Nitrate Problem !! Help Quick Please

[75bownut]

Originally Posted by exile415
Alright, Thanks a lot guys ! hopefully this nitrate will go away in about a week. If the nitrate is low this saturday, you think i can get fish on sunday ? because its 50% off

. thanks again
I waited about 2 weeks after i got my problem fixed , and continued testing just to make sure it was all over whewwwwwwwww!

 

[lion_crazz]

A lot of things remove nitrates but it is up to intelligent hobbyists to realize that they are just lies in order for you to purchase thier product. With all of the money you spent on a UV and liquid doses for problems, a skimmer would have paid for itself. For now, try and take out 25 gallons, placing the 25 gallons with water that has the same exact temperature and salinity. Do this and see how much it lowers your nitrates. Remember to dig deep into the substrate to get all the dirt out. You should only have to do one large one and then you should be able to lower them with each passing week. After the 25 gallon change, they should come down a lot. If they come down passed 40, give the tank a week to settle down. Then the next week, do a 20 gallon water change. This should bring them down some more. Keep reducing them so you get to a point where you only have to do 10 gallons per week and maintain low nitrates.

 

[gmusick]

Prime detoxifies nitrates, but does not remove them. If you do not remove the nitrates, the toxicity of them will come back.

 

[mudplayerx]

You don't need to be worrying about removing nitrates if you have a 0.5 nitrite reading. That nitrite reading is like 100 times worse and more toxic than your nitrates. Something is wrong with your tank. It is cycling again if you have a 0.5 nitrite reading.
Is there some reason you can think of why the bacteria in your tank are dead? Fumes from paint, perfume, etc can kill them.

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by mudplayerx
You don't need to be worrying about removing nitrates if you have a 0.5 nitrite reading. That nitrate reading is like 100 times worse and more toxic than your nitrates. Something is wrong with your tank. It is cycling again if you have a 0.5 nitrite reading.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.......
#1: what test kits do you use? IMMEDIATELY take a sample to the LFS and have everything retested.
#2: Nitrates at that level are NOT fatal to most fish..I've seen far higher....rapid changes, chemicals and fluctuations ARE fatal to fish. Do not do drastic things. Your nitrites are definitely a concern however and we need to figure that out.
When did you last test the water? What were the nitrates? What recent things have you done with the tank? How much do you feed?

 

[mom's bowl]

Hi!
I read the postings and this is what I have found out during my Nitrates and Nitrites level problem. I found doing a 25% water change and adding Amquel+ and NovaAqua+ brought the levels down to zero. I was using Prime but it has a limited shelf life. How did I find that out??? I went to do my water change and added Prime. There was a rotten egg smells that filled my house immediately. I saw that my fish were acting strange. I change the water again and took the Prime to my Pet Shop that I trust. I was lucky because I could have lost everything. I started using the combo of Amquel+ and NovAqua+ for my salt water and fresh water. Everything looks great and I have had NO problems!
:jumping:

 

[ophiura]

It is important to know if you have nitrites in your aquarium. I would really want to know that my tank was handling it rather than some chemicals. Because if you need the chemicals to remove nitrites, IMO, you are setting up for a big fall.

 

[truck0000]

I bought a product called Phos-X to help keep the nitrates out of my tank

 

[fishmamma]

Hmm, just have to jump in here and ask some more about Prime. One LFS says that Prime is one of the only two additives they will use in their tanks. They say the rest are useless. I have mine to keep on hand for emergencies and wasn't aware there was a shelf life to it, though it does say on the bottle it may smell like sulfer. I totally agree with knowing the cause of the problem being priority number one, but I also feel it is important to have emergency back up chemicals to help you out in a hurry if you ever need it so you don't lose any stock. Anybody else have thoughts/experience with this Prime additive?
Sounds like things are heading in the right direction for you, I hope all your fish are well.

 

[jjlittle]

There is not chemical or absorbor that will remove nitrates so dont waste you $$$$ just do a large water change and then keep up with doing smaller ones and make sure you dont over feed.

 

[ophiura]

I agree on the water changes. There just is no miracle in a bottle. If you have a nitrite issue, you gosh darn better know about it...and if you have a nitrate issue, you should know it and fix it properly. It means you are overstocked, overfeeding or not properly doing water changes etc...it is a sign that you need to change something.

 

[exile415]

What causes this nitrate problem .. ? No bacteria in the tank ? What is subtrate ?

 

[ophiura]

A nitRATE problem is overstocking, overfeeding and insufficient export (water changes, lack of macroalgae, refugium, etc), insufficient upkeep of filtration (depending on type). A nitRATE issue indicates you have a sufficient biological filter to handle the load on the tank...but do not have export in place (whether in a deep sand bed (bacteria) or macroalgae/refugium or water changes).
NitRITE problems are also potentially caused by overfeeding and overstocking and exceeding the capacity of the bacteria in the tank. A NitRITE problem indicates a far more significant problem, IMO, than a nitRATE problem.
Substrate is what you have on the bottom - sand, crushed coral...

 

[exile415]

I was probably overfeeding.

 

[exile415]

Thanks Ophuira

 

[dskidmore]

Originally Posted by exile415
My coral beauty died about a week ago.
Could this be the source of the nitrite spike? You could be a week into a mini-cycle. If so, water changes and time is all you need. If the nitrite levels stay elevated, that would worry me.