Ahhhh..... Help with Nitrates

[GTSR]

I have a small reef tank-10 gal- I have about 10lbs of rock, 2 coral banded shrimp, 2 decorator crabs, I had 2 small bennys and a coral beauty. I now lost a blenny and my coral beauty.

I have an Emporer 280 filter, only 3 weeks old. I have been changing 2 gallons every 2 weeks. Is there something I can do to keep down nitrates without stepping up to 4 gallons? I hate killing fish and want to do whatever I need to do to get it right.

 

[kzickovich]

what are your other readings? High nitrates can stress but nitrites kill same with ammonia. Did your tank cycle yet?

 

[Michael]

dont buy another coral beauty, they should not be kept in a 10 gallon tank, id say 2 small fish is enough, slow down and try to get your parameters stable before thinking of additional livestock

 

[eb8919]

Your tank has only been running for two weeks? If this is the case you are moving far far too fast. Your tank may need several weeks to stabalize and create enough bacteria to properly convert toxic levels of ammonia and nitrites. Read and research everything before you buy it . A coral beauty is definatly not suitable for a 10 gallon. Your best bet is to read all that you can on here and be patient.

 

[GTSR]

well the tank has been up for 2 months, I just got a higher flow filter....


my test strip doesnt test for ammonia... what should I do?

 

[OAD]

You should go get a complete test kit (API sells one) that tests for a spectrum of things: PH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. I think you should ask the fish store if you can sell the coral beauty back. That high fish load is bound to cause more problems.

Oh, and for now, do a water change.

 

[chuggy]

do yourself a favor and get a bigger tank its hard to keep the parameters in check with such a small tank, trust me i tried it.

 

[PVChick12]

If you are willing to do everything you can to not kill more fish and you already put a coral beauty in a 10 gallon tank, your time would best be spent reading for awhile.

Nano's are 100% do-able, they are just more difficult and you do have to keep a close eye on water parameters as they are highly susceptible to changes due to the low water volume.

As for the water changes, try 2 gallons every week rather than 2 or 4 every 2 weeks.

You will definitely need a better test kit, I think API is fine some people prefer Salifert.

Go over to the nano forum and do some reading over there before you try adding anything else to your tank.

Best of luck!