Is this normal?

[tonyg]

Normally when I test, I dont detect any ammonia, nitrate, or phosphate.
I ran tests this evening, and this is what I got:

Ammonia - .13
Nitrate - 10
Phosphate - .25

Nitrite was at 0, and the other tests I have all came out normal.

I fed my fish a cube this morning, probably too much, for I also served a small cube of baby brine for the coral. I'm wondering if these test results could be caused by too much food this morning?

 

[Bifferwine]

It's very likely. Two whole cubes for a 29 gallon tank is a lot of food. How many fish do you have, and what kind are they? Overfeeding is a very common cause of ammonia spiking -- which is not good for your livestock; ammonia is fatal. I would do a water change to get those levels down and cut back drastically on the amount you feed and how often you feed.

 

[tonyg]

I've got 2 oc clowns, a midas blenny and a mystery watchman goby. I also have 2 peppermint shrimps, a tiger shrimp, and about 10 blue leg crabs.

Your right, I'm sure I feed too much, they just alwayse look soooo hungry it's hard not to. :frustrat: When I do feed, I alwayse end up putting in more than I intended so I know everyone got their fill.

I just did a water change a couple of days ago, I'm pretty good about doing them weekly. Every 10 days max.

Is it possible the bio filter will catch up? Could those levels drop on their own?

What is the best amount/scheduel for feeding? I read so many conflicting opinions, I cant figure out whats good.

 

[Bifferwine]

They will drop on their own over time, but there's also the possibility that they haven't peaked yet and could still go up more. You don't want to risk your livestock by leaving ammonia in the tank. Trying to lower it with a water change is the best course of action at this point.

Fish will always act hungry. In the wild, they don't know where their next meal is coming from, so when food is available they will gobble it up as quickly as possible. They don't understand that you will keep them on a regular feeding schedule and they don't have to worry about starving to death. ;)

For 4 fish, I would feed 1/2 cube once a day or every other day. You can target feed your corals with the same food -- the fish will clean up whatever the corals don't catch. You don't need to add in a whole extra cube just for the corals.

 

[tonyg]

So you recommend squirting some of the 1/2 cube directly at the corals? Or did you mean in addition to the 1/2 cube. Do you think that will be enough for the shrimps and crabs as well?

And lastly, do you recommended turning off circulation while feeding?

Thanks.

 

[Bifferwine]

Squirt some of the 1/2 cube at the corals. The corals will only eat a few pieces of the shrimp. The shrimps and crabs will be fine with that food -- they are scavengers. I never turned off my pumps while feeding, but many people do. That's up to you. In your BioCube, do you lose a lot of the food to the overflow? If so, then turning off the pump may be a good idea to minimize the food that's wasted.

 

[chuck78]

+1 Biff !!

 

[tonyg]

Changed some water late last night, just re-tested for ammonia, it was 0, or at least barely detectable.

Hopefully I can keep it that way by not overfeeding.

Maybe i'm crazy, but it seems the longer I go between feedings, the more aggressive the fish become. I am used to feeding them daily, but I didn't today. Already the clowns are at it again, and I thought they had finally settled down. Now even the blenny is chasing them around.

 

[little_fish]

I feed every day because of aggression between my fish, but if you feed daily, just dont feed very much

 

[cvcdrk]

There's nothing wrong with feeding everyday. If you get onto a regular feeding schedule (same amount or close every time) the tank will learn to handle it.

I feed twice a day. I have two fish right now. I thaw 1/8 of a cube of blood worms and 1/8 of a cube of mysis shrimp. I feed half of the mixture around 6pm when the blue lights go on (turning off all the equipment while I do it) then I feed the other half about 3 hours later. The reason I feed twice is the scooter needs more food. He eats twice while the clown only eats once. The clown gets a VERY tiny amount of flakes every other day to supplement now. If you have normal fish, feeding once a day is plenty and a small amount (only what they can eat) is good.

I got one of the Marineland 21" coral feeders to feed the fish too....it lets me place the food where I want it and maximize the amount that the fish can eat. Turning off the equipment also does this.