desperate for answers

[mike90]

ok guys. i am going crazy.

90 gal
wet/dry filter
protein skimmer
UV sterilizer
about 90-100lbs of LR
sand bed

i just bought a naso tang less than two days ago and he's already dead. any new fish i bring home and put in the tank, they are dead within a week. my nitrates were off the chart last time i checked. i did a water change on sunday changing out 15 gallons. my nitrates are still high. high enough where the color of the test wasnt even on the color chart. i really need to fix this nitrate problem because its killing all my new fish. all the fish that are already in there are doing fine. 2 clowns, 1 dogface puffer, 1 yellow tang and 2 damsels. i will check all my levels tonight to find out what all my other levels are at. im at work right now so i can't check them

i really need some help lowering my nitrates. i dont really have room for a refugium. i am currently using bio balls in the wet dry. is it true they could be the source of my nitrate problem? should i put something else in there???

PLEASE HELP a very frustrated fellow reef goer out!

thanks.
mike

 

[Anonymous]

You should be more concern with ammonia and nitrite than nitrate. Nitrate has a much lower toxicity than the am. and nitrite. How is your reading on them?

For a 90 gal tank, a 15 gal water change will lower the nitrate by about 17%. If it is off the chart in the first place, it is not going to help. You need to do a much bigger water change if you want to make a dent on the nitrate. But again, you should be more concern about the other two parameters. Get the reading, and see if you need to so a large water change. In addition, you need to find out what is the nitrate reading on your new water. I assume you have good water in FL?

 

[mike90]

the water i did the water change with was from my LFS. premixed salt RO water.

 

[Anonymous]

Large water changes are a good quick fix, but long term, you will need to get this problem under control. Or else you will not be able to add new fisn and the long term health of your current fish will suffer.

My 75 gallon has never had a nitrate problem, but my nano had off the chart nitrates for many weeks. Even 80% water changes would leave the trates off the chart! 8O The only thing that got it under control was time.

How old is your tank?

 

[rayjay]

If you don't have problems keeping the existing fish alive, then I would doubt that the nitrate is the culprit in the demise of the Naso, definitely not in the less than two days it took for the naso to expire.
A 90g tank is too small for two tangs, especially with all those fish in there.
The tank is more than maxed out, in my opinion, especially with the pig puffer in there.
Stress would be a more likely cause than nitrate.
Wet-dry systems are notorious for highly efficient processing of ammonia and nitrite, but don't have the ability to conver the nitrate as there is no anerobic area in them. Your live rock should take care of some of it, but depending on the porousity of your existing rock you may need more to handle the efficiency of the wet-dry filter when it has the bio-loading you have placed in your tank.
Water changes frequent and a little larger (like 20g) will gradually lower the nitrates

 

[mike90]

do you think building a fuge would help?

 

[Anonymous]

do you think building a fuge would help?

Building a fuge would help. Growing some macros in your display would also help. But these things will only help. If your trates are as high as you say they are, you have some other problem. Too many fish, too big, eating too much. Not enough denitrification in your sand and rocks. Maybe even some nutrient comming in through your source water or top off water or whatever the LFS uses to mix up its salt water.

I don't think a fuge can take a tank that has off the chart nitrates and turn it into a viable low nitrate aquarium. Fuges aren't magic. Well...maybe a 100 gallon fuge with a 400 pound crop of chaeto in it. :lol: But I bet you're thinking a ten gallon with some light strips over it. That will help, but it won't be a cure.



Tell us about your skimmer. How big is it, what kind is it, and is it producing good thick green scum?

 

[Anonymous]

>... But these things will only help.

Ditto that, as well as the question about your skimmer. There is no silver bullet here and you need to make several changes to keep the nitrate down. Don't let anyone convince you that any single idea will solve all your problems.

 

[mike90]

i dont the brand of my skimmer. it came with my wet/dry. its built into the wet dry.
the sum its producing is brown. never seen a green.

 

[Anonymous]

i dont the brand of my skimmer. it came with my wet/dry. its built into the wet dry.
the sum its producing is brown. never seen a green.

Brown is good. Is it thick and does it smell bad? How much does it produce? You should be able to get a couple of ounces of thick foul smelling liquid each day. If you are not getting that much, then you might want to invest in a better skimmer before worrying about a fuge.

 

[mike90]

these were my levels last night:

pH=7.9
Ammonia=0.50
Nitrate=160+
Nitrite=0

 

[melas]

get a second opinion on the nitrate test kit. . . they do go bad over time . . . take your water in to you LFS and see if they will test . . . IME you have to have a really whacked out tank to truly have your nitrates off of the scale . . .

 

[Anonymous]

Your pH looks low and your ammonia should be zero.

How old is this tank?

 

[Anonymous]

Are you running Bioballs in your wetdry? If you do and you have LR in your tank you should remove the Bioballs. They become Nitrate factories.
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Allergies Forum

 

[mike90]

yes i am running bioballs. thats what i've heard about them but then some say to leave them. should i replace with algae instead?

 

[Anonymous]

I would try removing them slowly.
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Hearing Disorders Forum

 

[mike90]

these were my levels last night:

pH=7.9
Ammonia=0.50
Nitrate=160+
Nitrite=0

so i went to the LFS store today with a test kit and they are showing that my nitrates are at a normal level. so now i don't know whos test kit is right. mine or the LFS. i use the aquarium pharmacuticals. i know he used something different at the LFS.

What is a good professional testkit i could buy. Not just some cheap kind but a good reliable one??

 

[melas]

i've run into the same thing several times. nitrate test kits are extremely sensative to heat and they seem to have a short shelf life. do not sit your test kits anywhere that they may be exposed to high temperatures such as your canopy, anywhere near your lights, and even in your stand. like i said previously IME you have to have a mud puddle to have nitrates much over 20ppm in a marine reef with live rock. Regarding your dying fish . . . have you observed any conspecifics? Keep a close eye on the intereaction between your resident tank inhabitants and the new guy. aggression between fish is somtimes very subtle. also you should start a quarantine tank. this will give your new fish a quiet place to chill while you get the chance to observe his health and possible treat him for parasitic infestations and infections. The most important part about buying new fish is knowing where you are getting them from. If syanide was used to capture the fish they WILL eventually die. What I typically do is go and put a deposit on a fish and keep it at the LFS for a week or two. If it survives that its prolly not been syanide caught (they usually die within the first 2 weeks after capture). Also make sure you take your time when acclimating fish. a two hour acclimation procedure won't hurt anyone and can only increase your fish's chance of survival. set up a drip loop to acclimate the new guy in a large bucket. anyhow . . . good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

I'd still remove the bioballs.

Salifert makes good kits.

 

[bleedingthought]

Get a third reading if you're concerned about the accuracy!