Amonia Spike

[swimfree]

Hi all,

we need some help/advice on our fish only (also an eel) tank.
We have had this tank up & running since august. We have poor water quality and have lost some fish. This is a 185 with actinic lighting. Has a skimmer is rated for 280 gallon & we have a sock.

Amonia .25
Nitrates 40
Nitrites 0
PH 8.2
Temp 75
Salinity 1.012

Habitants:
Niger Trigger
Pink Tail Trigger
Huma Huma (sp?)trigger
clown trigger
undulating trigger
sargent tang
purple tang
flame angel
emperor angel
bird wrasse
paddle fin wrasse
morray eel

Thank you for your help!

 

[reefer334]

The salinity is to low try about1.023.That is a lot of fish for such a new tank.Tanks get better with age,patienceis the key,I have losts a lot of money from new tank syndrome.What kind of filteration are you running?What kind of skimmer do you have?I have learned the hard way that getting good equipment is the best thing you can do for your fish.How big are your fish?Do you have liverock in the tank and if so how much?HOw often and what do you feed your fish?If you can answer these questions I can try and help you.Thanks, Chris

 

[WuHT]

well aside from water changes try some of those ammonia-remover chemicals you can purchase for a quick TEMPORARY fix.

 

[swimfree]

We were told for fish only, to keep the salinity low to help prevent ick. Does that make sense?
Fish size ranges 3-6 inches. Most the triggers are about 3-4 inches. The bird and paddle fin wrasse are about 6 inches. The sargent tang is about 5 inches.
Skimmer is a reef octopus, bought at lfs.
150 lbs of live rock.
Feed 2 cubes a day (brine shrimp) and 12 live feeders twice a week. Silver sides 10 per week(mainly for the eel & triggers).

Thank you for helping.

 

[reefer334]

The amonia levels you are talking about are not that high but I would definatly keep an eye on the levels of amonia.Do you use a sump or a wet/dry filter?If you are not using carbon,I would reccomend using that.Your tank is pretty haevilly stalked for such a new tank,so I would not add anymore livestock.I would also stay away from live feeders as they are not healthy at all for your fish and will create unneeded aggresion.I would raise the salinty up as your live rock will not like that salinity as all of the inverts on it does not do well at that salinity.If you do not have parasites now then you should not have them when you raise the salinity.With your tank I reccomend 10- 25 percent water changes a week,and if not using ro/di water now I would switch to that if you can.I would also feed mysys shrimp instead of brine as they a re healthier for your fish,try some nori to for some extra vitamans.As for your skimmer I do not know of that brand but if it is the one I have heard of then it should be ok,does it skim out black to brown fluid and how often does it fill the cup up?Good luck and just have a little patience as these tanks are like a good wine the older they get the better they are. Hope this helps,Chris