Cycle new tank & mislead by LFS

[Royl14]

Hey!
So I will try to do it shortly
Always wanted a saltwater reef, so I went to LFS and bought a 15G tank, He gave me water that already worked in another system ( he said to reduce the cycle time) And RedSea starter kit. I was told to put 1\2 ML no pox and 1ml of bacto start each day until he said so, without any explanations and directions, just take and put without the nitro-back and kh coralline (checked the manuals, and it was completely not as they advice of dosing)
After a week without a fish, he got the fish that I wanted so he called me to take it (A beautiful little Black spotted box-fish) without any measurements or tests.
Of course, after days and nights of reading, I understood on my own that the fish should not be in that little tank, and of course not on the cycle.
I returned the poor fish after 2 days to the store.
I understood that he only wants money, so here i am to ask you about my cycle and what to add \ to help the water to be ready and healthy
Currently, my Amo test is 0.5, nitrites 2, nitrates 100-+
I have live rocks that he gave me ( have some creatures in them)and sand , he told me today not to water change at all , and just when I asked him today about the nitro bac he told me to add them (DAY 10!)
I read about Dr. Tim's products and thought about stopping using what he gave me and putting the one & only live nitrifying bacteria for reef but I'm afraid to change without consulting, I still didn't put any nitro-bac in there, and I'm aiming for soft corals, shrimps and a few fishes.
I would appreciate help, I'm a bit lost cause I can't trust him after he gave me that poor fish.
Added a pictures of my tank and everything

 

[Dan_P]

Hey!
So I will try to do it shortly
Always wanted a saltwater reef, so I went to LFS and bought a 15G tank, He gave me water that already worked in another system ( he said to reduce the cycle time) And RedSea starter kit. I was told to put 1\2 ML no pox and 1ml of bacto start each day until he said so, without any explanations and directions, just take and put without the nitro-back and kh coralline (checked the manuals, and it was completely not as they advice of dosing)
After a week without a fish, he got the fish that I wanted so he called me to take it (A beautiful little Black spotted box-fish) without any measurements or tests.
Of course, after days and nights of reading, I understood on my own that the fish should not be in that little tank, and of course not on the cycle.
I returned the poor fish after 2 days to the store.
I understood that he only wants money, so here i am to ask you about my cycle and what to add \ to help the water to be ready and healthy
Currently, my Amo test is 0.5, nitrites 2, nitrates 100-+
I have live rocks that he gave me ( have some creatures in them)and sand , he told me today not to water change at all , and just when I asked him today about the nitro bac he told me to add them (DAY 10!)
I read about Dr. Tim's products and thought about stopping using what he gave me and putting the one & only live nitrifying bacteria for reef but I'm afraid to change without consulting, I still didn't put any nitro-bac in there, and I'm aiming for soft corals, shrimps and a few fishes.
I would appreciate help, I'm a bit lost cause I can't trust him after he gave me that poor fish.
Added a pictures of my tank and everything

Did you add ammonia to the aquarium? Maybe it is coming from the die off from the live rock.

The nitrites are high which leads me to think there are nitrifying bacteria present to consume the ammonia, just not enough to consume all the ammonia. Hold off on putting anything into the aquarium until the ammonia is zero. By the way, don’t bother testing nitrate until the nitrite is zeroed out. Nitrite interfers with the nitrate test making it seem there is a high concentration of nitrate.

 

[Royl14]

Did you add ammonia to the aquarium? Maybe it is coming from the die off from the live rock.

The nitrites are high which leads me to think there are nitrifying bacteria present to consume the ammonia, just not enough to consume all the ammonia. Hold off on putting anything into the aquarium until the ammonia is zero. By the way, don’t bother testing nitrate until the nitrite is zeroed out. Nitrite interfers with the nitrate test making it seem there is a high concentration of nitrate.

Thank you for your response!
I didn't add ammonia , just as he said
Bacto start And no pox .
So you advise to let it be, continue with both of them without adding nitrifying bacteria (Dr.tim/nitro back from the starter kit )
Or literally not to put anything else

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

There is no reason to add NoPox. Bacto start may be nitrifying bacteria, but I'm not familiar with the product.

Since nitrates are so high, do a 50% (or larger) water change. Despite what your LFS told you, water does not contain much nitrifying bacteria - it lives on the surfaces of rocks, sand, etc.

Once you've done the water change, test ammo and nitrATEs, and report back.

We'll get you sorted out

 

[Dan_P]

Thank you for your response!
I didn't add ammonia , just as he said
Bacto start And no pox .
So you advise to let it be, continue with both of them without adding nitrifying bacteria (Dr.tim/nitro back from the starter kit )
Or literally not to put anything else

Consider stop adding everything and see what the bacteria are doing to the ammonia level after a week. If the ammonia level doesn’t change, give Dr Tim’s a try, though don’t expect quick results. If the ammonia level is zero and nitrites are up, there is a population of nitrifying bacteria, though maybe a weak population. In that case go slow on adding fish.

 

[Royl14]

Consider stop adding everything and see what the bacteria are doing to the ammonia level after a week. If the ammonia level doesn’t change, give Dr Tim’s a try, though don’t expect quick results. If the ammonia level is zero and nitrites are up, there is a population of nitrifying bacteria, though maybe a weak population. In that case go slow on adding fish.

Thanks!
I'll watch the changes for a week without any additional doses
I think the nitrifying bacteria is weak because he didn't told me to add add it (nitro back from the redsea starter)
I just added it once and not so long ago.
Ammonia Dropped now to 0.25 +-, nitrite still 2. I will check every 2 days and update for results
And a dumb question, should I clean the filter ? Working only 10 days and feels clogged..
I heard it can slow to cycle to clean it cause bacteria on there and etc

 

[Andrew9909]

What type of filtration are you running?

 

[Dan_P]

Thanks!
I'll watch the changes for a week without any additional doses
I think the nitrifying bacteria is weak because he didn't told me to add add it (nitro back from the redsea starter)
I just added it once and not so long ago.
Ammonia Dropped now to 0.25 +-, nitrite still 2. I will check every 2 days and update for results
And a dumb question, should I clean the filter ? Working only 10 days and feels clogged..
I heard it can slow to cycle to clean it cause bacteria on there and etc

Sure clean the filter but a quick rinse is freshwater should be enough. The aquarium is too young to be producing much waste.

 

[Royl14]

What type of filtration are you running?

I bought Newa more 50L aquarium, I don't know the specs but after the LFS sold it to me I understand that it is not good as they said it is.
I will probably replace the Protein skimmer and filter in the future

 

[Royl14]

And found this guy in my live rock some one know what is it?

 

[homer1475]

Micro brittle star.

If you have life like that in the tank, it can certainly support life from one tiny fish.

 

[Royl14]

Micro brittle star.

If you have life like that in the tank, it can certainly support life from one tiny fish.

Really?
I have 2 of those , since day 1 but I never succeeded picture them fully just 1/2 arms so I didn't know what is it. This is the first time I see them .
Thank you for helping me
I have another Grey starfish in there Aswell

 

[homer1475]

Asternia star

 

[Royl14]

Asternia star

Thank you!
So their been here since day 1 , I'm not sure I think I have 3 of that asternia,they came on the live rocks apparently.
That's really cool!
My ammonia is 0.25-0.5 and nitrite 2
I'll wait couple of days as Dan says to drop my first clown fish in
I don't know if it is safe right now for a fish

 

[Royl14]

So 2 days has passed , didn't add nothing.
I'm a bit concerned cause it is not moving, same and my ammonia even looks like is a bit higher that before
Should I water change?
Add Dr.tims?

 

[silent1mezzo]

Ammonia will continue to rise as stuff dies off from the sand and rocks. The bacteria will continue to grow and eventually the ammonia will go down and you'll see nitrites go up. Then as the bacteria grows more you'll see nitrites go down and nitrates go up. Then you're ready for a water changes and fish

 

[elysics]

So 2 days has passed , didn't add nothing.
I'm a bit concerned cause it is not moving, same and my ammonia even looks like is a bit higher that before
Should I water change?
Add Dr.tims?

Btw with those salifert nitrite and nitrate tests, you are supposed to look straight down from the top when comparing colors. If you look from the side at a 90° angle when comparing colors you are supposed to divide the result by 10. This doesn't apply to the ammonia test, there you are supposed to look from the side. Don't look at any of them diagonally

Comparing colors on pictures is very inaccurate but basically on that picture it looks more like 0.5-1 ppm nitrite, hard to say

 

[Royl14]

Btw with those salifert nitrite and nitrate tests, you are supposed to look straight down from the top when comparing colors. If you look from the side at a 90° angle when comparing colors you are supposed to divide the result by 10. This doesn't apply to the ammonia test, there you are supposed to look from the side. Don't look at any of them diagonally

Comparing colors on pictures is very inaccurate but basically on that picture it looks more like 0.5-1 ppm nitrite, hard to say

Thank you! I didn't know that.
I will compare like that asap and update
Thank you all guys for your time

 

[Royl14]

Btw with those salifert nitrite and nitrate tests, you are supposed to look straight down from the top when comparing colors. If you look from the side at a 90° angle when comparing colors you are supposed to divide the result by 10. This doesn't apply to the ammonia test, there you are supposed to look from the side. Don't look at any of them diagonally

Comparing colors on pictures is very inaccurate but basically on that picture it looks more like 0.5-1 ppm nitrite, hard to say

So it says I'm at between 0.25-0.50 ammonia
Ans between 0.5-1 nitrite
That's mean that the cycle is close to to be done?

 

[Royl14]

Hey guys
Been waiting patiently and now ( didn't even cleaned my glass to let the nature flow xD
My rocks are getting more Yellow color
Ammonia- <0.15 (probably zero)
Nitrite - 0.5-1
Whats the next step ?
+ I found that I have LOTS of copepods in my aquarium that I'm super rgad for it
What is the next step?
Add ammonia / wait for the nitrites go down ?
Water change?