Water chemistry problems

[algy1943]

algy1943
Living Reefs Supporter

Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Upminster essex UK
Posts: 553
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1 Day Ago
I am suffering with high nitrates , I had a a pure white anemone , fed it and it changed to its correct colour and retained its zooxanthella , but it grew so large and moved around the tank killing all my corals with the exception of the xenias , I have since removed the anemone ,removed all the live rock , completely cleaned the tank , throughly cleaned the rock killing off all the aiptasia , new crushed rock , replaced as much of the live rock as I wanted , filled the tank ,replaced the pumps etc and let it cure for 2 weeks then replaced the fish , I have now replaced several corals by the way the tank holds 250litres , I carry out 30litres water change every 2 weeks but cannot get the nitrates below 40 , can anyone help please ?
algy1943


__________________
"Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience"

Current Tank Info: 250L Living reef tank, 7 fish,various corals and anemone's


"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience

Current Aquarium(s) Description: 900x600x460x250L
Experience in Saltwater & Reef Aquarium Hobby: 40 months

 

[yote]

How many and what kind of fish do you have in there?
How much and what kind ( flakes,frozen,) foods are you feeding?
Tap or RO/DI water?

 

[algy1943]

Hi Yote , my fish stock are as follows , 2 percula clown fish, 2 damsel humbugs, 1 damsel blue with yellow tail, 2 firefish, 1 Lawnmower blennies, 2 Tina gattos blennies, 1 yellow tang, 1 pacific blue tang, 1 6line wrasse, 1 regal gramma, they are fed twice a day with one square of frozen brine shrimp each time , my water is RO/DI Which is tested for nitrates and is zero, I carry out 30L water change fortnightly, my corals are fed marine snow and target fed cyclops-Eeze , invertebrates are fed crab food which sinks
Allen

 

[Civicdemon]

It seems to me like you are feeding alot, i would only do half a cube daily at the most.

My self i have ben having the same problem and for the last 4 or 5 days i have cut back my feeding to Nori every day For the tangs ( Even do the other fish eat it also ) and then i just do Misis every other day and my nitrates have already began to go down. Also i only feed my corals 2 times a week with squid and coral frenzy Zooplankton mix.

 

[algy1943]

Ps, I also have 2 green cromis
Allen

 

[algy1943]

I purchased a large leather coral on 21/09/12 , since 27/09 it has closed up and all it's tentacles has disappeared , is it likely that it is dead ? and has high nitrates caused this , I am trying Red Sea No3-Po4 X hoping this will bring the nitrate level down :frustrat:

 

[algy1943]

Hey guys , I have cut the feeding by half and got hold of Red Sea No3:Po4- X and have only used it twice and combined with the food reduction my Nitrates are down to 15 , Phosphates a bit high 130 but I think I am now in the right direction :^::bounce::Cheers::bowdown::beerchug::whoopee!::Buds::boldblue::boldblue::h5::kruecken::kruecken::bouncycig

 

[d2mini]

Awesome! Congrats. :Cheers:

 

[Northstar24]

The problem is 12 fish in a 65 gallon tank, you're overstocked and nitrates will always be an issue.

Also, your tank is much too small for either of those tangs

Watch for algae issues, those phosphates are pretty high

 

[algy1943]

The problem is 12 fish in a 65 gallon tank, you're overstocked and nitrates will always be an issue.

Also, your tank is much too small for either of those tangs

Watch for algae issues, those phosphates are pretty high

I wonder if any one has experienced the different readings with different makes of test kits, I have Hagen, Tetra, and API, API is giving me nitrate readings of 40, Tetra 100 and Hagen 15ppm, hope the 15ppm is the accurate reading because since dosing with Red Sea No3:Po4-X the Hagen readings have reduced, regarding the Tangs they have been in my tank for nearly 2 years have grown quite a bit and seem quite happy

 

[fc_uk]

Hi Algy!

So, I'm probably going to stir things up with this, but in regards to your last question about variances between kits. Speaking as a chemist...

First, your liquid kits are going to give you more reliable results than test strips. Hands down, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If you want to be in the same ballpark, use strips. Now, don't get me wrong; strips have their place. I use strips if I know things are fine or know what the issue is and am merely monitoring to see if things are headed in the right direction or staying the same.

However, if you want to be on a base, you will need those liquid kits as those are much more accurate. To anyone, I would recommend testing using liquid kits at a minimum of every one to two weeks if you are using a combination of liquid/strips.

Having said that, all of these are highly prone to error. Strips/kits have bad lots. There might be uncommon things going on in your tank that will bias the results from manufacturer A when compared to manufacturer B. The bias can be both positive or negative.

Notice the baseball example I gave? Notice how I said the kits get you on base and not WHICH base? Those kits, though better, are not very accurate in and of themselves. Yes, they are better than strips. No, they are not anywhere near equivalent to performing your own titration/running an analytical test method to test water parameter X; that kind of a test will tell you which base you are on.

Unfortunately, we all can't have chemistry labs in our homes. If you wanted to go full on about that and really get accurate measurements, the cost of your aquarium would look like peanuts in relation to the cost of the analytical instrumentation you would need. So, there is a trade off ...

 

[algy1943]

Hi Algy!

So, I'm probably going to stir things up with this, but in regards to your last question about variances between kits. Speaking as a chemist...

First, your liquid kits are going to give you more reliable results than test strips. Hands down, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If you want to be in the same ballpark, use strips. Now, don't get me wrong; strips have their place. I use strips if I know things are fine or know what the issue is and am merely monitoring to see if things are headed in the right direction or staying the same.

However, if you want to be on a base, you will need those liquid kits as those are much more accurate. To anyone, I would recommend testing using liquid kits at a minimum of every one to two weeks if you are using a combination of liquid/strips.

Having said that, all of these are highly prone to error. Strips/kits have bad lots. There might be uncommon things going on in your tank that will bias the results from manufacturer A when compared to manufacturer B. The bias can be both positive or negative.

Notice the baseball example I gave? Notice how I said the kits get you on base and not WHICH base? Those kits, though better, are not very accurate in and of themselves. Yes, they are better than strips. No, they are not anywhere near equivalent to performing your own titration/running an analytical test method to test water parameter X; that kind of a test will tell you which base you are on.

Unfortunately, we all can't have chemistry labs in our homes. If you wanted to go full on about that and really get accurate measurements, the cost of your aquarium would look like peanuts in relation to the cost of the analytical instrumentation you would need. So, there is a trade off ...

I'm sorry but I did not understand what you were getting at .

 

[fc_uk]

You will likely see variation between kits as it's in the nature of the beast. These kits can also provide inaccurate information if they have expired or if a bad lot was manufactured.

 

[FishyReef]

One other thing is that you mentioned you added new crushed rock - are you referring to crushed coral in your sandbed? If so, that is likely trapping all sorts of left over food and fish waste, and contributing to your nitrate problems. I'd strongly recommend taking the crushed coral out a little bit at a time and once its all out then replacing it with aragonite sand. What do you have for a clean up crew?

 

[algy1943]

One other thing is that you mentioned you added new crushed rock - are you referring to crushed coral in your sandbed? If so, that is likely trapping all sorts of left over food and fish waste, and contributing to your nitrate problems. I'd strongly recommend taking the crushed coral out a little bit at a time and once its all out then replacing it with aragonite sand. What do you have for a clean up crew?

Reef Keeper Small Emerald Mithrax Crab x 1 Marine Coral Frag Great Algae Eaters
several snails, several hermit crabs

 

[Cheeser]

Even though ur tangs are doing fine, they still give off a heavy bioload not to mention u have like ten other fish in that small tank.

 

[algy1943]

Although my nitrate problems seem to have been resolved I am now suffering with high phosphates could anyone help please:bowdown:

 

[algy1943]

Hi Algy!

So, I'm probably going to stir things up with this, but in regards to your last question about variances between kits. Speaking as a chemist...

First, your liquid kits are going to give you more reliable results than test strips. Hands down, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If you want to be in the same ballpark, use strips. Now, don't get me wrong; strips have their place. I use strips if I know things are fine or know what the issue is and am merely monitoring to see if things are headed in the right direction or staying the same.

However, if you want to be on a base, you will need those liquid kits as those are much more accurate. To anyone, I would recommend testing using liquid kits at a minimum of every one to two weeks if you are using a combination of liquid/strips.

Having said that, all of these are highly prone to error. Strips/kits have bad lots. There might be uncommon things going on in your tank that will bias the results from manufacturer A when compared to manufacturer B. The bias can be both positive or negative.

Notice the baseball example I gave? Notice how I said the kits get you on base and not WHICH base? Those kits, though better, are not very accurate in and of themselves. Yes, they are better than strips. No, they are not anywhere near equivalent to performing your own titration/running an analytical test method to test water parameter X; that kind of a test will tell you which base you are on.

Unfortunately, we all can't have chemistry labs in our homes. If you wanted to go full on about that and really get accurate measurements, the cost of your aquarium would look like peanuts in relation to the cost of the analytical instrumentation you would need. So, there is a trade off ...

JBL Seem to be the kits the professional coral keepers prefer to use

 

[FishyReef]

Although my nitrate problems seem to have been resolved I am now suffering with high phosphates could anyone help please:bowdown:

Phosphates are likely due to overfeeding. Cut food back to 1 sm cube every other day, and only once a week at most for your corals. I'd also feed something more nutritious than brine shrimp for your fish - check out foods like marine cuisine, emerald entree, or mysis. Fish like variety, so you can get a couple of them and just rotate every few feedings.