maleficent
Member
This is my post from a few days ago, I found the problem! (After I poisoned several of my animals ) If anyone out there doesn't know this, besides me. I was cultivating live brine shrimp to feed my filter feeders, etc. I used water from my show tank, I aerated my water, and when the shrimp "hatched" I would siphon them out with a syringe and feed my animals directly with the syringe attached to a rigid tube. I thought that this was an OK thing to do. Boy was I wrong. When naupili are cultured the water that they are cultivated in develops aHUGE amount of Nitrite, like >10. When i thought I was feeding I was actually poisoning my tank. I learned a valuable lesson(and expensive). I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. I discovered that siphoning the shrimp into a brine shrimp net and adding them to new tank water they can then be safely fed.
My other post: Impending sense of doom?
I have a problem with my nitrite level. This week it is 0.3! I have had my tank up and running for approx. 8 months. I test my parameters weekly and have never had a problem with Nitrite. I originally had a very elevated phosphorus at 3.0(ouch) and have gotten it down to 0.05-0.07 with frequent water changes and the addition of Phos-sorb in a media chamber of my filter. I had an algae bloom(that was when I discovered the phos prob.). I have had a problem with Nitrate and have dealt with that by water changes and I added Nitrate sponge to the other media container of my filter. My nitrate fell from 20 to <5. Now I have a Nitrite problem and my Nitrate is back up tp 15-20. I lost a Sally Lightfoot today, (coincidence?). I was using RO water and I use Instant Ocean Salt. I dose with 1L kalkwasser at night dripped in via IV bag at night,(it helps to be a nurse). Everyother day I add Reef Iodide, twice a week I add Reef Calcium, Reef Strontium, Reef Vital DNA and Coral-Vital. I added kent Tech-M once when my Mg was low(has been normal since.) My test results yesterday were: pH 8.0(down from 8.3), Ammonia=0, Calcium=360(down from 420), Mg=1125, KH 13(down from 16), Phos=0.06, Nitrite 0.3(was 0), Nitrate 20(was <5), Temp 78F, SpecGrav1.025. Does anyone have any ideas about how to fix this? I am afraid that I am going to lose some animals. Is my bio-load too high? Do I need more biological filtration? I am about a week away from having a 10g below tank sump/refugium up and running. I know this is wordy but I am trying to be thorough. Thanks for any help.
My other post: Impending sense of doom?
I have a problem with my nitrite level. This week it is 0.3! I have had my tank up and running for approx. 8 months. I test my parameters weekly and have never had a problem with Nitrite. I originally had a very elevated phosphorus at 3.0(ouch) and have gotten it down to 0.05-0.07 with frequent water changes and the addition of Phos-sorb in a media chamber of my filter. I had an algae bloom(that was when I discovered the phos prob.). I have had a problem with Nitrate and have dealt with that by water changes and I added Nitrate sponge to the other media container of my filter. My nitrate fell from 20 to <5. Now I have a Nitrite problem and my Nitrate is back up tp 15-20. I lost a Sally Lightfoot today, (coincidence?). I was using RO water and I use Instant Ocean Salt. I dose with 1L kalkwasser at night dripped in via IV bag at night,(it helps to be a nurse). Everyother day I add Reef Iodide, twice a week I add Reef Calcium, Reef Strontium, Reef Vital DNA and Coral-Vital. I added kent Tech-M once when my Mg was low(has been normal since.) My test results yesterday were: pH 8.0(down from 8.3), Ammonia=0, Calcium=360(down from 420), Mg=1125, KH 13(down from 16), Phos=0.06, Nitrite 0.3(was 0), Nitrate 20(was <5), Temp 78F, SpecGrav1.025. Does anyone have any ideas about how to fix this? I am afraid that I am going to lose some animals. Is my bio-load too high? Do I need more biological filtration? I am about a week away from having a 10g below tank sump/refugium up and running. I know this is wordy but I am trying to be thorough. Thanks for any help.