Major tank issues...any ideas would be helpful

[daddy_dave]

I have been having some problems with my 46 gal. FOWLR; various fish are dying. First it was my coral beauty, then my blue green chromis, then my yellow clown goby. I'm down to my original two fish, my 6line and percula.

I have tested my levels, and they are acceptable: ammonia is at 0, nitrites are 0, pH is 8.3, and nitrates are a little high, about 130. I know I can do a water change to get the trates to drop, but this seems a little out of the ordinary, as I have had trates up that high before for longer periods of time, and everyone was fine.

Last night I checked my temp and found it to be at 85; however, I have since changed that, and the thermometer now rests at 75. Could it simply be the temp that is causing problems? Coupled with high trates? What do you all think? I need some idea, as I have been losing my little buddies...

 

[sublime250]

I would be most worried about my temperature-

Consistency is key here. I personally keep my tanks stable at 79 degrees

The nitrates is an issue as well- You should do some water changes to get that down to acceptable levels.

Make sure you have lots of aeration( Basically break the surface of the water with a pump, air stone etc)

With a higher temperature you will have lower oxygenation in the water.

I think it s a mix of both- start doing regular maintenance (h20 change, filter cleaning etc) every 2 weeks or at least once a month.

Good luck!

 

[daddy_dave]

Thanks; I was thinking it had to do with both aspects, I just wanted to double check.

 

[The Haj]

We do not get much action around here.go to-- thescmas.com--and you will get more traffic from the colorado springs reefing community...

 

[LarryW]

Dave, what was causing your temp to hit 85? I personally keep my 120 sitting @ 78.9 but I had a 7g nano that uses to bounce between 78 and 84 until i added a fan to help with evap to cool it down. Anyway check us out over at thescmas.com you can join SCMAS, and get discounts to the LFS around the springs and denver. we are having a huge Speaker and Frag swap in denver on the 8th of march.

 

[tkeracer619]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11879004#post11879004 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sublime250
I would be most worried about my temperature-

Consistency is key here. I personally keep my tanks stable at 79 degrees

You want some fluctuation in temps. If you don't your first temp spike might cause problems. FWIW my sps dominated 360g does 76-81 every day.

 

[BurntOutReefer]

"and nitrates are a little high, about 130"....
IMO YIKES!

 

[reefkoi]

I was wondering about that, I have my Nitrate tested and its usually at about 1.5 so 130 seems incredibly high! I have a lot of fish and feed several times a day............Dave, do you do water changes?

 

[BurntOutReefer]

130 high......thats more then what Horse poop contains...
yes...I would look at:
1) test you test. Take water to second source (LFS) to test water to make sure that your test strips arent expired.
2) Start some serious water changes and look at only feeding once a day

 

[Crit21]

It would help to know more about your setup. How often do you do water changes? Do you use a protein skimmer? What kind of filtration do you use? What and how much do you feed? What is your experience with SW?

You said, "I know I can do a water change to get the trates to drop, but this seems a little out of the ordinary." I'm not sure whether you meant that water changes or nitrate levels were out of the ordinary. Unless you have another method to export nitrates, they will only continue to climb. Water changes are mandatory for other reasons too, such as replacement of micronutrients.

While it's the least toxic of the 3 nitrogen based compounds in the nitrogen cycle, nitrates of 130 would stress (and ultimately weaken) everything in the tank except plants (nitrate is a plant fertilizer). Considering that nitrates in the ocean usually measure much closer to zero, you can see that 130 would not be normal. I've found multiple references on the Internet where they recommend keeping nitrates somewhere below the "practical" 20-40ppm range for FOWLR, if not lower.

85 degrees is also a stressor. high 70's is much better. It's also worth trying to keep temperature steady. Fluctuating temperatures can also induce stress.

You could have any of four usual contributing factors that would make nitrates get that high: overfeeding that results in excessive waste, high bioload, substrate that is too coarse, which traps organics and creates a nitrate factory, lack of water changes--or a combination of the above.

Hope you get it figured out.

 

[Crit21]

Any updates?

 

[ladyshark]

Reefkoi--how do you maintain your nitrates at 1.5?

 

[reefkoi]

Well I suppose using Prodibio is helping, and I have a really good skimmer and I change about 15% of my water every friday. I am just really diligent about my maintenance.
BTW I have over 100 fish in a 600 gallon display and I feed several times a day.
It can be done!
C