water test new 55 gal

eaglelox · 08-18-2001, 08:34 PM

ph 8.1
ammonia .05
nitrite 1.0

no visable die off.aside from water change every couple of days, when would i add chems to stablize ph. thanks

Brooke · 08-18-2001, 10:20 PM

Is this the tank that you just put the LR into? I think so. Test your ammonia and nitrites every day or every other day and you will see a peak of both ammonia and nitrites, then nitrates will start to go up. After the peak of those, then you can start concerning yourself with pH, etc. There's no need to mess with the water too much at this point.

Have fun-
Brooke

eaglelox · 08-19-2001, 08:26 AM

thanks Brooke, yes it is my 55, i forgot to say in all the excitement.
one more Q please brook or anybody. this morning i used my flashlight with red filter on it to look at new live rock.nothing.i could not believe it. so i look at the 2 pieces of lr in my 29 gal. they are from here in town.not near as pretty but have worms sticking out all over, little critters running around here and there all over the lr.
so I have two thoughts about this.one, because of shipping critters moved in to center of rocks, give a couple of day till they come out. Two, the rocks don't have these kind of critters in witch case I will add a LR from town and seed the tank. what do you think.

P.S. i just want to say this again. this site is a God send and you people are wonderfully helpful and friendly. i have not found this atmasfear any where on line.thank you and keep up the great work- well gues you cant call it work if you enjoy it.

FishDaddy · 08-19-2001, 08:47 AM

Hi Eagleox,
From your earlier post, the rock seems to have a good bit of life on/in it. The Ammonia spike you are seeing will cause some die-off. (This is why many of us advocate cycling with Live Rock; it does happen!)
This spike will impact the crustaceans in the rock, stressing them to the point that many may die or become inactive. This is normal but typically much will survive to proliferate in your tank.
Keep looking; I'm sure the 'Pods, worms, etc., are in there.

Dick

eaglelox · 08-19-2001, 08:58 AM

thanks fishdady,just found two snails,and some kind of transparent cup with feelers all the way around the top.it stands 1/8 inch tall when open.every time hermit walks close it shoots close and i cant find it till it opens again.its in the sand by the glass,is it ok in the sand or should i try to put it on the LR.thanks

Brooke · 08-19-2001, 10:44 AM

You'll be amazed how much stuff survives the cycle on your live rock. I guarantee you in two weeks, you'll have little bugs crawling all over your glass! It's so fun to see what pops up next. The transparent thing with tentacles sounds like an aiptasia anemone to me. Aiptasia are pests and are easily killed with kalkwasser solution squirted right onto them with a little syringe. Try to find a pic of one to get a positive id. Search our old threads for more info on aiptasia.

Brooke

JennM · 08-19-2001, 11:23 AM

I wouldn't change ANY water until you've got your tank cycled.

IME, people who mess around changing water during a cycle only prolong the process.

Let it be, test your parameters and be patient.

Hurry up and wait

Jenn

eaglelox · 08-19-2001, 11:23 AM

thanks brooke but why would it be a pest.

JennM · 08-19-2001, 11:33 AM

I'm not Brooke but I'll answer

Aiptasia are a nuisance anemone that reproduce like mad and will eventually overtake your LR if allowed to proliferate. They will sting fish and corals, and while one seems intrinsically harmless, you'd be wise to get rid of it now, before it does its thing and you have more of them than you know what to do with.

Here's one I had in my 55 last year...before I got a Peppermint shrimp to eat it:

HTH

Jenn

eaglelox · 08-19-2001, 11:47 AM

thank you Jennm,geuss il have to get some pep shrimp some day.byby