Nitrates 160 ppm

[saltyinsterlingheights]

Help fellow reefers my powerhead detached while I was at work created a mess and my nitrates spiked to 160 ppm killing almost all my fish,anenome, and mushrooms would like to save a fish and my coral. Have done three water changes and used reducer still up there.

 

[xthunderx]

1. Try to figure out what's adding more nitrates back into the system.
2. Re-test with another test kit, preferably another brand.
3. Larger water changes.

Good luck

 

[fishroomlady]

I think your best bet is to keep doing water changes......that's really the only way I can think to get them down, the larger the water change, the larger the percentage of reduction.

 

[saltyinsterlingheights]

Thanks for advice gonna try some more drastic water changes

 

[PatW]

If it killed virtually everything, even a 90 percent water change will leave with a level of 16 ppm which is too high. You might as well try to get out as much as you can. Then add a relatively small amount of saltwater to rinse things off and drain and repeat. Then you can refill. It is awfully drastic. Also figuring out what caused the spike is really important. You definitely do not want a repeat.

 

[rworegon]

Before you go crazy and finish killing everything else, fill a large tote with aged saltwater, (mix a batch and let it sit overnite). Transfer your remaining livestock into the tote with a heater and powerheads to earate the water. Then if you want to rinse everything you can probably do it. However, if you leave your rock out of the water for any extended period of time your bacteria will begin to die off and you will end up with an ammonia spike and a new cycle.

If there is one thing I have learned in this hobby is that there is no problem that panic cannot make worse.

BTW 16ppm Nitrate is now where near high enough to kill anything.