Few Extra Days?

U4BOYZ

U4BOYZ

Got Fish?
I do a 8" water change on my 120 gallon tank once a week. It's costing me a fortune in salt. Today BEFORE I did my water change...I ran my water tests. Everything was fine except my Nitrate test was a bit high. I try to keep it between 10mg and 20 mg, and before my water change it was more like 25-30mg. My question is, can I space out my water changes more to save on salt and water? Maybe every ten days instead of every week? Is 25-30mg dangerous for my fish? Or can it even go higher and still be safe? Thanks for your thoughts...
 
?Do you really mean 8" or was that 8 gals? I'd encourage you to keep up with weekly water changes but if you are doing too much you can reduce how much you are changing. It's better to reduce the amount than the frequency. I think most of us do about 10% per week.
 
Yes...it's 8"...about 40 gallons. So I guess I'm doing a 33% water change? Did I figure that right? I only do such a large one because I do have a lot of fish...I think 15...about 6 shrimp....couple crabs...3 anemones....a lobster...clam....So the fish guy told me if I wanted to have a lot of fish I could---but that I would have to do a large water change to keep my levels down. Any thoughts? Thanks.
 
Nitrates at 25 to 30 is not bad for your fish, but it could be harmful to your corals and would definitely be harmful to your anemones.

Corals generally need nitrates at less than 20, and anemones need them at less than 5 -- preferably at 0. That's one of the reason why anemones can be so hard to keep, they have very strict water quality requirements.

If you are doing 33% water changes and still can't get your nitrates down, you need to look to other methods. Do you have too many fish? Are you overfeeding? Are you feeding flakes and pellets? Do you have a good skimmer? Do you have crushed coral substrate (instead of sand)?

The more fish you have, the bigger water changes you're going to have to do to keep up with their waste. If your nitrates are high, you're not keeping up :(
 
UGH Biff. Thanks for all that info. I had no idea anemones required such low nitrates. I guess that's why they're never really happy. Oops.

**I'm guessing I have too many fish for 120 gallon tank. Is getting low nitrates with too many fish still possible? Would it just require more water changes or a larger amount?

**I might be overfeeding...but my fish are not 'plump'. I give them the pellets in the am and mysis in the pm. Plus in the morning I also give them either a veggie tablet, meat tablet, veggie sheet or a cube of brine. Maybe I am overfeeding. They always eat ALL of it. No matter what they're fed.

**I do have a really good skimmer. Collects tons of waste.

**I do have sand.

When I feed them pellets in the am...I make certain to feed only a couple at a time and wait until they're gone before I put more in the water. Maybe one of two tiny pellets get sucked down into the sump before the fish can get to them. Is that a problem? I hear that pellets really aren't great. Should I do mysis in the morning instead?

I just tested my nitrates again....AFTER this mornings water change...and it's STILL at about 25mg if not 30mg. UGH again.

What to do, what to do????
 
Try cutting back feedings to every other day. I know it's hard I tend to over feed also. I have started feeding every other day and my fish don't seem to mind.
 
and just feed once every other day. stop feeding the pellets and stick with alll frozen food. it will help to get your levels down i only feed once to twice a week
 
Do your fish always seem hungry? Whenever I walk anywhere near the tank, they race to the corner where I drop in the food, even if they were just fed. Is this common. Is this something fish just do--I'm taking it as a sign they're always hungry. Even if they seem hungry, I still only feed them the two feeding in the am and the one feeding in the pm. The reason why I do an extra feeding in the am is because 4 of my fish don't eat pellets. So I feel I need to feed them something else. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...maybe I should just swap pellets to shrimp....and only feed once a day???? Cripes, I suck!
 
My fish are always looking like they are hungry. I think it is a conditioned response. Kind of like a pavlov's dog thing going on. I feed my 2 clowns and 1 blennie 2-3 times a week. They actually go and pick stuff off the rock work on days I dont feed. I think it is a more natural way for then to get food.
 
Another thought...I do have a yellow tang...don't they require veggies in their diet? I thought they did. That's why I do a veggie sheet or big tablet. Oh...I also feed a block of rotifers once a week....for my clam. Cripes...I guess I am overfeeding!!! Once I write it all down, it seems like a lot. How do I get veggie matter into my tang?!
 
veggies are ok i add them every couple days for my tang they have to have veggies in their diet you could try some emmerad entree. i just started using phuzzy phytes made by ocean nutrition and it is live macro alage that my tang loves
 
Now that I know my nitrates are still high after the water change...what do I do? Another water change? Or is there something I can buy to add to the water to bring the nitrates down? :frustrat: :frustrat: :frustrat: :frustrat: :frustrat: :frustrat: :frustrat: :frustrat: :frustrat: :frustrat: :frustrat:
 
I only feed once every three days, and only frozen foods, primarily because of my recent algae problems. My tangs do get veggie sheets every day, regardless. Keeps them healthy. IMO, avoid adding chemicals to alter your water quality, if at all possible. Chemicals can be unpredictable and disasterous to your tank and your mini ecosystem if they are used incorrectly, which is quite likely with newbies like us. Do you have a phosphate reactor or do you run any carbon? These are also "chemical" reagents, but not as risky.
 
i dont know how all the math works but if you do a 50%water change it will drop them by 50% but if you do another 50% change is only drops them like half of 50% or something kinda like that. the best thing to do is keep up on your water changes and reduce feeding. you can also add macro alage to your sump and that will feed on nitrates and phosphates
 
Will carbon lower my nitrates? I have some carbon kicking around...I'd much rather do that then any chemicals. I get nervous adding anything to the tank.
 

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