Nitrate QT

[kattsue]

Is nitrate a level that should be monitored in QT for fish only? If it is high, does this hurt fish?

 

[Aquarist007]

Re: Nitrate QT

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13012315#post13012315 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kattsue
Is nitrate a level that should be monitored in QT for fish only? If it is high, does this hurt fish?

It is the ammonia level that is harmful to fish and should be closely monitored.
Are you running any kind of filter with your qt?

If you are not using or going to use copper based meds then you can add a couple of live rocks from the display tank for insurnace

Otherwise you do a water change if the ammonia spikes

BTW
If you take care of the ammonia then nitrates won't be a problem

 

[kattsue]

Ammonia is 0. I'm using a HOB filter with a Biowheel in it. Am not using copper but hyposalinity. Fish have been in for almost 3 weeks and all seem happy. I was just unsure as to whether high nitrate would bother them. It registers as the darkest pink on Salifert test kit.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13012434#post13012434 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kattsue
Ammonia is 0. I'm using a HOB filter with a Biowheel in it. Am not using copper but hyposalinity. Fish have been in for almost 3 weeks and all seem happy. I was just unsure as to whether high nitrate would bother them. It registers as the darkest pink on Salifert test kit.

if you have zero ammonia for three weeks IMO that could just be a bad test result. Anyways nitrates at reasonable levels are not a problem for fish

 

[kattsue]

Ammonia was up to .25 for first week or so and I did water changes and used Amquel. It has been 0 for at least 1 1/2 weeks, so have stopped using Amquel and have just been changing water every 2 or 3 days.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13012478#post13012478 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kattsue
Ammonia was up to .25 for first week or so and I did water changes and used Amquel. It has been 0 for at least 1 1/2 weeks, so have stopped using Amquel and have just been changing water every 2 or 3 days.

you should be fine--its the ammonia that kills fish not the nitrates

 

[kattsue]

Thanks. I was worried about them. When I'm done with hypo (after the salinity is back to normal), and the fish are back in DT, can I just keep the tank up to quarantine a new fish?

 

[IslandCrow]

Agreed, your nitrates would have to get pretty high (we're talking 100+) before they might have an adverse effect on the fish. A study was done awhile back (though it wasn't on reef fish), and the nitrate levels that actually caused mortalities were ridiculously high (in the hundreds). Except as a matter of curiosity, I don't even test for nitrates in a QT.

As for keeping the QT running, I don't, but that's simply because it's not convenient. What I do instead is put the biomedia from my filter in my main tank's sump so it keeps a good population of bacteria. When I need my QT again, it can be set up very quickly. Now, if you know you'll be getting another fish in the very near future, that's another matter.

As a side note, I don't see why anyone would assume that there would have to be detectable ammonia in a QT. I've run many QTs without ever having detectable ammonia. I use a HOB power filter and do frequent water changes.

 

[kattsue]

I wanted to put 1 more fish in DT, so I'm going to put him in QT as soon as my current fish are all healthy again, them break it down.

 

[IslandCrow]

Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

[Aquarist007]

you might find some extra points on quarantine tanks and using hyposalination on my logbook thread

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1424845