WHY haven't high trates killed my fish or snails , hermits,shrimps (3) or cc strfsh ?

3bavboys

3bavboys

Member
90G fowlr
125 # LR
80 # LS
proclear wet/dry amd skimmer
4 units of chemi pure in the sump
tank up 1 yr in march
amonia and trites are zero , ph 8.2 , specifc gravity 1.023, trates 50 + ,
ALL fish are in there at least 6 weeks
pr of clowns
diamond goby
royal gramma
yellow tang
racoon btrfly
6 line wrasse
coral beauty
pj cardinal
blue green chromis
lyrtail anthais
 
f14peter

f14peter

Member
I'm no expert, (Just shed my FNG title and am now a "Former FNG") and would gladly defer to anyone more knowlegable, but it's my understanding that nitrates are poisonous only in high amounts and that some livestock can tolerate relatively significant nitrate readings. I've read often that nitrates of 40ppm is acceptable, albeit on the high side of the "preferable" range, for FOWLR tanks.
Of course, there is a point where the nitrates can be too high.
 
fedukeford

fedukeford

Active Member
Mabey retest the nitrates, but going along with what f14peter said, its more ammonia that does more damage to fish, rather than nitrates.
Feduke
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Nitrate is an irritant to fish & inverts and a severe irritant to coral. It can fuel a lot of nusiance algae as well.
Think of Nitrate and Nitrite as smog. It's not a healthy condition but it's not going to kill all on its own unless the animal is already weak from some other ailment. This is a good reason to keep it low, if a fish is having a problem it's going to take longer to heal in poor water conditions.
 
3bavboys

3bavboys

Member
test kits are about 11 months old , tank is 12 months old
i know trates aren't THAT bad for FO , but i do have hi levels for a sustained period -
curious ( happy and feeling lucky ) as to why i havent seen any deaths -
 
sly

sly

Active Member
I am just getting over a severe algae problem. It's a long story and it involves a lunar wrasse and some poison in the tank... but anyway I've gotten it under control now.
Since I have added snails again to the tank they have gone crazy on the algae and now the tank is spotless. However I am finding it almost impossible to keep my nitrates low. I have ALWAYS had 0 ppm nitrates until recently. I think it is snail poop or something from them eating all that algae. I am going to do a water change Friday again to bring the levels down...
With all that said, my nitrates are around 80-100ppm right now. I am completely surprised that I haven't seen ANY adverse reaction out of any of my snails, crabs, urchins, cucumbers or tangs. They seem to be doing just fine. I have tested with 3 different kits and I know for sure that the nitrates ARE that high.
I put in a nitrasorb bag awhile back to help control it but like I said, I think I just have sooo much snail poop from them eating all that algae that my nitrates are just going to have to be a little high for awhile until I get it stabilized.
But I am with you... I don't know why they are tolerating the nitrates as well as they are. I thought for sure the cucumbers would die but they are doing fine. Ammonia 0, nitrate 0, alk "normal", pH 8.3, SG 1.025
 
sly

sly

Active Member
Doh! I did something stupid. I didn't pay attention to my nitrate test. It has a high range and a low range. I was testing my water wrong. My water is not 80-100 ppm nitrate. It is between 10-20 ppm. I was reading the high range side by mistake. That makes much better sense. I didn't think an urchin could live in 100 ppm water... and mine isn't.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by Sly
Doh! I did something stupid. I didn't pay attention to my nitrate test. It has a high range and a low range. I was testing my water wrong. My water is not 80-100 ppm nitrate. It is between 10-20 ppm. I was reading the high range side by mistake. That makes much better sense. I didn't think an urchin could live in 100 ppm water... and mine isn't.
You had me stumped on that one too untill I read this part :joy:
 
ejensen

ejensen

Member
When I had a FO tank my nitrates were very high. Like 100 ppm. I only had 2 fish. A Pink tail trigger and a Panther Grouper. They were in there for atleast a year and I would go 4 months without a water change. I would not recomend this but the fish were fine.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by ejensen
When I had a FO tank my nitrates were very high. Like 100 ppm. I only had 2 fish. A Pink tail trigger and a Panther Grouper. They were in there for atleast a year and I would go 4 months without a water change. I would not recomend this but the fish were fine.
I thank you for not recomending it!!!! You had two VERY hearty fish. That being said, you are lucky the trigger didn't die! Panther groupers are one of the heartiest fish I have seen. Triggers just look tough, they can fall ill like any other hearty fish.
 
clownfish4

clownfish4

Member
It could be that your fish get use to the water and dont react but if you put a new fish in he would most likely die.
 
petjunkie

petjunkie

Active Member
My local pet store used to have a 90 gallon fowlr with almost no water changes, every time I tested her water it was above 150, even with diltuting the water to get a better reading. Everything in her tank survived, tangs and damsels mostly but her lionfish got scale rot and almost died. Her tangs just didn't look healthy. Fish can live in terrible water but usually can't adapt well going from good water to a tank like that, all new additions died except damsels. Also the whole tank was covered in algea.
 
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