Nitrates won't go down! Over 150

[RobW]

Dude... you need to be put on a fish purchasing ban for a bit. Lol

 

[RobW]

I think I'm going to bow out of this thread. I don't think there is a learning curve here. I'm no expert but this is totally off the wall. Good luck to your surviving pets.

 

[Auto-pilot]

yeah well this guy sees your algae scrubbers and raises you the random introduction of anglers/stonefish/lionfish to deal with all those extra fish he has cruising around! it's a new and possibly frowned upon method of nutrient export

Well that was something...... I think i'm done with the internet for a while....... I laughed pretty hard at some of your comments. I cant believe I read this hole thread. I agree with everyone else!!! I WANT PROOF.

EDIT: https://www.marinefishez.com/2013-10-24-03-22-31/remora/remora-detail
You can buy a Remora... Thanks to the internet ANYTHING is possible

 

[Brad Miller]

And this actually made the “featured threads” this is too funny

 

[sde1500]

ROFL well he sure was an effective troll.

 

[Doctor Faust]

well the troll being, you're trying to keep or are keeping some very expert level stuff, but seem to make seriously novice mistakes.. like putting 25+ fish in a 55 gallon tank and then posting on here wondering why your nitrates are super high. its also like you went out of your way to locate fish that are borderline 'don't bother' type fish. now you mention you have catalina gobies in a tank, those fish live off california and don't last long in water that isn't like 65 degrees.. it's like every time you post there's something new that's not advisable lol.

if you want help on not killing fish i'm sure people would be happy to help.. like maybe set up one of your tanks as a predator tank and another tank as a peaceful community tank. but you might want to stop casually dropping in anglers/lions/stonefish to the community tank. like instead of not putting in too many fish, your solution is to add a lionfish so it'll get rid of fish lol. not exactly what most people in the hobby would advise is responsible. if you dont want fish, dont buy them or give them away, not kill them via sea goblin addition

And the rabbit hole goes deeper..;Peeking

Catalinas are at a 72 with the seahorses. I hear you on the rest

 

[Doctor Faust]

Fish, coral, and feeding feeds the Nitrogen cycle the needed Ammonia content which easily gets converted to Nitrate with your nitrifying bacteria. However, Nitrate accumulates without proper export. Water changes are poor for export of Nitrates. I use an algae scrubber and export via harvest of growth in the scrubber. Bio denitrator is another great method. Over feeding is a large contributor.

Thank you very much! Do you have any specific product suggestions? For a 55, but ideally rated much higher. Thank you.

 

[Doctor Faust]

@Doctor Faust @mattzang @Hemmdog

I will be honest, I am just very confused overall by this thread. That being said, how DID you acquire a Remora??

$20 dollars. Local fish store. Guy felt guilty feeding him fish, is what he said, as he liked peaceful fish. And yeah, I had really thought it would be cool to someday have a remora, and saturday came before friday, as the saying goes lol.

 

[Doctor Faust]

Dude, I noticed you have a lot of fish, a lot of friends, a lot of tanks, a lot of sea horses, a lot of videos, and a lot of stories.

My apologies if I am wrong and any support you need is available,

but to be clear..

You have a 55 gallon tank
You have mantis tank, which I am not clear if the grouper and other guy are in there or not
You have a temporary tank you referred to
You have a tank at the office, is that the mantis tank?
You have an octopus tank
You have a guy you traded fish with set up by a LFS
You have a friend that has a pool aquarium. Love to see that
You had a remora and other uncommon fish.

While entertaining, I would suggest a more methodical approach and address 1 issue at a time if you truly want to learn

Again, my apologies if you are just trying to learn, or

Thank you for the post, but I only brought up 1 issue, the nitrates. I provided a stock list as I was asked. The rest have been responses to questions. I would elaborate for you point by point, as you've noted, but it would just be fueling the doubts . On another note, I feel like I'm from another country or something lol..People don't ask local fish stores if they can find them say a mantis shrimp, and I happen to have a conversation about looking for someone who'd take one of mine as the tank's getting overcrowded? And the rest happens like any product movement, no?

 

[Doctor Faust]

Do you have a protein skimmer? Any phosphate removal media. What kind of flow do you have in the tank? Is there any areas that are stagnant without flow? You may have an abundance of detritus accumulating somewhere causing the levels to rise.vacuuming the sand, water changes, monitoring the amount t of food introduced into the tank can all help. What do you have for a cleanup crew? I would first start with with a good water change and cleaning of the sand bed. Check for flow in a variety of areas in the tank. Throw away those api test kits and try something like salifert maybe a hanna checker. Always use rodi water. You might even want to invest in one yourself that way you know the quality of the water you're getting.

I have a reef octopus skimmer, DC 6500L/h return pump, small hydor pump.. I am interested in suggestions on algae scrubbers or tried and trusted reactors, as well as UVs. Seems like basic product shopping doesn't cut it as far as aquarium stuff goes...

Is it ok to be vacuuming the top layer of the sand bed? I mean, taking very little of the sand as waste? I mean to thin it a bit and then slowly add some lighter colored sand.

 

[Doctor Faust]

Dude... you need to be put on a fish purchasing ban for a bit. Lol

I second that.

 

[Doctor Faust]

Entertaining read this was lol. You have to upload videos on YouTube then add a link for the forum.

I just might. Danke.


This is the sea goblin with the peacock mantis, panther grouper, and shy hamlet, with a tube anemone. They are in a bigger thank now with some other mantises and an angler, and this smaller tank serves as juvenile seahorse tank for now, where the catalina gobies are, @mattzang


The lionfish and stuff. Might upload some more, but no one even watches them it seems.

 

[Doctor Faust]

Anyone into Octopuses?

 

[Doctor Faust]

We good? lol

 

[mattzang]

well there it is lol

you have a lot of really cool fish man, i'd really try to figure out something that will last long term

whats that black thing in the top middle of the rock?

 

[Berickson24]

Well on the positive side of things; you've got some huge pods in there lol. I could see them skirting across the glass! So at least the massive bio load is helping with that!

 

[SanClementeEric]

It's the black sand. Get rid of it.

 

[MissyTwitch]

So in watching your videos I can see a few things: One your flow is not the greatest. You will need to fix that if you want to have the gorgonians open up more, to prevent stagnation, areas of no flow. Also, it looks like there was one SPS in there. I'm going to say this you should probably avoid SPS in that tank [issues of lighting/flow]. If you increase light to allow SPS some of the fish/coral that you have will not be so happy as they prefer lower light. Also you have good pods, avoid protein skimmer, use algae scrubber and intermittent sock filters. It will keep your zooplankton/pods/triggers happy and plentiful to feed your gorgonians and see horse. A little phytoplankton wont hurt to keep up your microbiome in your tank.

 

[Doctor Faust]

So in watching your videos I can see a few things: One your flow is not the greatest. You will need to fix that if you want to have the gorgonians open up more, to prevent stagnation, areas of no flow. Also, it looks like there was one SPS in there. I'm going to say this you should probably avoid SPS in that tank [issues of lighting/flow]. If you increase light to allow SPS some of the fish/coral that you have will not be so happy as they prefer lower light. Also you have good pods, avoid protein skimmer, use algae scrubber and intermittent sock filters. It will keep your zooplankton/pods/triggers happy and plentiful to feed your gorgonians and see horse. A little phytoplankton wont hurt to keep up your microbiome in your tank.

What do you mean "intermittent sock filter"? Any algae scrubber suggestions?

I do add phytoplankton from time to time. And I hear you on the SPS..I have gotten rid of it, as I'd rather provide lower lighting for the horses.

 

[Doctor Faust]

well there it is lol

you have a lot of really cool fish man, i'd really try to figure out something that will last long term

whats that black thing in the top middle of the rock?

Thank you, with a bit of guidance that's the intent!

What black thing? The black angler is at the bottom middle of the rock, couldn't see anything furhter up. Unless you mean the nozzle..