Nitrate Problem, and others

J

jtizzle120

Guest
hello i was looking for some advice have a 72gal bow front with a ETSS protein skimmer and 20 LBS LR. My amonia is at 0 and my nitrates are around 12.5 i was wondering if i added more LR would that help decrease them or what should i do. I cant seem to keep my damsels alive for more than a month and a half with out them dieing.. this will be my third go around on getting damsels however this time i am going to take every precaution. Could someone help me finally get my tank right so i can enjoy it and purchase nice fish. :help:
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Have you cycled your tank? How old is the tank?
What is your specific gravity/salinity...and your temperature?
Are you doing water changes?
Adding live rock to the tank can very well initially raise nitrates even more or even restart your entire cycle depending on how cured it is. Over time though live rock is the best answer for helping with tank chemistry.
 
J

jtizzle120

Guest
My Tank is a year old the salinity is 1.023 i cycled it a year ago. The temp is usualy 79 degrees. :needhelp: i havnt added LR in about 4 months and i usualy change 20% of my water every 2 weeks..i have a few snails in my tank also to get rid of algea...I feel hopeless when it comes to keeping fish alive...
 
jjlittle

jjlittle

Member
Shoot i didn't think you could kill a damsel.Hows you amonia & nitrite. Nitrates are not what I think is killing the damsels. How is the ph and does it stay stable.Does your temp stay stable.Have you had big SG change lately.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
So tell us more about these damsels....
Are you buying them from the same store?
What kind?
Why are you buying damsels?
How do they die? Are they fine one day and dead the next (and you see a body) or do they waste away?
YOu don't have any other fish? Have you ever had any other fish? You've had a tank for a year without other fish? Or did they die off and you are starting back up again?
Do you use any cleaning products around your tank? Lysol, windex, anything? Any painting, etc? USe just a regular algae pad in the tank, no kitchen sponges or anything? Tap water or RO water?
 
J

jtizzle120

Guest
Well i have purchased green chromisis from the same pet store twice and each time they lasted a month with out dieing this most recent time i had them they would die without a trace i never saw a body or even a skeletal structure for that matter. My ammonia is 0 at this time and my SG is 1.023. I bought these fish twice because i figured i would start with an easier fish to take care of once i got those down i would upgrade. well its been a year and i still havnt upgraded im hoping that this time will be a charm and the fish will make it so i can continue on this amazing hobby. My fish died about 2 months ago and now that school is over i have some more free time so i figured i would look into giving this a shot one more time. Finally, no i do not use any cleaning products around the tank ever.
PS...Im going to the fish store tomoro is it a good idea to get some more live rock and add it since there are no fish at the present moment... :needhelp: Please help me get this right for once.
Oh i use regular tap water.
 
J

jtizzle120

Guest
My Ph is at 8.0 so should it be higher and if so how do i get it higher....I have 0 nitrites, 12.5 nitrates amonia 0 all tests performed this morning...i still do not understand why i have a nitrate of 12.5 if there is only 4 snails in the tank...should i add LR today atleast 10 LBS
 
nizmike

nizmike

Member
You still haven't answered questions about the stability of your tempurature.
Does it flucuate?
Also, sounds like you can use some more LR.
Mike
 
J

jtizzle120

Guest
Tempature does not fluctuate it is at 79 degrees constantly...how much LR should I be adding at a time so it does not affect my water...
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Do not alter your pH, it is fine. What sort of circulation/filtration is in the tank other than the protein skimmer? Can you get an alkalinity reading?
Nitrates accumulate in the tank, and are only removed with water changes. Food going in is generally converted ultimately to nitrates in many tanks.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Also, do they appear fine, eating and everything with good color, and then just disappear, or do they waste or show signs of disease?
 
nizmike

nizmike

Member
Originally Posted by JTizzle120
Tempature does not fluctuate it is at 79 degrees constantly...how much LR should I be adding at a time so it does not affect my water...
As long as its cured and purchased locally as much as u want
 
J

jtizzle120

Guest
i have 2 maxi jet 1200 and a sump filtration with bio balls could it be that my Bio Balls are retaining the nitrates...my fish never showed signs of disease when they died they were swimming great one day then the next searched the tank and he was gone another day wouldf go by and another would disapear could it be that my hermit crabs ate them. Do i Need more circulation? I do not have a test kit to test alkalinity.
 
lillibirdy

lillibirdy

Member
I recently posted about having trouble keeping my Green Chromis alive. I kept trying to make my tank perfect, and now have just one in my QT two weeks now. They where fine eating and swimming and vigorous at night and in the AM a body, or even just disappeared (no crabs in tank). I was trying to QT a few at a time to begin a small school I had heard "somewhere" that Green Chromis who are usually quite hardy, are not being hardy at this time,and the ones the stores where getting in right now seemed weak and loss are up... Only one other person seemed posted experiencing this, and I was going crazy trying to figure it out.
I am not sure what your situation is, and will let the experts help you with it, but wanted to let you know it just might not be the tank. Are you losing blue damsels as well? I didn't try them because I don't want them in my main tank... If this one dies too I am just going to get a different fish in that QT and see......
Good luck,
KathyW
 
J

jtizzle120

Guest
what are micro Bubbles...when doing a water change how much water is to much when changing it
 
aufishman

aufishman

Member
Originally Posted by JTizzle120
i have 2 maxi jet 1200 and a sump filtration with bio balls could it be that my Bio Balls are retaining the nitrates...my fish never showed signs of disease when they died they were swimming great one day then the next searched the tank and he was gone another day wouldf go by and another would disapear could it be that my hermit crabs ate them. Do i Need more circulation? I do not have a test kit to test alkalinity.

It would take a much higher concentration of NO3 than 12.5 ppm to kill damsels. So are your fish disappearing? If you aren't finding dead fish, and they just dissapear (i.e. they looked fine - no signs of disease) something is eating them. The problem with live rock, is that you don't know what you are introducing to your tank. You might have inadvertantly introduced a predator (like a stomatopod), that is munching on your fish. You might want to try removing your rock and examining it closely to see what kind of critters are roaming around your tank. You also might consider sending off a water sample to a real lab to have it analyzied. All state land grant universities should have a water testing lab which will run a sample for around $10. All the WQ parameters you listed are well within the acceptable range.
IMO, If you haven't lost any inverts, you've either got a pathogen specific to fish, or something is in your tank that finds the damels to be tasty. if it was a toxin, your snails/crabs would most likely be the first to croak. You might also try getting some fish from another source.
 
thommyboy121

thommyboy121

New Member
green chromis' dying is a very common thing....they just aren't obtained the right way (most of them are from the philippenes)...which is why some lfs steer clear of these fish...and they often just drop dead very randomly....and they get the red mark on them (the line on their side)......it's not usually b/c of water perameters but is because of the fishes fate.....they aren't taken properly so they don't live long in the tank....I had 6 in a 2 yr old 55 gallon and my water and temp were perfect.....but they just died off.....it's a shame
 
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