nitrate level high what should i do

[jbird0824]

well i found out why my blue damel died i think. The others are still living. my nitrate is bad. i did a partial water change and, been putting in stress zyme in to. but its not working fast enough. Im going to do another water change tonight 50% this time.. Is there any other thing i should do?? i just change the carbon filter last week.. help me out here. thanks..

 

[saltwater marauder]

Jbird,
What is the nitrate level? is it an FO tank? what are you using for substrate? If it's an FO tank and your nitrates are below 60ppm it's not really a serious issue. Also, if you are using CC for substrate you will never carry a nitrate level of 0. I am using CC in my 75 gal bowfront and have never, even through serious water changes, gotten my nitrates below 30 ppm, sometimes they are as high as 80ppm. Not saying it's good for the fish but they are healthy, active, colorful and eating well. If you are using CC you are doing all you can to reduce the nitrates which is water changes and vacuuming the CC, if you are not running a skimmer it might help to reduce the levels also, gl

 

[jbird0824]

well i have ? Does cc mean crushed coral because i have that in the tank.. What is fo mean to? i have a 65 gallon tank.. the ppm is above 5ppm. That as far as the chart shows me. i have fish wize 2 blue damels, 2 yellow tail damels, yellow tang, and a tomatoe clown. i did the water change on monday also cleaned the plants they are fake. i didnt no if the nitrite can get as high as you say because the diretions say it should be at 0, i have a 403 power head, on it for circulation and also an under ground filter. thanks for the help..

 

[jacrmill]

there was a typo in your first post. your first post says nitrate, thats why the confusion. yes your nitrite should be at 0. also a nitrite not at zero is going to kill your other fish before you damsel i would think. damsels are the hardiest saltwater fish you can get. has your tank cycled? have you recently added fish? how long has your tnak been running? if you answer these ill be better able to help you.

 

[lcc]

What brand of water conditioner are you using? Also with cc you can not vacuum enough. I was had high leels of nitrates in my tank and it started when I switched to a condtioner named "Prime" I quit using Prime and did my regular changes and the levels went back to normal.

 

[jacrmill]

i believe the poster of this made a mistake. everywhere you said nitrAtes i believe he meant nitrItes. they are very different. a level of 60 ppm of nitrAtes may not kill a fish, but a level of 60 ppm of nitrItes surely would. you want your nitrItes to be at 0. you will never be able to get your nitrAtes at 0. the question is how long has your tnak been cycled? and have you drastically changed the bioload (added more fish) recently? also are you over feeding. you do water changes to remove nitrAtes you dont do water changes to remove nitrItes. good luck, and if you respond to my questions ill try to help you further.

 

[jbird0824]

[well my tank has been running for two months i no it has cycled. everything was perfect till i put the yellow tang in the tank. i had a pecula clown die just two days after i bought it with the tang that was about three weeks ago. i had the water tested at the store i go to it was great. so i was able to get another clown for free. put him in. Week later my coral beauty got sick had popeye, lipp fungus, didnt make it. he was in the tank from the beginning with the damels. that was after i ran the tank for a month before i put them in i had live rock in to, to cycle faster. the clown i bought lasted about a week he was looking good the night before he died to. i went to feed them that next day and he was dead. at first i was thinking it was the tang. but i dont really know. then my damel a blue one died sunday. i think its because when i bought them there was a 3 for $15.00 now i think about it they say dont put odd #s of the same fish. so im thinking they killed him. What do you think on that one? I just bought a tomatoe clown fish friday. Hes doing ok but thats when i found the NITRITE problem. So went to the store bought some stress zyme to work on the nitrite level and it still hasnt went down i going to do another water change on wed. It say it in the directions to make water changes for 2 to 3 days and change the carbon filter too help me out i dont want to lose anymore fish.. thanks for the help.QUOTE]Originally posted by jacrmill:
<STRONG>i believe the poster of this made a mistake. everywhere you said nitrAtes i believe he meant nitrItes. they are very different. a level of 60 ppm of nitrAtes may not kill a fish, but a level of 60 ppm of nitrItes surely would. you want your nitrItes to be at 0. you will never be able to get your nitrAtes at 0. the question is how long has your tnak been cycled? and have you drastically changed the bioload (added more fish) recently? also are you over feeding. you do water changes to remove nitrAtes you dont do water changes to remove nitrItes. good luck, and if you respond to my questions ill try to help you further.</STRONG>

 

[jacrmill]

i think there is much more chance of the damsels killing each other, than dieing from the nitrites that wouldnt kill a tang. the thing is high nitrites will kill a tang far sooner than a damsel. so i dont believe the nitrites to be responsible for the death of the damsel. also just so you know 3 damsels for $15 isnt that good of a deal. they sell for $5 where im at. the only thing i can think of that could have happened to your tank is you changed the bioload too fast. your tank had the necessary bacteria, just not enough of it to handle the waste the tang put out. you probably then had a small ammonia spike, which killed one of your fish, now you are experiencing a small nitrite spike. i would just keep adding stress zyme, and maybe see if the lfs will hold your tang for you for a little while, and your nitrites should go down normally. the problem is that i think your tank is going through another mini cycle. maybe someone else can give you better advice, cause thats the best i got. good luck, and dont add anything too take the ammonia, or nitrites out of the water. it will just cause you to have another cycle which would probably wipe out your tank with the load your carrying.

 

[saltwater marauder]

Oh NitrItes, yup you should worry and it sounds like bio-overload might be an issue. Change the water, keep adding the conditioner and dont add anymore fish. I would wait until its stable for atleast amonth before considering any more livestock.

 

[jacrmill]

i disagree with the above post a little bit. i would not change water. changing the water will remove some of the bacteria you need to help you naturally get rid of the nitrites. i would keep the same water, but continue adding stress zyme. but since you are just going to have to endure the nitrite spike, you might wanna do something else with the tang. good luck.

 

[saltwater marauder]

Fair enough, I maybe wrong about the water change. thinking about ammo. oops! Learn something new everyday.

 

[salttrigger]

feed your fish every other day and add some CYCLE the cicle will bring the nitrites to 0
[ April 18, 2001: Message edited by: SALTTRIGGER ]

 

[jbird0824]

Hi thanks for the help to late guys. I changed the water today changed the carbon to. Hope this does the job or maybe it wont. I have been screwing around with this problem for a week an it never went down so i did the change. I feed my fish once a day one pinch of food i feed them spirulina, and sometimes i feed them ocean stars. cleaned the gravel real good to, and put in some stress zyme too. Thanks for all the help..

 

[jacrmill]

u dont need to change the carbon that often. right now you are trying to establish a good amount of baceria. so i would try to do nothing. just let your tank go, dont change any water, and add alot of stress zyme, and hope for the best.

 

[jbird0824]

Thanks; jacrmill. Thanks for the help i will just let it go, for at least a month. I have a ? how many times can i put the stress zyme in once a day or more? Thanks for the help again..