New tank- messed up system?

[voodoofish]

Ok, our tank is new (last Thursday- 5 days) we are at the end of the cycle already and have the diatom on rocks (had water checked by professional)and today one of our clowns got that clownfish disease and by the time we got home from aquarium store, he died (within 2 hours of us noticing it on him).

Well, the other clown is still fine and swimming and eating no problem. BUT, we couldn't find the dead one and had to move the rocks cause he fell ? half way under the one rock where we couldn't find him.

Anyways, my husband is worried that we may have screwed up the cycle by putting our hands in the tank and moving the rocks. Did we screw it up? Thinking we should be done cycling by the end of the week and have water tested again then.

Thanks and sorry if its a dumb question! I know tons about turtles and tortoises, nothing about saltwater fish--- but Im learning!

[AT]

Putting your hands in the tank should not be that big of a problem

[erock68]

What exactly, did the professional test the water for?

What other livestock, do you have in the tank? I seriously doubt that, you have Diatoms in the tank, with no bio load.

How many gallon tank?

Seems we need more info, in order to answer your question.

[voodoofish]

14g biocube, fiji rock , live sand, 1 clown in tank. got the rock already cured. They checked the water to see where the levels were in the cycle

[Nina51]

when did you put the clowns in?

[voodoofish]

they went in 2nd day cause all levels were proper for them to be added for the ammonia

[jeffreykell]

Hi

Please post what are the test levels? I would wait before adding anything else to the tank ..

[critteral]

I agree with Jeffreykell, that is not very much time and would like to also know what was tested for and numbers

[bundybear1981]

Sorry for your loss.

Your cycle won't be affected by putting your hands in the tank. You may have stirred something up by moving rock however.

I would be concerned that the water tests were inaccurate. Even with cured rock you should see some die-off when you move it in to your tank. 2 days is too soon to add something to a newly set up tank, even using cured rock. I would wait at least 2 weeks to let things settle down and stabilize.

It's likely the clown was a causality of a LFS out to make a quick $ out of you. I would recommend getting your own test kits so you can test yourself and know your numbers.

Remember when you add stock it will take time to readjust to the new bioload. You need to take things slowly. Nothing good happens fast in salt water.

[hijinks]

Also placing 2 fish in at the same time in a 14g tank can throw off the balance. It's very likely the 2 clowns were producing too much waste for your bacteria to handle and you had an ammonia spike or something

[dread240]

with a 14g tank, you're only looking at 2-3 fish truthfully. Plopping 2 in right off the bat most likely overloaded what little bacteria you had and you had an ammonia spike.

It's imperative you go really slow with that small of a tank. Add a fish, wait a few weeks, add another, checking YOURSELF as you go along. Don't trust others to say it's ok, it's your money being wasted if it's not

[erock68]

with a 14g tank, you're only looking at 2-3 fish truthfully. Plopping 2 in right off the bat most likely overloaded what little bacteria you had and you had an ammonia spike.

It's imperative you go really slow with that small of a tank. Add a fish, wait a few weeks, add another, checking YOURSELF as you go along. Don't trust others to say it's ok, it's your money being wasted if it's not


Exactly this^

With a 14g, you will HAVE to keep up, with the conditions, more so than someone with a larger volume tank. Things happen really quickly, in a reef system of that size. It happens to those with bigger systems also, but yours is more condensed....


2-3 fish, is at best, your max. GO SLOW!

Are you planning on adding any coral? if so, you will need to get a bigger tank.

[R20]

You should really wait a month before putting fish in your tank to be safe. As far as putting your hands in the tank that should not mess up the cycle as long as they were clean.

[voodoofish]

Thanks all. The casualty clown was turning white in color, he had a spot when we first got him and I didn't think much of it at that time so I know what he had came like that. The other clown is very happy eating and swimming around. Not really exploring the rocks as much as I thought she would by now since it's almost been a week for her in the tank. Atleast I know now why she kept attacking him. She must have known he was sick and wanted no parts of him!

coral- possibly sometime, just not sure when or what kind, etc. Right now we have a large diatom bloom on most of the rocks right now, one of the 5 rocks being the worst. I know thats part of the cycle but when we introduce the cuc will they do their job and clean up some of it?

Just curious, again I know tons about tortoises and turtles, but other people on here have nice pics of their 14g biocube setups and have coral in it- why are some of you telling me not to add coral in that small?

and, 3 fish is the max I would go with anyways.

[voodoofish]

oh yeah, and the fish store I go to- they have been very good with telling me when and how to do things and even going there to check all levels they have told us to wait until cycling is over. they aren't into selling me things and its a family run shop. they have a very good reputation around here.

[dread240]

It's possible to keep a nano or pico reef... yours would be considered a nano in that range

The reality is it's immensely harder to keep a system that small balanced, definitely nowhere near being a job for inexperienced people. The larger the water volume the slower changes happen in the system and give you more time to react/correct things. In a 14g it can go south in the blink of an eye.

The other reality, even if it's a small mom and pop good people store, you still need to be in control of your tank, or leave all decisions and maintenance up to them in a maintenance contract. I have heard countless store employees giving what seems like great advice, but it's completely wrong and it's because many of them are nowhere near as educated about this stuff as most people on here are. Biggest thing is ich treatments (which you sound like you probably had velvet if anything which is even worse). They'll sell ruby reef treatment and blah blah, it goes away in a few days.. that's just the normal every day life cycle of the parasite. It doesn't cure it, tank transfers, copper and hyposalinity are the ONLY ways to truly cure it.

Just don't be afraid to question anything they're telling you, and coming back here and asking questions. That's what these forums are for. May very well be telling you they are exactly right in what they're telling you to do, or we may have a better idea :-P

[Windirmere]

Make sure when putting your hands in the tank they are free of soap perfume/cleaners/chemicals of any sorts.

[Gibsh]

Just all seems rushed to me and what happens to the fish if you haven't finished cycling? No nitrites I hope?

[MrTuskfish]

Thanks and sorry if its a dumb question! I know tons about turtles and tortoises, nothing about saltwater fish--- but Im learning!


Your next purchase should be a quarantine tank. Your clown didn't develop clownfish disease (brooklynella, probably) on the way home. It came from the LFS and there's a good chance most of the fish in that store have it.
If you really want to learn the hobby, read a few good books cover to cover. You cannot learn this hobby from any store or by asking one question at a time. This can be a lifetime hobby or a PITA; without a lot of basic knowledge, it will be the latter.

[gone fishin]

Your next purchase should be a quarantine tank. Your clown didn't develop clownfish disease (brooklynella, probably) on the way home. It came from the LFS and there's a good chance most of the fish in that store have it.
If you really want to learn the hobby, read a few good books cover to cover. You cannot learn this hobby from any store or by asking one question at a time. This can be a lifetime hobby or a PITA; without a lot of basic knowledge, it will be the latter.

What Tusk said