KelliZackMOM
Amy
I am brand new to this so please don't think I am an idiot as I explain what has went on with my tank. I am learning and trust me when I say I've learned my lesson.
My 14 year old son has aquariums at his Dad's(fresh and salt) and wanted one here. I always admired them and thought I would love saltwater and figured it would be a nice hobby for us to do together. We set up our 55 gallon a couple months ago. All seemed to be going well with it, at least I think. The fish were doing good, but we weren't testing the water. I know, first mistake. My know it all teenager said his saltwater at his dads has been going for a year and they have never tested water. See, I was pretty much leaving this up to him to teach me.
On April 20th we did a 20% water change. On April 21st everything(about 200 dollars worth of fish) was dead. Another lesson learned, don't stock the tank with a bunch of expensive fish right away. After everything was dead, I found out my son cleaned our water change bucket with my Lysol bathroom cleaner. This is when I took charge and started reading and doing my research. I am testing the water frequently now and keeping a log. On April 22nd I added a piece of live rock and we cleaned the filter and media. Between then and May 8th my ammonia has been 0.25 to 1.0, the nitrite has been 5.0, and nitrate has been 5 to 80.
Since the bathroom cleaner tank crash, I have been adding buffer to raise th PH which I had up to 8.0. Ammo lock to neutralize the ammonia and stress zyme to help boost the cycle. We also began adding some inexpensive damsels.
On May 8th, ammonia 5.0, nitite 5.0, nitrate 40, and Ph 8.0.
May 9th damsels were gasping at top of water. All levels the same except ammonia jumped to 3.0. By evening damsels dead.
So now, today, I am back to an empty tank. Ammonia has skyrocketed up to 8.0, nitrite 2.0, nitrate 40, and PH 7.8.
Aside from just being patient and letting things cycle, is there anything else I should be doing? Is the bathroom cleaner incident still messing up my tank or is it just really starting to cycle now?
My 14 year old son has aquariums at his Dad's(fresh and salt) and wanted one here. I always admired them and thought I would love saltwater and figured it would be a nice hobby for us to do together. We set up our 55 gallon a couple months ago. All seemed to be going well with it, at least I think. The fish were doing good, but we weren't testing the water. I know, first mistake. My know it all teenager said his saltwater at his dads has been going for a year and they have never tested water. See, I was pretty much leaving this up to him to teach me.
On April 20th we did a 20% water change. On April 21st everything(about 200 dollars worth of fish) was dead. Another lesson learned, don't stock the tank with a bunch of expensive fish right away. After everything was dead, I found out my son cleaned our water change bucket with my Lysol bathroom cleaner. This is when I took charge and started reading and doing my research. I am testing the water frequently now and keeping a log. On April 22nd I added a piece of live rock and we cleaned the filter and media. Between then and May 8th my ammonia has been 0.25 to 1.0, the nitrite has been 5.0, and nitrate has been 5 to 80.
Since the bathroom cleaner tank crash, I have been adding buffer to raise th PH which I had up to 8.0. Ammo lock to neutralize the ammonia and stress zyme to help boost the cycle. We also began adding some inexpensive damsels.
On May 8th, ammonia 5.0, nitite 5.0, nitrate 40, and Ph 8.0.
May 9th damsels were gasping at top of water. All levels the same except ammonia jumped to 3.0. By evening damsels dead.
So now, today, I am back to an empty tank. Ammonia has skyrocketed up to 8.0, nitrite 2.0, nitrate 40, and PH 7.8.
Aside from just being patient and letting things cycle, is there anything else I should be doing? Is the bathroom cleaner incident still messing up my tank or is it just really starting to cycle now?
