Help me please!!!!!

[jnj97]

OK I have a 20gallon tank. Recently the nitrates skyrocked out of control. Everything in the tank is fine(fish, corals, crabs,etc) but I only figured this out bc the new fish I put in died within 24 hours.
So I've been doing water changes everyday for 2 weeks. I've slowly everyday taken the sand(arigilive) out. I'm down to just rock on The bottom of the tank. I've cleaned filters, skimmer,(everyday). Gentle washed the rock to help to move the dirt that's settled. But my nitrates are still at about 10. Please help me. I need help figuring out what else I can do to fix the issue. This is my first tank. Its about 2 years old. Id like to get a bigger one but I want to fix this problem. My amo ias are perfect and everything else is too : '-(

 

[jnj97]

I even tested the water made from r.o.d.I. it's measuring at 3

 

[brandon429]

my nitrates have been 10-15 for a decade, you are good! that's an ok range, and actually a high range wont kill the fish it was something else. we see fish only tanks running 80 nitrates all the time. people use plant arrangements to effectively lower nitrates above what meticulous cleaning would do, so if you do an ATS (google that, quite a read) or a refugium you can get them lower. 10-15 is no big deal, I keep a thousand bucks of coral in 10-15.

 

[reeferKen]

Died within 24 hours... I wonder if it had Fluke

 

[hingisp]

Yeah as Brandon said, your nitrates at 10 are not the issue at all, and quite normal. Certainly would not kill your fish. You have had the tank for 2 years and everything else is fine, so that tells you that your tank is good. You were probably unlucky in the fish you bought may have been sick already from the LFS you bought. I just went through the same loss this week, loosing 2 fish that I bought from the LFS. As a matter of interest a friend of mine also bought 2 fish from the same LFS and both his fish died as well, so it was definitely sick fish we both bought, as everything else in our tanks is perfect.... Removing all your substrate and cleaning everything actually may end up upsetting the apple cart and shock the system a little. I reckon slowly replace everything and let the tank be for a while and let it settle in, and get yourself some new fish again when you feel ready for it [emoji41]

 

[ebushrow]

This shows the importance of a qt tank....I know not all people have the room or $ for one, but the craziness that this fish has caused you might have caused bigger issues in the tank...as hingisp says, it might have rocked the boat...hopefully there would be no repercussions for removing the sand.

We have to be causiously reactionary to our tanks... Too many changes make inhabitants mad and stressed...always try to change 1 variable at a time ( increased water changes) then move to the next if that doesn't work, etc.

I know we want the best for our reefs and don't want anything to die....I totally get that...I know it's easy for someone on the outside to say that. But we need to be careful when we start changing things too rapidly.

just a rule of thumb for me...if the corals look good, healthy fish should be good too, they're much more forgiving than most corals.

 

[bobman]

How many fish and what types of fish do you have. How often do you feed?

 

[Snoopeeyy]

If your RODI water is 3, you should test the water going into your membrane and coming out. if its not about a 95% difference you need to replace it. If it is 95%, test the water coming out of the membrane and coming out of the DI filter. If its not 0, you need to change your DI cartridge. RODI is supposed to have 0 ppm

 

[Justiful]

Nitrite or nitrate?

This shows the importance of a qt tank...

For those who don't want the hassle, have the space, the cash, or the care, alternatives exist.

Some Petco's let you reserve fish. You can then pick them up in 1-2 weeks. It won't stop all parasites but it will ensure your tank isn't hit with a fast acting killer. They don't add new fish to tanks holding reserved fish if you ask them usually. It isn't QT, but it is something. I didn't reserve mine, but I got two of them from a tank with a reserved fish and had checked on them for several days before buying. Good part about reserving... if fish dies before you leave the store you don't pay lol.

Liveaquaria ships next day air every Wednesday to my local petco. I see the boxes with their brand. Same as if you order, except you don't pay shipping.(prices are the same or a dollar different, cheaper if you use periodic 25% pals rewards coupon on a single fish. If your order stuff from petco, you don't pay shipping, place your order by Thursday and they will have them on next Wednesday if you want live product before it ever even hit's their tank. You lose the 14 day guarantee from live aquaria, but you gain the ability to pick them up after you make sure they have no obvious signs of sickness for a week. Not all Petco's let you order like this but mine does. I am ordering copepods like this, same product as liveaquaria no shipping cost but $2 more. I have to pick them up Wednesday though, since they not fish and they don't keep them in inventory. A lot better then the $18 cost of next day air for individual orders.

 

[jnj97]

Nitrate.......and no I discovered the nitrate issue after I bought new fish and they died within 24 hours.

 

[jnj97]

The nitrates we're over 160......now they are at 19. Is that a safe level??? If not how do I bring it down to zero

 

[jnj97]

I just ordered new filters for the rodi system

 

[brandon429]

The chances of the test being wrong is extremely high, post pics of your tank we'll point out details why. Our hobby tests, if compared among readings from other hobby tests, can range 50 easy and commonly

w pics, powerful details will come about. even 160 isn't lethal, if it really was that high then such organic material is at play there are likely other factors but this isn't likely.

need pics

 

[Abyssions]

Could also be the fish that you bought was already sick to begin with, that nitrate level should not have killed that fish.

 

[jnj97]

I bought the fish(a couple of fish lol) and put them I and they died. Thats when I tested the nitrates and found out they were above 160. So over the last month I've done water changes got rid of the sand and now the nitrates are around 10. The fish that have been I the tank for the last year ate still alive. So if the nitrates are 10 how do I get them down to zero???

 

[jnj97]

I turned on the lights. The fish are still hiding

 

[domination2580]

I'm going to have to say no to nitrates...I have a reef tank and my nitrates are well over 180 ppm...everything is fine solo

 

[hingisp]

When you put all the fish in, did you acclimate them at all?

 

[Tahoe61]

What is the specific gravity of the vendor compared to the sg of your tank?

Do you have a sump, what is the gph rating on that power head?

 

[jnj97]

Yes I acclimated them.
So what you guys are saying is that now that my nitrates are around 10........I should be able to add new fish and they'll live( as long as they are healthy