adding another coral?

[mopar9012]

i have a 29 gallon tank with live rock for about 2 months now and some zoos. i had 2 fish a while back, a clown, a rusty angel, and one shrimp. they all died over night and still dont know what went wrong but my water levels went up and i did a water change that day then another 2 days later and got the levels down(and it was NOT because of cycling live rock, i had them out when i did that). ive had the zoos for about 3 weeks and they seem to be doing good along with my new clownfish(knock on wood) my test kits tests about .20 nitrates and 0 nitrites. im thinking about getting sailfert test kits because i think its off a little. do you think its okay to add another coral? thanks

 

[pclown]

How often are you doing water changes, the reason why I ask is because of your nitrates. Your nitrates are borderline right now. I would lower my nitrates first.
What type of coral or corals are looking at?

 

[mopar9012]

i did a water change about 2 weeks ago (that was my 3rd since the fish and shrimp died i think) to try to get them to come down, and the water didnt change at all. the water i put in there was fine, it had 0 nitrates and 0 nitrites. i could do another water change but i dont think it will do anything.
i was going to look into some mushrooms or a bubble tip anemone

 

[ctgretzky9]

Originally Posted by mopar9012
i did a water change about 2 weeks ago (that was my 3rd since the fish and shrimp died i think) to try to get them to come down, and the water didnt change at all. the water i put in there was fine, it had 0 nitrates and 0 nitrites. i could do another water change but i dont think it will do anything.
i was going to look into some mushrooms or a bubble tip anemone

You need to do more water changes, and proper ones at that. Make sure to cycle your mix out for 24 hrs+. In 2 weeks, it would be easy to have trates rise again with no exporting.
What are your other parameters? Alkalinity, calcium, temp, sg/salinity etc...what kind of filtration, lights (especialy for BTA)
anything you can add...

 

[mopar9012]

Originally Posted by ctgretzky9
You need to do more water changes, and proper ones at that. Make sure to cycle your mix out for 24 hrs+. In 2 weeks, it would be easy to have trates rise again with no exporting.
What are your other parameters? Alkalinity, calcium, temp, sg/salinity etc...what kind of filtration, lights (especialy for BTA)
anything you can add...
okay so ill start doing weekly water changes.
pH--8.4
alk-- about 200
nitrites-- 0
nitrates--.20
i need a new calcuim test kit so ill tell you that one when i get one.
as for fitration i have 2 filters i have a cascade 150 and one of those filters that come with a 10 gallon tank kit. i also have a skimmer and i run PCs.

 

[ctgretzky9]

Originally Posted by mopar9012
okay so ill start doing weekly water changes.
pH--8.4
alk-- about 200
nitrites-- 0
nitrates--.20
i need a new calcuim test kit so ill tell you that one when i get one.
as for fitration i have 2 filters i have a cascade 150 and one of those filters that come with a 10 gallon tank kit. i also have a skimmer and i run PCs.

bingo...cascade 150. Nitrates are right at home in such filters, especially if you are not keeping up with the media changes. Change this often to help with trates as well.
More frequent water changes will definitely help!
What is your alk? That isnt a number you have isnt related to alk....usually it is a single digit in meq/l, (like 3 or 4.5) or possibly a small double digit in dkh (like 10 or so)

 

[mopar9012]

Originally Posted by ctgretzky9
bingo...cascade 150. Nitrates are right at home in such filters, especially if you are not keeping up with the media changes. Change this often to help with trates as well.
More frequent water changes will definitely help!
What is your alk? That isnt a number you have isnt related to alk....usually it is a single digit in meq/l, (like 3 or 4.5) or possibly a small double digit in dkh (like 10 or so)

could you tell me what kind of filter i should use? i am on a budget so you might want to keep that in mind, i cant afford a 100$ filter i know this is an expensive hobby but i cant afford that right now. it says on my test kit "alkalinity"then has readings from 0- 300

 

[pclown]

Originally Posted by mopar9012
could you tell me what kind of filter i should use? i am on a budget so you might want to keep that in mind, i cant afford a 100$ filter i know this is an expensive hobby but i cant afford that right now. it says on my test kit "alkalinity"then has readings from 0- 300
Alk can be measured in 3 different ways and alot of test measure this I believe in in mg/l which is what you have given us but to most of us we recognize it as dkH. Here is a formula:
1 Meq/L = 50 mg/L = 2.8 dKH
3.2 Meq/L = 160 mg/L = 9 dKH
So your alk reading in dkH is 11.2

 

[ctgretzky9]

Originally Posted by mopar9012
could you tell me what kind of filter i should use? i am on a budget so you might want to keep that in mind, i cant afford a 100$ filter i know this is an expensive hobby but i cant afford that right now. it says on my test kit "alkalinity"then has readings from 0- 300

The only other "filter" that will give you good results in eliminating trates would be a protein skimmer. Save your money and make that your next purchase if possible.
Other than that, you could use what you are now...just be sure to change the medium weekly if possible (any filter floss etc...) and do weekly water changes, that will go a long way in keeping tartes at least in check.
Got ya on the alk test...not sure how to convert what you have as a test kit. Someone else will help you there I am sure.
Also, forgot to ask...do you have any powerheads in the tank?

 

[ctgretzky9]

Originally Posted by PClown
Alk can be measured in 3 different ways and alot of test measure this I believe in in mg/l which is what you have given us but to most of us we recognize it as dkH. Here is a formula:
1 Meq/L = 50 mg/L = 2.8 dKH
3.2 Meq/L = 160 mg/L = 9 dKH
So your alk reading in dkH is 11.2

Cool, thanks for the breakdown!

 

[mopar9012]

Originally Posted by ctgretzky9
The only other "filter" that will give you good results in eliminating trates would be a protein skimmer. Save your money and make that your next purchase if possible.
Other than that, you could use what you are now...just be sure to change the medium weekly if possible (any filter floss etc...) and do weekly water changes, that will go a long way in keeping tartes at least in check.
Got ya on the alk test...not sure how to convert what you have as a test kit. Someone else will help you there I am sure.
Also, forgot to ask...do you have any powerheads in the tank?
i have a protein skimmer. i just got it last week. so i think im going to start doing weekly water changes and change the stuff inside the filters more often. thanks for the help.
and yes i have a power head.

 

[zanoshanox]

I would say that once your levels get normal you could start SLOWLY adding corals, as long as you keep up with the water changes. Maybe go for soemthing easier, like say some more zoo's or other polyps...Mushrooms, etc.