High nitrates after adding fish

[stambo3]

Hello,
I have 8 LPS corals, mostly euphyllias and duncan, as well as two small clowns in a 160g tank. I decided to add a few new fish - Siganus Vulpinus Foxface -3.5', Chelmon Rostratus - 3' and Blue Tang - 1'. My nitrates skyrocketed and the corals started dying. I don't know how to reduce them, I try with vodka, they reduce a little, but the corals keep dying. How can I deal with the problem, apparently I made a big mistake somewhere and now I don't know how to solve the problem. Can you give me a hand?
Thank you !!!

 

[PokeFish]

Any more background info? How heavy did you feed... I wouldn't expect 3 extra fish to get nitrates up that high.

However, if what you say is true then I would go about performing several large consecutive water changes. 40% per day for 3-4 days. Although this is hard for you because of how large your system is.
What kind of filters do you have on your tank?

 

[ReefingDreams]

Really need to know what your water parameters are. Also what test kits you're using. A more realistic guess at a culprit is either the foxface or copperband eating your LPS.

 

[Nano_Man]

water parameters please so members can help your emergency

 

[AKReefing]

Hello,
I have 8 LPS corals, mostly euphyllias and duncan, as well as two small clowns in a 160g tank. I decided to add a few new fish - Siganus Vulpinus Foxface -3.5', Chelmon Rostratus - 3' and Blue Tang - 1'. My nitrates skyrocketed and the corals started dying. I don't know how to reduce them, I try with vodka, they reduce a little, but the corals keep dying. How can I deal with the problem, apparently I made a big mistake somewhere and now I don't know how to solve the problem. Can you give me a hand?
Thank you !!!

#1: water changes.
#2: you're probably over-feeding the new fish.
#3: Skim wet.
#4: Check ammonia and nitrites too.

Are you noticing water cloudiness?

 

[AKReefing]

How long has the tank been set up?

 

[stambo3]

My parameters are:

Calcium- 440 ppm
KH- 9 dKH
Magnesium- 1450 ppm
Phosphate- I can't exactly measure it with Salifert
Nitrate------- 80-100 ppm
Ammonia- 0 ppm

The tests are new to Salifert. The tank is 10 months old.
Thank you !!!

 

[stambo3]

I don't have any pictures at the moment, but the euphiles and torches have shrunk and only the skeleton remains. If the new fish do eat them, I'll obviously have a lot to learn about compatible species in the reef.
I feed with two cubes of frozen food - one in the morning and one in the evening. As well as spirulina as much as they eat in 2-3 minutes.

 

[stambo3]

Any more background info? How heavy did you feed... I wouldn't expect 3 extra fish to get nitrates up that high.

However, if what you say is true then I would go about performing several large consecutive water changes. 40% per day for 3-4 days. Although this is hard for you because of how large your system is.
What kind of filters do you have on your tank?

Changing that much Ro/Di water is a big deal in such a short time. I already changed 2 times at 30% before I started dosing vodka and it didn't help much. The skimmer works normally.

 

[Dan_P]

Hello,
I have 8 LPS corals, mostly euphyllias and duncan, as well as two small clowns in a 160g tank. I decided to add a few new fish - Siganus Vulpinus Foxface -3.5', Chelmon Rostratus - 3' and Blue Tang - 1'. My nitrates skyrocketed and the corals started dying. I don't know how to reduce them, I try with vodka, they reduce a little, but the corals keep dying. How can I deal with the problem, apparently I made a big mistake somewhere and now I don't know how to solve the problem. Can you give me a hand?
Thank you !!!

Did the coral start shrinking before or after the vodka dosing?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Changing that much Ro/Di water is a big deal in such a short time. I already changed 2 times at 30% before I started dosing vodka and it didn't help much. The skimmer works normally.

Carbon dosing such as vodka takes several weeks to start working. It is not an overnight fix.

To bring nitrates down quickly you need to perform water changes.

Having said that, are you certain you are reading the Salifert Nitrate test correctly?
You need to place the vial on the test chart and look from above under daylight lighting.

 

[stambo3]

Коралите започнаха ли да се свиват преди или след дозирането на водката?

They were already shriveled and after the water change didn't help, I started to dose vodka, but the initial amount is very little and almost no effect after the 3rd day.

 

[stambo3]

Carbon dosing such as vodka takes several weeks to start working. It is not an overnight fix.

To bring nitrates down quickly you need to perform water changes.

Having said that, are you certain you are reading the Salifert Nitrate test correctly?
You need to place the vial on the test chart and look from above under daylight lighting.

Salifert's test shows the darkest possible red color, one cannot go wrong. Before I put in the new fish the nitrate was 5-10 and the corals were happy.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Salifert's test shows the darkest possible red color, one cannot go wrong. Before I put in the new fish the nitrate was 5-10 and the corals were happy.

High Nitrite can interfere with the Nitrate test Causing a high reading.

When did you add the new fish?

 

[stambo3]

High Nitrite can interfere with the Nitrate test Causing a high reading.

When did you add the new fish?

Pisces was added on 12/23/2023. I have a test for nitrites but I didn't think to measure them. I will do it today as soon as I get home from work. Thanks!!!

 

[gbroadbridge]

Pisces was added on 12/23/2023. I have a test for nitrites but I didn't think to measure them. I will do it today as soon as I get home from work. Thanks!!!

I wouldn't think Nitrite would still be high after 2 weeks.

Nitrite is also harmless to fish and coral, it simply interferes with the Nitrate test giving a false high reading.

 

[stambo3]

If I manage to get the nitrates down to acceptable limits for LPS corals, should I continue the daily carbon dosing? I ordered Red Sea- NO3O4-X-1L, because the vodka thing worries me a little, the dosage is complicated, and only the seller knows what vodka I bought in the store. I plan to try NOPOX, hope it works.

 

[Dan_P]

Hello,
I have 8 LPS corals, mostly euphyllias and duncan, as well as two small clowns in a 160g tank. I decided to add a few new fish - Siganus Vulpinus Foxface -3.5', Chelmon Rostratus - 3' and Blue Tang - 1'. My nitrates skyrocketed and the corals started dying. I don't know how to reduce them, I try with vodka, they reduce a little, but the corals keep dying. How can I deal with the problem, apparently I made a big mistake somewhere and now I don't know how to solve the problem. Can you give me a hand?
Thank you !!!

I wondering about an alternative hypothesis. The coral were already dying when you added the fish. The nitrate level might not have anything to do with their demise, especially if it is a nitrite level increase.

Did you test for nitrite?

Over what time interval did the coral die? For example, does the story go something like day before fish added all coral well and nitrate level was 5 ppm. Fish added and nitrate level increased to 100 ppm two days later. The next day coral started dying.

 

[stambo3]

I wondering about an alternative hypothesis. The coral were already dying when you added the fish. The nitrate level might not have anything to do with their demise, especially if it is a nitrite level increase.

Did you test for nitrite?

Over what time interval did the coral die? For example, does the story go something like day before fish added all coral well and nitrate level was 5 ppm. Fish added and nitrate level increased to 100 ppm two days later. The next day coral started dying.

The story is very similar to the one you quoted. Nitrates 5-10 ppm, adding the fish, after 3 days a sharp change in the corals, they start to die, all the polyps have shrunk to the base. 30% water change, nitrate still around 80-100ppm. On the 8th day, start adding vodka, slightly reducing nitrate, another 30% water change / that's all I manage to produce in 3-4 days, 40-50g/. The dosage of vodka continues with a gradual increase in the amount, the result is minimal. I also ordered NOPOX but still waiting for the order. Well today, after 2 weeks, you can say that all the euphyllias and torches are dead, only the 2 duncans still show a little colored part, but they are also leaving.
Nitrites 0.00 ppm, nitrates 80-100 ppm.
Apparently because I started with dead rocks and sand and struggled to create biodiversity myself, something after the 8th month went totally wrong. Well, nothing - I will have a tank entirely and only with fish.
Thank you all!!!
P.P. I'm giving up on the corals for now until I figure out where the problem is and get all the parameters back to fit for coral life...

 

[ReefingDreams]

The story is very similar to the one you quoted. Nitrates 5-10 ppm, adding the fish, after 3 days a sharp change in the corals, they start to die, all the polyps have shrunk to the base. 30% water change, nitrate still around 80-100ppm. On the 8th day, start adding vodka, slightly reducing nitrate, another 30% water change / that's all I manage to produce in 3-4 days, 40-50g/. The dosage of vodka continues with a gradual increase in the amount, the result is minimal. I also ordered NOPOX but still waiting for the order. Well today, after 2 weeks, you can say that all the euphyllias and torches are dead, only the 2 duncans still show a little colored part, but they are also leaving.
Nitrites 0.00 ppm, nitrates 80-100 ppm.
Apparently because I started with dead rocks and sand and struggled to create biodiversity myself, something after the 8th month went totally wrong. Well, nothing - I will have a tank entirely and only with fish.
Thank you all!!!
P.P. I'm giving up on the corals for now until I figure out where the problem is and get all the parameters back to fit for coral life...

Did you dump the water from the bags the fish came in into the reef when you added the fish?