Need Help Potential new SW tank problem

[Jay61383]

Hey everyone I just got into Sw hobby it took me months to get my tank and after alot of reading and looking at this forum I was able to start my tank..
So heres what I have then I get to the possible issue

I started my tank this past tuesday I have a RSM 130D with the tunze 9002 skimmer and the media basket with a nitrate and phosphate floss filter, a bag of carbon followed by a bag of Rowaphos a Tunze nano stream circulation pump about 45 lbs of live sand and 50lbs of live rock..

Ok now the issue
As I said I startes the tank this past tuesday.. I had the normal spikes and then by Thursday everything suddenly dropped
Now I had mentioned toy wife that I wanted to get some snails & carbs & perhaps a damsel fish.. well I went away friday came back today to find snails hermits and the damsel. . My heart skipped. . I asked her about it and she actually took a samply to a chain pet store to have it tested & they told her it was ok to add the snails hermits and the fish..
I called the store but wont let me return them and I seriously going to feel awful if they die cause I dont think it was really ready yet..
Any input would be greatly appreciated

 

[goma]

Welcome to RS! Start a tank thread in the RSM section so we can follow along!

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/red-sea-max-owners-club/

Do you have a friend you can give them to until your tank cycles?

If not, you'll just have to ride it out. With that much live rock, you may have a minimal cycle that may have already passed. You can also do some water changes to try and help things out.

 

[saltfan]

Might be a prob hope it all works out...

 

[Jay61383]

I wish.. unfortunately none of my friends are into the the hobby.. I just feel like real crap & now my wife also does just a bad situation for someone trying to do something nice..

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

 

Start a new tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along - we love pics

Here hoping for the best... what I wound not do, if it helps, is buy some miracle in a bottle, that says add this & you can add fish day one. Depending on the state of your lr as said ^ they may survive.

 

[Jay61383]

Ill post up a pick when I can get one my computer have a few on my phone but wont let me add them

 

[StirCrayzy]

The key is controlling ammonia, which is the greatest danger to the fish at this point.
This can easily be done with frequent water changes, I wouldn't lose sleep over it, you just have some extra effort to put into this.

If you've been reading around, you probably already know you need a decent test kit, and bows your chance to go get one, use it, and post us some results!
Congrats on getting a tank started, it gets better!

 

[DaveK]

About all you can do now is try to ride it out. As you found out LFSs lie. Also, since the LFS will not take the livestock back, get a new LFS, and if you paid with a credit card, dispute the amount, if the livestock dies. After all, it was done on their advice.

I would recommend that you get your own test kits. Your going to need them now. Hopefully things are stable enough and you'll be lucky enough so everything will work out.

 

[Mike Johnson]

You can get through this. I'll give you an example. When you get live rock imported there is a certain amount of die off in the 48 - 72 hours (at the very best) it takes to get to you. You try your very best to save everything and have massive ammonia readings. The way to keep a whole lot of critters alive through that poisonous period is to do large water changes. It's done all the time.

So, right now you need to test for ammonia. If you have an ammonia reading do a 20% water change every day.

I hate to admit this, but the tank I started 8 1/2 years ago I used two blue devil damsels to cycle it. I am proud to say that I still have those two blue devil damsels.

 

[Jay61383]

Thanks for all the info everyone, I guess it was a good thing that I did a water change on Thursday before I had to leave.. I hope it all works out ill post some pics later today..
Thanks again
Any other input is extremely useful

 

[ddelozier]

Your in for the ride now. Just monitor the parameters like a hawk. If ammonia ever gets above .25, do a couple water changes till its below that. if you do frequent water changes to keep the ammonia in check, your fish should be fine. Worst case, it slows down the cycle a bit, but you will be fine. Your best friends right now are an Ammonia test kit, nitrite test kit, nitrate test kit, and a Bucket for water changes. Daily small water changes will keep your fish alive. My own wife/kids pulled this exact same thing on me. Went outa town for a week on business, had a tank cycling(10 days from begining), with all dry rock. came home to a pair of clowns, snails and hermits in the tank as my (Surprise). i was suprised, but not they way they wanted. almost all the inverts made it, and the clowns did too, but i had to change water daily in my 29g cube for 2 weeks.