NoPox problem? bacteria bloom? fish dying/ acting weird.

[Tyler Tacy]

So i have a 150G reef tank, over the summer months i slacked off a little on water changes so i started manually dosing NoPox to get No3 down... got my nitrates under control then once down i started getting hair algae..then

what i believe is an bacteria bloom happened. the fish looked like they were getting starved for oxgyen, a white film covered all the rocks.

One fish died

I've done many water changes, turned my gyre up to brake more surface water, upped my skimmer to more wet, added large air pump with stone

the white film is still there and when i try to scrub some off the fish go from looking normal to being in shock, turning white, breathing heavy and float backwards. ( these are the 3 clownfish) same thing happens when i turn on the light in the am....the other fish (hippo) doesnt do anything.

still white film might look alittle better but still there. this started about 1.5 weeks ago

is there anything i can do??
levels in the aquarium are all relatively low
nitrates <10
ammonia < .5
nothing crazy high
corals look fine

 

[User1]

What was the daily dose?

I only ask because I've been using NoPox and one thing I saw over time while reading before starting it was to test a couple times a week to get a baseline and confirmation of parameters first, then start the initial dose 1/4 of what they recommend. Results from test, look at the instructions, take your estimated total water volume, how much they recommend, then do 1/4. Make sure skimmer is running correctly, watch the tank, test 24 hours later. Do this for about a week then increase the dose and repeat.

The only time I saw anything with regards to a white film on the tanks glass or even in the water is if I put too much in. This happened one time after about two weeks when my nitrates went down and I gave the same dose - and not correcting the daily amount based on that change. Never saw or had any fish or coral issues but this could be because I went very slow. The product does work but I've since stopped because the tank has more maturing to do and high nitrates are part of that process.

Personally I wouldn't does with nitrates < 10. To give you a perspective mine reported on the highest color on Red Sea's kit which is 50+. If mine reported 10 or 20 - I would leave it. In any case I don't think I helped or anwsered the question other than maybe suggesting looking at the amount you are dosing. I don't know what sort of reef you have but nitrates above 2 and less than 10 is 2 ml / 25 gallons. Depending on where you are y ou are at 1 or 2 ml / 25 gal.

 

[Tyler Tacy]

thanks for the reply, it was a daily dose yes, i had acually started it when my no3 was about 50 as well, 10ish is what they are now since i've stoped

 

[vetteguy53081]

Heavy breathing is a sign of either low oxygen or gill flukes. Are the fish hanging around power heads? Also - heavy breathing- what is water temp?
To assure your readings are accurate, take a water sample to your LFS for comparison and see what readings they get.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The ammonia is .5?????
That’s crazy high.

 

[HB AL]

As the above poster pointed out If your ammonia reading is accurate there is your problem, assuming it’s correct you need to eliminate it and quickly figure out what is causing it.The ammonia is burning there gills so they start to suffocate. Dosing nopox is not causing ammonia something is rotting and your biological filter can’t keep up.