Too High Nitrates For Quarentine?

[RobertTheNurse]

Hey everyone. Set up new quarentinr a few weeks back. Wanted to try and cycle the tank as best I could before adding a fish. I have some Seachem Matrix and Polyfilter in a HOB filter.

Tested my nitrates yesterday and showed 50!! Used salifert. Some ammonia was still detectable. I have been ghost feeding for a week. Used Seachem Stability when I set it up.

So I did a 40% WC (10 gallon tank) and threw in some fritz so add some nitrafying bacteria since I did a big change. Tested the water a few hours later...and nitrates still showed about 25.

Now I worried Nitrates will be too high for the Midas Blenny.

Thoughts?

 

[rkpetersen]

That's fine for almost all fish. Most fish can tolerate very high nitrate levels, in excess of 300 ppm.
And even nitrite at fairly high levels isn't toxic for saltwater fish (different from freshwater fish, who nitrite will injure.)

 

[Garf]

If you’ve got a nitrite reading, then nitrate tests are not accurate at all. Even the smallest amount of nitrite will convert into a nitrate reading, but vastly multiplied.

 

[RobertTheNurse]

Is Fritz pretty good? I added more matrix just in case. Or shoukd I do 10% WC daily still when I add the fish? Or monitor ammonia daily?

 

[Garf]

Is Fritz pretty good? I added more matrix just in case. Or shoukd I do 10% WC daily still when I add the fish? Or monitor ammonia daily?

Looks ok from here. Get an ammonia alert badge if I was you.

 

[RobertTheNurse]

Looks ok from here. Get an ammonia alert badge if I was you.

I did. It didn't work for me previously. Told me no ammonia...even shown a lighy behind it. And needless to say...test kit was green ---> dead fish