Full Version: Bought a tank...
I feel like I witnessed a beating.
QUOTE (violinist @ Mar 16 2010, 10:39 PM) 
This is the tank that the guy was running for 4 months with tap water which he wasn't dechlorinating?
Yet he had fish living in it for 4 months...
Something doesn't add up. If what you said about the tap water was actually true, I doubt there's much about your live rock that is actually 'live' since chlorine tends to have an ill effect on life. So you've got dead rock and a tank that is pretty much as old as your ownership of it...
Or what you said wasn't true, and you have a 4 month old tank with nothing more than an algae problem.
Hard to try and help when the facts are... suspect.
Yet he had fish living in it for 4 months...
Something doesn't add up. If what you said about the tap water was actually true, I doubt there's much about your live rock that is actually 'live' since chlorine tends to have an ill effect on life. So you've got dead rock and a tank that is pretty much as old as your ownership of it...
Or what you said wasn't true, and you have a 4 month old tank with nothing more than an algae problem.
Hard to try and help when the facts are... suspect.
I'm just telling you what I know. He said he didn't dechlorinate the water, maybe he had a well, and didn't have chlorine. Maybe he just ran out of dechlorinator and that's what he meant. I don't know.
Also how could I tell if the rocks are alive? If there not, should I chuck them and get news ones or will the tank cycle and then I'll have live rock?
I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to get at by say that the fact are...suspect? Are you saying that I'm lying? What would be the point of that?
QUOTE (jelkinsiv @ Mar 17 2010, 03:22 AM)
My last test had the pH at 7.8 and no he didn't check alkalinity.
A pH of 7.8 is OK provided alkalinity (and calcium) are at acceptable levels so ignore what the LFS says if they advise buying buffers without any real understanding of your water chemistry.
QUOTE (jelkinsiv @ Mar 17 2010, 02:07 PM)
I'm just telling you what I know. He said he didn't dechlorinate the water, maybe he had a well, and didn't have chlorine. Maybe he just ran out of dechlorinator and that's what he meant. I don't know.
Or maybe he let the water for the aquarium stand overnight with an airstone or powerhead like most people here who have kept a freshwater tank have done. Chlorine comes out of solution pretty easily.
Also how could I tell if the rocks are alive? If there not, should I chuck them and get news ones or will the tank cycle and then I'll have live rock?
If you are testing zero consistantly for ammonia and nitrites, you have a functional biofilter. If nitrates are close to zero and don't climb much, you have denitrification taking place. This implies that your rocks are very much alive. If ammonia and nitrite stay at zero, your tank has cycled. Keep an eye on them.
Or maybe he let the water for the aquarium stand overnight with an airstone or powerhead like most people here who have kept a freshwater tank have done. Chlorine comes out of solution pretty easily.
Also how could I tell if the rocks are alive? If there not, should I chuck them and get news ones or will the tank cycle and then I'll have live rock?
If you are testing zero consistantly for ammonia and nitrites, you have a functional biofilter. If nitrates are close to zero and don't climb much, you have denitrification taking place. This implies that your rocks are very much alive. If ammonia and nitrite stay at zero, your tank has cycled. Keep an eye on them.
Focus on these basics and gain some understanding of what is happening in your tank. Stick to the quality advice in this thread to stop using tap, change or remove the substrate and add some flow. Over the next few weeks you'll get a feel for things and can start to decide what you want to keep and where to go with this tank next.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.