Does nitrates kill inverts-?

[gtdarock]

I have a problems recently with two sets of snails I bought. I got a set of Turbo snails last week and mararita snails today. I acclimated them fine, and as soon as they enter the tank they moved for a little while,then after an hour or so, I lost them all. So I checked my readings and my nirates are really high. All the other readings are zero. So do you think that with high nirates it killed my snails.-?

 

[drewsta]

in short.... YES! Is your tank new are you cycling now? If your tank is mature then do a water change. If you are getting the brown algea and thats why you bought the inverts its normal for a cycling tank to get alot of diatom algea but in time it will go away

 

[lion_crazz]

High nitrates will kill snails, yes.
What is your salinity as well?

 

[gtdarock]

Ok. I just checked my reading again
Ammonia- .25
Nitrate- 80
Nitrite- 0
P.H. - 8.0
Saltnity- 1.019
I always have a problem with my nitrate being high. I don't know if I 'm doing something wrong. My tank has been running for a year, but it crashed last month due to copper. I have a wet/dry system, a seaclone skimmer, fluidized bed filter. I do my water changes every month, and when I replace my evaporated water, I use tap water then treat it with stress coat then pour it into the tank. So am I doing something wrong here, causing my nitrate being high for a year. I guess thats why I've been losing snails,crabs and even five diamond sandsifter gobies. HELP !!

 

[lion_crazz]

Well, your nitrates are very high, yes. Also, your salt level is way too low for inverts. It needs to be at least 1.023 for inverts, but preferably up toward 1.025-1.026. These are the two reasons you are losing things.

 

[gtdarock]

OK. So what can I do to bring the nirates down-?

 

[lion_crazz]

Water changes, proper flow, less feeding.
You have high nitrates because you have a very overstocked fish tank. I would start getting some of those fish out of that tank. That is the only way you are going to truly conquer a nitrate problem like yours.

 

[alyssia]

I was having trouble with high trates awhile back and I lost all my shrimp.
Your tap water is likely a source of nitrates, most everyone on here recommends RO water.

 

[gtdarock]

So instead of every month, maybe I should do water changes every 3 weeks-? 20 % -?

 

[lion_crazz]

You should be doing WEEKLY 20% water changes.
Alyssia, it is definitely an overstocked tank. The tap may be adding some nitrates, but not 80 ppm. His fish list for a 75 gallon tank is:
1. Purple Tang- 3 in
2. Yellow Tang -2 in
3. Blue Hippo- 2 in
4. Blonde Naso 2 in
5. Percula Clown - Large
6. Flame Angel- 3 in
7. Juv Emperator Angel- 4 in
8 and 9 Two small blennys.
10. Clown Trigger- 1 in

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
You should be doing WEEKLY 20% water changes.
Alyssia, it is definitely an overstocked tank. The tap may be adding some nitrates, but not 80 ppm. His fish list for a 75 gallon tank is:
1. Purple Tang- 3 in
2. Yellow Tang -2 in
3. Blue Hippo- 2 in
4. Blonde Naso 2 in
5. Percula Clown - Large
6. Flame Angel- 3 in
7. Juv Emperator Angel- 4 in
8 and 9 Two small blennys.
10. Clown Trigger- 1 in

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[lion_crazz]

I wasn't flaming you or anything, I just wanted to make it clear that there wasn't a question about why there was nitrates. A lack of water changes with a high bioload is definitely the issue here, I would say.

 

[gtdarock]

Ok. I will work on the water changes and get rid of some fish, thanx.

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
I wasn't flaming you or anything, I just wanted to make it clear that there wasn't a question about why there was nitrates. A lack of water changes with a high bioload is definitely the issue here, I would say.

I didn't think you were flaming me. I agree with you. I didn't know about the bioload and I should of paid closer attention to the amount of water changes.

 

[lion_crazz]

Nope, not a problem at all, Alyssia.

He posted his water change frequency after you posted, and I know his bioload from searching through his other recent threads.

 

[gtdarock]

Can anyone educated me about the -Reverse Osmosis Units. -? Which one to get? If I should get it at a LFS-? What does it do-? Does it have to be connected to the wet/dry-? Thank you

 

[lion_crazz]

Reverse osmosis (RO) units remove minerals and nutrients from tap water so that it is pure to add to your fish tank. I would try to find one that is at least a 3 stage unit. You could try to see what kind your LFS carries. I like Kent's unit a lot, as this is the one I have seen sold most commonly in my area.

 

[shark bait]

Originally Posted by GTDAROCK
Ok. I just checked my reading again
Ammonia- .25
Nitrate- 80
Nitrite- 0
P.H. - 8.0
Saltnity- 1.019
I always have a problem with my nitrate being high. I don't know if I 'm doing something wrong. My tank has been running for a year, but it crashed last month due to copper. I have a wet/dry system, a seaclone skimmer, fluidized bed filter. I do my water changes every month, and when I replace my evaporated water, I use tap water then treat it with stress coat then pour it into the tank. So am I doing something wrong here, causing my nitrate being high for a year. I guess thats why I've been losing snails,crabs and even five diamond sandsifter gobies. HELP !!

How old is the tank?

 

[gtdarock]

The tank is one year old.

 

[shark bait]

ok, what changes have you made in the last week or so. eg. filter change, fish, bio load change in food amount. these are are all small things that can cause this.