new Nano setup

[drboeing]

Becoming an emergency...

I set up a new Nano tank last week, new from Big Al's, new tank, filter, and the recommended substrate (Ive lost the name, but it was a reddish bag with soft "pellets " that I could mash with my fingers when they are wet.

Tank ran for 3 days, started with water from our main tank, where all the ph, etc numbers are great.  I moved a few snails and Cherry Shrimp in on Saturday, no issues other than they were eating a lot, as they was nothing to scavenge in the tank.  Sunday morning, all were eating and snailing about, added the rest of the shrimp, snails, small pleco and coolie loaches, still all is fine.  Whenever hunny tests the water though, the nitrites are off the charts!  We do 75% water change, using water from the stable tank, 15 hours later same issue, 75% change again, 15 hours later, same result.

Fish, snails, shrimp are all acting like everything is fine.

Testing the main tank, water is still great, retest the nano, not great, so its not the test kit.  Im guessing my problem is the substrate, but before I cause more stress to the livestock, can anyone suggest what might be happening?

[dan2x38]

What are the exact numbers?

[drboeing]

yikes, I dont know, hubby does the testing and isnt here to fill me in, but I know the nitrite test tube turned purple right away, which is at the top of the colour card he compares it to.  Is that any use?   

[drboeing]

with a bit of coaching from hubby, heres the most recent test:

Ammonia near zero ppm
PH 6.6ppm
Nitrate  between 10-20ppm on the colour card
Nitrate between 2-5ppm on the colour cardd, closer to 5 in my opinion, last water chage with "good" tank water was about 8 hours ago.

Hope I posted that in a useful manner...

[TLe041]

Your numbers show that the tank is still uncycled. The cycling process will take much longer than three days. Using old water from another tank does nothing to help with this. In fact, you`re just transporting the water complete with waste from that tank to this new one. The population of beneficial bacteria doesn`t live free-floating in the water column but instead mainly resides in filter media, substrate, rocks, driftwood, etc.

Shrimps are much more sensitive than fishes to poor water quality. Even the presence of trace amounts of nitrate could be lethal.

The substrate you`re using is Fluval Ebi Stratum. I can`t recall if they`re known for initially leeching ammonia or not.

For now, just continue doing 25-40% daily water changes for the next two weeks or so until your ammonia and nitrite levels are zero (which indicates that the tank is properly cycled).

[dan2x38]

+1  also just use some of the filter media from the established tank. This will boast the cycle and shorten it big time in the new tank. The nitrate (NO2) and ammonia (NH3) will kill the shrimp almost defiantly especially when they molt.

[drboeing]

TLe and Dan, thanks so much for your kind and gentle input, obviously once again Ive jumped the gun.  So far all the tank residents are holding up, well continue the water changes and hope for the best.  Ill pull a sponge out of our nursery tank, and that gives me a new question, is it ok to just plop it into the tank?  I ask because the nano filter wont accomodate the sponge I have available.  Also I could put in a couple of lava rocks from the established tank.

Again, I love this forum for the people who are so willing to offer help.  Thank you so much!  Any other input is welcome.

[sas]

Just dropping the sponge will help a bit but it would be much better
if you could get water to flow through it. I'd either cut some sponge off
to fit the filter or maybe rig an air stone up somehow? Not sure how much
room you have but it's just a thought.
Adding the lava rocks from the established tank would help as well.

[drboeing]

The filter on the nano uses the same media pellets as the large tank, should I substitute the nano media with the large tank media?

[sas]

I'm not familiar with the nano setups, but when ever I set up new tanks I
always used grungy filter floss/sponges and once in an emergency seeded out
a new tank with mulm from the substrate.
That's when I realized a "clean" tank is not always the best.

If it was I, I'd put some media from your established tank in the filter of
the nano for sure.

[drboeing]

Update, so far the tank is holding its own, with help from some Prime, a bacteria that BA suggested and also some stones from the filter of the running tank.  There is no room in the filter to fit in a used filter sponge.  But as I said, its holding its own, the Nitrite levels are still on the high side, but less volatile, and through all this, the shrimp are still berried, the snails have deposited eggs and everyones eating happliy.  So I think this is a story that will end well.  Ill keep you posted.

[drboeing]

Final update on this one, the tank has settled and I diddnt note a single fatality!

Thanks to all for the help and guidance.