# please help bettababy!!



## ymh1253 (Feb 3, 2008)

Hi, I am asking for your advice and hoping you can help me because after reading a lot of these posts it's quite clear that you are very educated when it comes to fish. So my problem is..It's been roughly 2 months since I started my 25 gallon saltwater and I had been running into issues that my local pet store sadly enough can't seem to help me with. I have 2 inches of live sand across the bottom,13 pounds of live rock, a millenium 3000 bio filter,400 powerhead. and a 800 aerator...I had my tank fully cycled about a week into it and my levels were great. AMON 0..PH 8.2..NITRATE 10..NITRITE 0..then out of the blue I ran into an Ick problem that eventually within 2 weeks killed my 3 inch hippo tang and my 2 inch tomato clown..I still have my spotted cardnal that survived along with a chocolate starfish and my 3 small hermit crabs..after medicating the tank with organi-cure it seemed to have cleared up the ick.but then I noticed my ammon level rising to 1.0..I contacted the petstore right away and they first advised me to use a double dose of cycle and continue for 1 week then test again..I did and my Ammon levels actaully went up to 2.0...So...I went to the petstore again and he told me to use ammo lock and it should stableize the ammon..So I followed the directions on the bottle and applied the treatment for 1 week...checked my levels again and the Ammon was at 4.0 this morning...My tank occupants seem healthy and on the bottle of ammo lock it reads that the test will still detect ammon but it will transfer into a non toxic form..I called the petstore this morning to see how I can actually test the ammonian accuratly to see if I need to take other steps and they had no advice for me..Never again will I deal with that store but right now I can sure use some friendly advice...please reply A.S.A.P if possible..thank you...my levels right not are AMMON 4.0..PH 8.0..NITRITE 0..NITATE 10..THX AGAIN


----------



## gymnothorax (Sep 20, 2007)

sounds to me like your tank was not fully cycled to begin with, i would not recommend adding cycle and ammo-lock to reduce your ammonia, you need to do a partial water change and wate for the levels to drop on their own, keep us updated : )


----------



## ymh1253 (Feb 3, 2008)

*replying*

thx for replying...I had actually taken a sample of my water to the petstore where I bought all my stuff, and the owner did my first water test a week after I started it..and according to him the levels were perfect and he assured me that it had been fully cycled and ready for fish..I have followed directions to a tee with the medications and waterchanges and such but I am still not sure why my ammonia is reading 4.0 ..anymore info is greatly apprieciated. thx


----------



## gymnothorax (Sep 20, 2007)

I'm assuming you were sold a chemical to cycle your tank before adding any livestock, unfortunately, your cycle does not start until there is something in you tank producing ammonia for the nitrifying bacteria contained withing the chemicals you added to feed on. Now that you have fish in the tank, it should cycle fairly quickly. I feel I should also note that your lfs should have known better than to sell you a blue tang as one of the first additions to your tank. Regals, (blue tangs), are very prone to developing ich after transfer, and adding one to such a new tank is not a good idea. The best thing to do now would be to do a partial water change and wait for your tank to cycle on it's own. Meanwhile, if you have any other questions concerning you tank feel free to let me know : )


----------



## ymh1253 (Feb 3, 2008)

*thank you gymnothorax*

Listen gymnothorax. I really appreciate the help..Not too many people seem to reply to my questions..thanks again. When I first bought my tank the owner of the petstore said all I would need is 20 pounds of live sand and atleast 10 pounds of live rock and let it sit for a couple days to cycle...so I let it sit for a good 7 days at which time he told me to bring a water sample in and he would let me know if I was ready.So I did and thats when he said It was cycled and ready for a couple fish. then I ran into that sickening parasite ick and lost 2 fish to it before I was able to eleminate it (for now anyways). now after the ick treatment was done I started to notice a rise in my Ammonia..and like I wrote in my first post it has worsend according to the ammonia test. any suggestions on different test solutions or advice on how to find out if my remaining occupants are in immediate danger?..I just started my second treatment of ammo lock this morning..thanks again for the help!


----------



## gymnothorax (Sep 20, 2007)

glad to help : ) Now we just play the waiting game, it'll probably be a good 3-4 weeks before your tank is ready for any more inhabitants. Meanwhile, if you wanted to start thinking about what to add next i'll be glad to help you decide what fish would be a good idea and which fish to avoid


----------



## ymh1253 (Feb 3, 2008)

*replying*

Until I get a little more comfortable with keeping the water in a safe and healthy condition, I'm not too worried about other fish just yet being I already have enough invested in the tank, and I really want to get these levels good again.But when everything is running smooth again I would like to get maybe a pair of small yellow tangs until I upsize this summer.I had heard that the yellow tangs are a little more resistant to desease compared to the hippo tangs.So about the ammonia levels and the ammo-lock..even though the test reads high levels of ammonia according to the ammo-lock bottle, these levels are non-toxic..and should not harm the fish...does that sound about right to you?..and would you suggest I continue the ammo-lock treatment for the next 5 days or maybe just do 25% water changes every 2 days for a week?..thank you for the input.


----------



## gymnothorax (Sep 20, 2007)

i would actually just do one small water change and then let the tank be, at this point doing multiple water changes will actually prolong your cycle. I also wouldn't recommend treating with ammo-lock anymore, as i am not a big fan of it. Best quote i've ever heard in the hobby is "less technology, more biology", and beleive me, it's true. Your tank will balance out in time and you can then continue stocking. One yellow tang would be ok, but they are very territorial and must be kept either singly or in large groups, (this is only in a large enough tank). It is very rare that 2 yellows will coexist.


----------



## ymh1253 (Feb 3, 2008)

*replying*

thanks again for all your help..So I just did another ammonia test and it's reading 8.0..this cant be right because the tank occupants dont look sick at all..so I will stop the ammo-lock treatment right away,I'll do a 4-5 gal water change and just let the tank sit as you recommend,but im wondering if I should apply a double dose of cycle after a 4 or 5 gal water change, and just hope the cycle solution speeds up the cycle ..does that sound like it might help the process of getting this tank in good condition?..or have you got any ideas on a accurate ammonia test I could use at this point just to see where the levels are..toxic..or non-toxic..thanks for bearing with me.your a trooper....p.s..any pics of your aquarium gym?


----------



## gymnothorax (Sep 20, 2007)

honestly, I don't think a dose of cycle would hurt anything, so you should be fine to add that. I do not own a camera but i am trying to get a hold of one to add pics to another recent post, "I have babies", so i'll see what i can about getting a few pictures on here. keep me posted, i'm glad i can help


----------

