cant find my answer to this...

[clem1999]

yes a nitrate question but i believe my huge jump is due to overfeeding frozen food and some flake but my question is...
will feeding seaweed & marine snow cause the levels to go way up? my scopas (very small) eats basically a sheet per night so i kept adding them.
what should i do with my feedings?
also my RG has a cloudy eye. is this ich? the fish doesnt look well at all and i would be surprised if it lasts a few days. what should i do. ( i do have a few corals in the tank )

 

[daredevil]

If u happen to overfeed then your ammonia will go up. It is a symptom of ick(i think so) so I would put the Royal Gramma in a hospital tank.

 

[clem1999]

so you are saying my nitrates jumped up from the ICH?
then what else could cause the nitrate jump besides that. i misinterpreted some info on searches for nitrates

 

[daredevil]

You need to do a water change to get nitrates down. They will go down to 0 usually in about 6 months. Nitrates is the least toxic of all the chemicals in your tank. Make sure you do a water change with water with perfect specs. You should also buy a book to answer alot of ur ??s.
HTH

 

[clem1999]

thanks for your help
i have just taken the sick fish out of the tank. i wasnt exactly sure if you did mean that the ICH will cause the nitrates to jump up high. i read on this forum in a search that the nitrates would go up due to overfeeding but ammonia sounds right.
what % would you recommend per week with high nitrates?
thanks again.

 

[daredevil]

What are they? Mine r at 10 -15. If they r high then 5-10% weekly would be ok. I do one everytime I add something new, but thats me.

 

[clem1999]

im talking anywhere in the range of 40 to 160 because the test kit colors to match to in that range is so closely related it could fall anywhere in that range
a week ago i was around what you are at with your nitrates

 

[greatfullreefer]

How much livestock in your tank? Most of us feed every 2 to 3 days (we want our fish healthy but not fat) I suggest weekly 10% water changes and add more circulation to keep food and detritus suspended so it can be removed by filtration, speaking of filtration, what do you have? Also try adding some detritus eaters like Nas Snails. Do you have a DSB(deep sand bed)? Are you running a Refugium? if not look into it, great for nutrient extract.

 

[clem1999]

well i am going to feed every 3 days for now on. i am not sure how often i should feed my filter feeders Marine Snow. Every 3 days?
i have an aquaclear 70 power filter and i wouldnt say i have a dsb. my circulation makes the sand wavy because of the current. i do have a powerhead in the upper left of my tank with the filter on the upper right. seems to work out ok i think (good circulation)
i also have 1 queen conch, 1 fighting conch, and 2 nas snails that i dont see much, and a white cucumber who works hard every night. any other help would be appreciated. thanks

 

[greatfullreefer]

I am a true beliver of when you think you have enough circulation, add another powerhead I would suggest 800 GPH in your 40 gallon = 20x volume in turnover. Try to get a powerhead pointed in behind and trough your rockwork, this is something that is sometimes overlooked. If you dont have a fuge then try adding some macros to your display hidden in a corner this will give a natural food source for your herbivores and provide great filtration. i am not familiar with marine snow as i don't use it. I personally preffer DT's live phytoplankton which i dose 1 tbl spoon every 2 or 3 days in a 75Gallon. What are the filter feeders you speak of?

 

[clem1999]

my filter feeders only include a feather duster, and 2 corals. i have heard a lot of good about marine snow. it is used in a really good coral book showing marine snow as what you should feed.
what is the ideal circulation. for example clockwise, counterclockwise. mine is upperleft to the filter in upper right and then i circulates downward then back to the left at a pretty high rate.
if i do use well water, can i test that for nitrates before it goes into the tank. i showed very few nitrates for 3-4 months using my treated well water. now all of a sudden a dying fish and high nitrates.. thanks again