your filter before starting it back up, in this case.
Ways To Address Hydrogen Sulfide Problem
The most common way to address hydrogen sulfide problem in your saltwater aquarium is to remove deposits in your substrate.
The first step is to remove all living organisms to another tank. That includes fish, living rocks and corals, invertebrates like crabs or shrimp, and everything else.
If there are organisms that you can’t remove (for whateve rreason), there are steps you can take to maximize their survival.
1. Do the change the brightest lights possible. The lights drive higher oxygen concentrations and the oxygen will help neutralize hydrogen sulfide.
2. Add iron supplements to the water. The iron will bind to the sulfide, making it neutral to living organisms. Where can i get iron supplements ?
3. Make sure there’s plenty of oxygen in the water. The primary way oxygen enters a tank is through oxygen exchange between the water surface and air. Run a powerhead to circulate water from the bottom to the top for several days before the change.
4. Before and during the substrate change, run your saltwater aquarium water through granular ferric oxide (GFO) and activated carbon.
Ways To Prevent Hydrogen Sulfide Problem
One of the best ways to prevent hydrogen sulfide problem in your saltwater aquarium substrate is to run an undergravel filterplate. This will circulate water from your tank through your substrate and properly oxygenating them.
Keep housekeeping invertebrates like hermits crabs or shrimp. They do a fantastic job of scavenging food from substrate surface, before they can slip between the cracks and into the deep.

Sunlight, both visible and ultraviolet, play a pivotal role in breaking down hydrogen sulfide to safe forms. Having proper lighting will go a long way to prevent future hydrogen sulfide outbreak:

• Super High Output (SHO)
• Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL)
• Metal Halide
• LED

Don’t bury live rock in your substrate. Otherwise, the portion that’s buried will die and start to rot beneath the surface. Rather, use dead rocks as a base and place live rocks on them.
Final Thoughts
Like keeping the nitrogen cycle in control (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate), controling hydrogen sulfide is a part of owning a saltwater aquarium. Proper maintenance will go a long way to prevent any serious conditions.


Another Column :

Aquarium (and Pond) Answers: Hydrogen Sulfides

Another study showed that when 300 ppb hydrogen sulfide was added to Biscayne Bay and Gulf Stream waters off of Florida, the half life of the sulfide was 49 and 147 minutes, respectively. Such studies found that sunlight (both ultraviolet and visible) was able to significantly accelerate the oxidation.
This speaks “loudly” for strong lighting whether it be healthy 6400 K SHO lamps or Metal Halide (which my previous notes in reef keeping showed NO hydrogen sulfide production when these lights were employed). This also shows one more reason why a UV Sterilizer should be used, whether fresh or saltwater if they can at all be afforded (of which UV Sterilizers are not all that expensive, even for good quality models such as the Terminator).

[zaitmi]

Good News. I just caught my Live rock supplier and took him to my home last night as to why still stinking. He replaced my internal filterand said that is the cause. he then installed top filter with some Zeolite stones (will add charcoal and ceramic rings tmrw). My God today when i put my hand in the tank the water, it smells fresh. Wow I am so happy. No bad smell at all.
http://www.zeoliteproducer.com/aquarium.html

I think my problem was internal filter which was not cleaned since last when i bought it and installed it.

No test done yet. today i will chk Ammonia(again) Ph and Nitrates. I am still waiting for the calcium testkit thru my LFS.

Plz help whats next ?

[toddmh]

starting a new marine tank takes time to cycle,DO NOT be in a hurry to add live stock..They will die..Here is a link for you that tells you where about you need to be on your water parameters,Go buy test kits for the tests in this link,spending the money on tests and getting your water right will save you money in the long run..Good luck

http://saltwaterfish.typepad.com/ret...-aquarium.html