Uggggg...nitrites...please help

[dottiekh]

Could dead clean up crew be the cause of any of this? Specifically the high ammonia? When I set up, I purchased over $100 worth of clean up (snails and crabs). I see activity from some, some of the time, but I have no idea if they are all still living. I know I am probaly looking for a simple solution to a complex problem, but hey....it's worth asking.
Dottie

 

[dottiekh]

Bang guy, can you tell me how to increase waterflow? I have the filter, I have the skimmer, and I have two powerheads (one going to skimmer). What else can I add that will help?

 

[misfit]

dottiekh where are you located mabey someone else here on the board on some advice on where to find a LFS of mabey sell you some power heads cheap or borrow,ect.just a thought.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by dottiekh
Could dead clean up crew be the cause of any of this? Specifically the high ammonia? When I set up, I purchased over $100 worth of clean up (snails and crabs). I see activity from some, some of the time, but I have no idea if they are all still living. I know I am probaly looking for a simple solution to a complex problem, but hey....it's worth asking.
Dottie
They definately could be the root cause but your tank should have been able to process the dead animals fairly quickly and avoid the ammonia spike. The cost of going too fast.
A large powerhead or two is going to be your easiest, cheapest solution.
Other options include a closed loop with an external pump or a propeller driven water mover. These are better long term solutions but they are significantly more expensive. You gotta get the water moving for your filtration to work properly though.

 

[dottiekh]

Ok. I'll go get another powerhead tomorrow. I'll look at the other options, but at some point I have to feed my children, so I can't go big scale right now
I am located in Rock Hill, SC. The nearest thing to me would be in Charlotte, NC.
I can definitely get another powerhead, so hopefully that will help some. I just tested my water again. Everything is about the same, my ammonia is still at 1. I'm guessing that testing it every 15 mintues isn't actually helping me, so I'll do it again in the next several hours.
I know I've already said this, but thank you. I feel like a great big doofus, but none of you are actually calling me that, and I appreciate that. Some would think it's silly to get attached to "just a fish", but I really am. I've got to make it better for them, so the saga continues....
Dottie

 

[bang guy]

Every 12 hours will give you a good idea of what the tank is doing.
I get attached to all of my fish too. Makes me a nervous wreck when I mail baby fish to someone. So much so that I no longer mail any of my baby fish.

 

[nolan_nike]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
It's about as toxic as Nitrate but it's nearly impossible to get levels high enough to be toxic.

At what level would Nitrate be toxic for fish? How about, leathers, zoos, anemones, snails? Are nitrates at any level toxic to clams?
Unfortunately I've had experience with high nitrates and am trying to decide which results are attributable to nitrates, or something else. They are now down from 200+ to about 20 and falling. I'd like to know what changes (good I hope) I might expect and a timeframe if somebody had a guess.

 

[bang guy]

All I can offer is an opinion since the scientific community has mostly ignored Nitrate. This is probably because Nitrate is quickly consumed in the natural reef environment.
IMO Nitrate is similar to smog. It is uncomfortable at high levels and at extreme levels it can be damaging to weak individuals but mostly annoying to healthy animals. It is fuel for undesirable algae in a reef or fish tank and must be actively removed using water changes, an algae scrubber, a DSB, live rock, or a chemical scrubber.
200ppm is obviously a very high level and yet it will not be more than a bother to a healthy, stress feee animal. It's just not the ideal environment that we should be striving for. 20ppm is tolerable but if you can get below 10ppm I think that most of your animals will benefit.

 

[misfit]

I am sure it didnt help the ammonia but still not the root of the problem How is the level now????Did you try to get more water movement yet??? Why did you buy $100 worth of clean up crew in such a new tank. you didnt have enough for them to clean up yet. You probably lost some of them for sure

 

[dottiekh]

I have not gotten another powerhead yet. I will get it this morning, but the store doesn't open until 10am. I have tested the water this morning though. The levels are:
ammonia 1.0
nitrate 20
ph 8.4
nitrite 2.0
Also, at 2:25am I had an ephiphany. My husband and I went to the Bahamas two weeks ago. We stayed at a resort, so we spent alot of time on the beach. While there, we found two beautiful pieces of "rock", and several shells. We grabbed them up and brought them home. We got home on Jan. 24. On that day, we put everything into the tank. Could that be what started this?

 

[misfit]

Well things look a little better today, at least the ammonia didnt go higher. How are the fish doing?Yeah, that rock with the combo of the cleaner crew, too many fish too fast, only canister filter(no lr), not enough water movement- could be it in a nut shell. Any research for a new lfs?

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by dottiekh
Also, at 2:25am I had an ephiphany. My husband and I went to the Bahamas two weeks ago. We stayed at a resort, so we spent alot of time on the beach. While there, we found two beautiful pieces of "rock", and several shells. We grabbed them up and brought them home. We got home on Jan. 24. On that day, we put everything into the tank. Could that be what started this?
Pull them from the tank and smell them. If they smell like rotten eggs don't put them back in.

 

[dottiekh]

I'm very limited on options in this area. I believe I will start buying from this site, rather than spending my money "there". After reading your response though, I'm wondering if I did anything right

I do appreciate your help though. I am on the way to the store right now...wish me luck...

 

[bailey52]

Amphibious.. just checked out your website.. you should really get that rearranged.. I am in the design field.. and I could barely even tell what was going on at that site... you need to hire a web consultant

 

[misfit]

we have bought coral and fish, all very good, never a bad experience from this site.We all make mistakes thats how we learn.Your fixing them now so thats good. check the classifieds here for some used stuff, if $$$ is an issue and also in your local newspaper.We had alot of luck in the begining doing that

 

[misfit]

maybe thats what we should do , go move out by you and open up a GOOD lfs. We want to do that here but this area is over saturated with them right now!

 

[dottiekh]

I just got back from the store. I came home with two powerheads. I just put them in, and they look good. The fish are behaving normally. They are still swimming and eating as they have been. I'm going to test the water again in a couple of hours.
Yes, please come open a store. You can stay in my garage until you get set up

I will start ordering on line, but I think i may wait a week or two until I add anything. In the meantime, I'll just throw my money out of the window, and cut out the middle man

I'll post the new levels as soon as I do them......again, fingers crossed.....

 

[misfit]

Keep us posted!

 

[dottiekh]

Ok. I just put in the new powerhead, I have literally more than doubled my waterflow. The immediate difference was astounding. The amount of crud that started circulating was awful!!! I didn't understand how more waterflow was going to help with my filtration....now I understand it in a big way. My hogfish even started being a little more active, almost immediately. My puffer does not like change, so he's getting used to it. I'll check my levels in a little bit, but just this small change has made a tremendous difference. Thank all of you so much...I know I'm not close to in the clear, but I feel like I'm getting there. I'll post levels as soon as I do them.

 

[dottiekh]

I put the new powerhead in several hours ago. As I stated, there was an immediate difference in my tank and in my fish. I just tested the levels again, here thay are...
ammonia .75
nitrate 20
ph 8.2
nitrite 2.0
I'll test again tomorrow. I'm cautiously optimisic right now. Let's see what tomorrow brings...