So Here Is The Update .......

[RAYRAY]

1st .... Replaced My Whisper 40 With The Emperor 280
2nd .... Added A Maxijet 400
3rd .... Bought The Liquid Master Marine Test Kit
4th .... Tested The Water...results Are As Follows
Ammonia = 0.00 (good Thing)
Ph = 8.4 (good Thing)
Nitrite = 0.10-0.25 (not So Good)
Nitrate = 0.00
Now This Did Seem Weird To Me Because I Thought The Nitrite Turn To Nitrate ?????

5th .... Update On "mator" ....he Still With Us, Not Laying On His Side Any Longer But Not Really Eating Yet. Now I Have Been Feeding Him Baby Brime Shrip Which Desolves In The Water So He Should Be Getting Some Of That. Tomorrow I'm Taking My Water To The Lfs To Varify My Result And Ask About The Clown So See What I Can Do For Him.
Next Step....im Gettin G The Coraline 65 Skimmer And Making A 10 Gallon Quaratine Tank.

Any Suggestions Would Be Great...i Think I'm On The Right Track.

[bobby]

Sounds good. Nitrite turns to nitrate but not right away, well untill its cycled. Right now your half way through your cycle, when the nitrites go down to 0 your done then you will have a battle with nitrates.

[RAYRAY]

Thats What I Thought. With The Other Test Strips I Had , They Read That My Cycle Was Complete. I Started The Tank In April.
The Strips Read An Ammonia Spike, Then A Nitrite Spike Then They Both Went To 0 And The Nitrate Started To Rise.. I Already Did 2 5 Gallon Water Changes. So Most Likely That Is What Is Wrong With Mator, My Cycle Wasnt Complete And I Prolonged It By Doing The Water Changes.

[bobby]

When did you set the tank up? What did you use to start the cycle and when did you add it? If it read your tank is cycled I dont think a couple of small water changes would hurt anything.

[yote]

Ray,I wouldnt do anything untill I had the store verify your test results.It is possible that the nitrite kits if reading high,or completely off for that matter.I have seen kits that were way off right outta the box.
Dont forget to have them double check your salinity too.

On a side note,
I take a sample into the store once or twice a month and let them double check mine.A little extra insurance never hurts.

[bobby]

Good thought yote I didnt think that far yet. I would deffently double check them, because if your tank has been set up for more than a month it should be cycled already, but you never know.

[reeffreak]

Your cycle could of completed and spiked again by adding a bioload(Mator).You could be seeing the near end results.I would test again tomorrow and see if the nitrite goes down further.If you still have anymore of the strips,compare the two and see what you have.Also nitrate can be use up before its detectable by algae,anerobic bacteria maybe so its not uncommon to have zero nitrates after a cycle.Maybe Mator was stress from an ammonia spike and is slowly recovering now.Hope she pulls thru,good luck.

[RAYRAY]

good news good news!! so i went back today to my lfs and had them test my water for me. they came up with a little different result but a good one .
ammonis = 0 ph = 8.4 nitrite= just about 0 and nitrate went to about 0.05
so my cycle is complete and like reef said maybe mator gave the tank a little bio load. plus the difference with the new filter is great. and now i have way more circulation by ading a maxijet 400 . things are looking better.
as for mator he did grab some live brine shrimp i put in the tank. and if he does eat more i can bring him up to the lfs and they will try to get him back to good health. !!!! thanks guys for all the help here !!! i tell all my friends that are into the hobby about the site !
ray

[yote]

That is good news.
Now just remember the difference between the stores readings and where your kit was reading,and you should be set.
Now sit back,relax,and have a cold one on me

[RigoSharon]

good luck ray...good adds to...the skimmer is a must in all systems...youll see the difference now...more water quality...i hope your clown recuperates well..