need help with the dead sea

jeffrat

jeffrat

Member
:help: my tank is 125 gal. and is about 5 months old. For filters I have fluval, 50 lbs live rock, and bio balls, and a protein skimmer. I continue to have problems with nitrate sky rocketing off the scale and killing my fish. This happens about every two weeks, so I continue have to do frequent water changes of about 30%. What am I doing wrong?
 
jeffrat

jeffrat

Member
the only things alive left is a niger trigger, panther grouper, undelated trigger, three anenomes, and two star fish. And I have crushed coral
 
lazy east911

lazy east911

Member
i would try running two bio wheel filtration systems, ive got 2 emperor 280's running in my tank, i have very good water quality, the only thing that spikes sometimes is nitrates and thats because of over feeding but that hasnt happened in awhile. also moniture that (over feeding)......how often do u do 30% water changes...i do about 10% a week. do u have any algea growth? what kind of water do u use when u do water exchanges? do u have good circulation in ur tank?
 
jeffrat

jeffrat

Member
I have ben doing 30% every two weeks due to nitrate levels. I am going to cut way back on food and see how that affects the nitrate level. Isn't the rule for fish is 1 inch of fish for every gal of water?
 
tagg

tagg

Member

Originally posted by jeffrat
Isn't the rule for fish is 1 inch of fish for every gal of water?
Not with what I like to call "poop machines", and these fish will have lots of waste. The adult sizes for these will be a large bioload on that tank.
Undulate trigger - 12" wild
Panther Grouper - 18" tanked
Niger Trigger - 12" tanked
The Undulate is, can be, one of the meanest puppies around, but can also be cool trained pets. Hope you got a mellow one.
Any problem with with the triggers trying to re-arange the tank yet?:)
You may need fin-guards on the panther. Both triggers like to nip, nip, and nip.
Hope you have good luck and can keep the trates down.
Tagg
 
elfdoctors

elfdoctors

Active Member

Originally posted by jeffrat
. Isn't the rule for fish is 1 inch of fish for every gal of water?
That rule only applies to freshwater tanks.
 
jeffrat

jeffrat

Member
hey thanks tag for the info, and yes both triggers have rearranged my tank, but my panther has ben doing real good and handling his own, but my undulated is kind of a nipper but he is doing better, and they are all the fish I started with after my tank cycled, and I think I am going to try the bio wheel as lazy east sudgested
 
tagg

tagg

Member
Great
Make sure when you do the water changes that you vacume the CC as best you can.
I still want a Undulate trigger, but I think I'll wait for a while.
Tagg
 
rolangunslinger

rolangunslinger

Member
Personally, I would get rid of the crushed coral and change the tank to a sand bed tank.
You can not overstock your tank with live rock. More is better.
Liverock is the absolutely best biological filtration you can have.
LR makes the tank more stable, and sand helps the process.
I think that with these changes and not overfeeding (which raises Nitrates), you shouldn't have any problems.
 
dreeves

dreeves

Active Member
Do you vacume you crushed coral? How deep is the CC? Do you rinse your bio-balls?
Do you have a cleanup crew?
 
jeffrat

jeffrat

Member
my nitrite levels and amonia have stayed near zero, and yes I vacume the cc. my nitrate level was over 80ppm. I recently lost brown tang, valentine puffer, sharp nose puffer, fuzzy lion. All died in a couple of days from ick when the nitrate rose rapidly. So the fish did not die from nitrate but I think stressed by the nitrate level and then the ick finished them off:confused:
I have two brittle stars and several crabs for clean up crew. and just recently rinsed bio balls
 
tagg

tagg

Member
"brown tang, valentine puffer, sharp nose puffer, fuzzy lion"
I could see the tang (just plain fear)
Can you remember how long you had the fish before you lost them. ( as in 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeh etc.)
Did you quarenteen any when you got them in?
I think a dead snail or two ,"puffers" , maby had an ammonia spike. Are all snails accounted for?
Hmmm
Tagg
 
jeffrat

jeffrat

Member
yes I am missing several snails and few crabs. the puffers and the lion where about 2 weeks in the tank and doing good except the lion he was the first to die. the tang I have had for two months and doing good. The tang and the puffers died a few days later just coverd with ick and died very quick. I tested my water ph amonia and nitrite all ok, but nitrate over 80 and had doen a water change about two weeks right befor I added the new fish
 
karajay

karajay

Active Member
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Did I count 7 fish total (including those that already died)? How large are/were they? You've got some potentially large, heavy waste producing fish in a relatively young tank.
I recommend you try a lighter load and don't add anything until you get rid of the ich. Once it's in your tank, it's only a matter of time before the rest of your fish are infested.
 
tagg

tagg

Member
Hard to concentrate with the Saddam thing on TV.
My gess would be a possible ammonia spike from a rotting invert (easy to miss). This may explain the 80+ nitrate levels, (if they were low before), That would explain the appearence of stress related ick.
Was the Lion eating good? Note: Lions can also be pigs, and literaly eat themselves to death.
The Undulate trigger like to raise hell, may have contributed to stress on the others.
I've run into the same type thing before too. Seems like one goes, the others follow.
If one fish dies, the first thing I do is take readings, and then do a 30% water change. Just to be safe. A hospital tank was / would have been the best at the first sign of ick.
Keep track of that nitrate and see if it goes back down / stays down after the water change. Check for possible dead inverts still in there.
All I can come up with right now.
Tagg
 
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