New tank syndrome - help!

[cocosreeftank]

Hi guys!
Complete newbie to the reefing hobby.. I bought a Red Sea max nano 75ltrs 26 days ago cycled with Red Sea mature starter and everything went well.. brought a water sample to the shop I bought the tank off of and my water was good and cycled for its first CUC.. I got two shrimp and a red legged hermit crab. Everything was great for a few days and then bam shrimp died suddenly nitrites spiked and when I brought the shop the sample to get advice they said it was going through another mini cycle.. add more bacteria from the Red Sea starter kit the nitro bac and bacto start, stop using no pox and stop the kh coralline gro… it’s been 5 days and my ammonia is gone to 0.8 nitrites like 0.25 .. any ideas on what to do my poor little hermit crab ‍ wait it out or keep doing big water changes? Thanks in advance

 

[Idoc]

Hermits are usually pretty hardy little guys! Shrimp are very picky for good water conditions, so probably a bit early to introduce them into your system. But, the hermit is going to need something to eat and there's probably not much in a new system...as you feed this little guy, you might create spikes in your ammonia, etc... due to the nitrification bacteria not fully established yet.

You'd probably do better with introducing a small "peaceful" fish into the system to create some waste to feed and expand your nitrification bacteria. Then maybe add another fish about a month later.

Don't add CUC until you actually have something for them to cleanup, though.

 

[cocosreeftank]

Hermits are usually pretty hardy little guys! Shrimp are very picky for good water conditions, so probably a bit early to introduce them into your system. But, the hermit is going to need something to eat and there's probably not much in a new system...as you feed this little guy, you might create spikes in your ammonia, etc... due to the nitrification bacteria not fully established yet.

You'd probably do better with introducing a small "peaceful" fish into the system to create some waste to feed and expand your nitrification bacteria. Then maybe add another fish about a month later.

Don't add CUC until you actually have something for them to cleanup, though.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[FUNGI]

Just curious why you are dosing NoPox on a new tank?

 

[cocosreeftank]

That’s what it said to do in the Red Sea program but I’ve stopped now

 

[FUNGI]

That’s what it said to do in the Red Sea program but I’ve stopped now

Can you advise link as I would love to see why Red Sea recommends NoPox on a new uncycled tank.......

 

[FUNGI]

That’s what it said to do in the Red Sea program but I’ve stopped now

Yeah....don't dose until Nitrates show up....once your tank is fully cycled and stable, and after your initial water change, start your initial dosing until you reach your target and then lower dosing to maintain......i.e. I have a 125g and I only dose 2.5ml to keep my nitrate at 10.

 

[Rjukan]

hermit crab ‍

Just curious, why the female symbol?

 

[cocosreeftank]

Just curious, why the female symbol?

That was supposed to be a hand to the face emoji you’re as confused as me as to why that is there!

 

[cocosreeftank]

Can you advise link as I would love to see why Red Sea recommends NoPox on a new uncycled tank.......

It’s in the little paper program in the box.. I can take pics after work later

 

[FUNGI]

It’s in the little paper program in the box.. I can take pics after work later

Thats OK....no need.....
I thought you had a special red sea program.....the paper is just the dosing guide.....

 

[cocosreeftank]

Can you advise link as I would love to see why Red Sea recommends NoPox on a new uncycled tank.......

It’s in the little paper program in the box I can take pics after work later

Thats OK....no need.....
I thought you had a special red sea program.....the paper is just the dosing guide.....

it is 21 day program

 

[cocosreeftank]

It’s in the little paper program in the box I can take pics after work later

it is 21 day program

Thats OK....no need.....
I thought you had a special red sea program.....the paper is just the dosing guide.....

 

[Solo McReefer]

I found it

Many people consider a tank filled with cured real from the ocean live rock as cycled

Because the rock contains all of the bacteria requires for most people's first livestock

The Zeovit System is like that, (it says you can fill the tank with corals right off)

[Your live rock vendors will/may say the tank is fully cycled with real live rock]

Both systems were devised before people started using dead terrestrial rock

 

[Dan_P]

Hi guys!
Complete newbie to the reefing hobby.. I bought a Red Sea max nano 75ltrs 26 days ago cycled with Red Sea mature starter and everything went well.. brought a water sample to the shop I bought the tank off of and my water was good and cycled for its first CUC.. I got two shrimp and a red legged hermit crab. Everything was great for a few days and then bam shrimp died suddenly nitrites spiked and when I brought the shop the sample to get advice they said it was going through another mini cycle.. add more bacteria from the Red Sea starter kit the nitro bac and bacto start, stop using no pox and stop the kh coralline gro… it’s been 5 days and my ammonia is gone to 0.8 nitrites like 0.25 .. any ideas on what to do my poor little hermit crab ‍ wait it out or keep doing big water changes? Thanks in advance

Your system might not be cycled at all.

Did you start with live rock?

 

[cocosreeftank]

Your system might not be cycled at all.

Did you start with live rock?

It was dry rock , started with Red Sea starter kit spiked ammonia and nitrites then dropped back down to 0 that’s when I brought my sample to lfs to test before I added inhabitants which were the shrimp and crabs which I now know was a mistake cause shrimp are sensitive and Cuc should be added later but I was given the opposite advise by Red Sea and lfs.. anyway they died three or four days later brought back a sample and water had gone to 0.8 ammonia and high nitrite high nitrate .. so carried out some water changes and dosed with atm colony marine bacteria (there’s no turbo in shop) and seems to be dropping again day 30 of cycling

 

[cocosreeftank]

This rock was what I was sold by lfs

 

[cocosreeftank]

I found it

Many people consider a tank filled with cured real from the ocean live rock as cycled

Because the rock contains all of the bacteria requires for most people's first livestock

The Zeovit System is like that, (it says you can fill the tank with corals right off)

[Your live rock vendors will/may say the tank is fully cycled with real live rock]

Both systems were devised before people started using dead terrestrial rock

Ahh I see thank you I’m obviously blind for missing that very important step… I was a complete newbie (still am) starting out and just trusted my lfs for all the advise while also googling everyday and night I thought after the numbers spiked and dropped my cycle was complete and I was good to go but had no idea about the bacteria not being a big enough bio load for a couple of inverts and needed to monitor more closely and give the tank a longer chance to grow… I’ve added bio spheres to give more area to grow bacteria as with the nano you only get a filter sock with sponges and carbon

 

[Solo McReefer]

You have to introduce all the things you need to get started

A sacrificial CUC, that has algae and bacterial cells on them

Is as good as anything else

I have done the Bonsai dead rock aquascape thing. Did not end well. Won't do it again. It's all in an orange bucket now

The only dead 'rock' I will use now is coral skeleton(coral bones)

If it were me, I would order up 20+ pounds, for that tank, of live rock from one of the online live rock vendors/farmers. Pull the sculpture. Replace with the real live rock, and run a cycle that way

But that's me, I would pull the sand as well

It would be a substantial detour from your Red Sea day by day plan, of course

Also recommend watching a few videos on YouTube(BRS) about cycling a tank with live rock. And read everything on this forum on the topic that you can

 

[JohnCol]

This I'd why you cycle and let mature. Maturity is key to a successful salt aquarium. Listing to the lfs is mistake #1

While cycling a tank you shouldn't be doing water changes, you shouldn't be dosing heater and equipment with biological media should be on but at this point you don't even need a light.

A nano tank really isn't the best for a first tank. Adding inverts and fish will cause a mini cycle. The smaller the tank the bigger the mini cycle. That fish is forced to live eat and poop in a closet. Doing so in a warehouse would be way less noticeable.