Got it going!

[Rogue97gtp]

Went and picked up the new tank and rock from a guy who was selling it. Got home and got it all up and running. It is a 29 gal which came with sand and about 40lbs of LR. Came with one hermit crab, one blue green chromis, a couple snails and one cleaner shrimp. The shrimp died this morning, I dont know if it was all the stress from me bringing him down but i did check the parameters of the water and I am getting 0.50 ppm of Ammonia. Would that be normal since there might have been some die off on some of the LR I was bringing down that could not be completely submerged in water? The chromis appears to be doing fine... he was hiding most of the day until i put in some mysis and brine shrimp then he shot out of hiding and started eating them. The parameters are as follows:
Ammonia - 0.50
Nitrite - 0.0
Nitrate - 0.0
PH - 8.2
Salinity - 1.024
Temp - 83.2
I will keep everybody up to date on everything!

 

[ReefLady]

Yes, there could be some die off if the LR was exposed to air. I'd try to do a decent water change (25%-30%) asap, to reduce the stress on the remaining inhabitants.
Other than that, I'd try to slowly bring down the temp by a degree or two.

Congrats on the new tank!

 

[Rogue97gtp]

Well, I had an ammonia spike up to 4ppm before I could get to changing out the water and lost the chromis and the hermit :tears: . I did do about a 20% water change yesterday. I tested the water today and got these parameters:
Ammonia: 1
Nitrite: .25
Nitrate: 20
PH: 84
Temp: 80.6
Salinity : 1.022
I am planning on testing again on saturday to see where thr parameters are at. Is this a good start minus the loss of livestock?

 

[ReefLady]

Looks like you're going through a cycle. Good start, just wait out the ammonia & nitrite.
Bump up the salinity slowly (over a week of so) - you want it at about 1.025 @ 79f.

 

[Rogue97gtp]

Thanks for the advice Teri, will do! I have a bucket of sw mixing now, so I will use it as top offs in my sump to slowly bump the salinity up.

 

[Rogue97gtp]

Well, I am still working on getting the salinity up in my tank but things are starting to look better AND a hermit crab did survive all of this! Shocked the hell out of me when he came up from behind some rock.

Parameters:
Temp 80.6
PH 8.4
Salinity 1.023
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20

As soon as the nitrate goes down I will slowly start adding some CUC. Having a battle with aptesia anemone right now, which they seem to be getting the upper hand. I have killed at least 20 this past weekend and I believe I counted at least 10 or 15 in there right now... uggghhh.... thinking of buying a peppermint shrimp to help with the battle. As long as it handles the small ones, I can kill the bigger ones.