Nitrates KILL

[HoagieSmuggler]

Hey...lastnight my 2 inch tang died and unforchanelty my sebae clown died too...i have been battleing with nitrates for a month now and i think this is why they died...my nitrates were up 100.0 , i went out today and got a nitrate sponge and did a 15% water change again...now they nitrates are 60.0 i know thats still horrible...but i'm so happy to see them decrease just ALITTLE...they haven't moved all month besides tonight...is there anything else i could do to lower the nitrates? i been thinking about a skimmer? good choice?? please give all your oppinions...they will be really appriciated

[Mikeman]

How big is your tank? How many water changes do you do a month, are these fish recent aquisitions? How far apart did you get them? When did you start your tank?

thanks

[Mikeman]

I was reading some other of your posts, and you just got the sebea recently, you shouldn't have gotten the sebea when your nitrates were high, the extra bioload is probably what did it. Also you shouldn't have kept a tang in a 30g tank unless you were planning on moving it to a bigger tank pronto.

Also I think a skimmer is a must, unless your very experienced.

When did you get your tang?

[HoagieSmuggler]

i know...it was stupid of me to get the sebae...i seen it in the petshop lastnight and just had to buy it and i forgot all about my tank problems..i'm ashamed my tank is 1 years old...i had the tang for 6 months...he is 2 inches ...and yes i was gonna buy a alot bigger tank this week and get it all ready for him...but i guess not now...the tang died of ich...i'm not sure if it was the nitrates...u think so? would a skimmer help reduse ammonia and nitrates...becoz i know ammonia forms into nitrates...thats what i been told...i think have 1 clown, a dottyback and a lawnmower blenny.....and 10 blue legged hermit crabs

[HoagieSmuggler]

forgot to asnwer a question.....i do my monthly 25% water change.

[Northman_with_reef]

I'd go buy a skimmer!
A skimmer removes ALOT of crap from your tank....

Do you know why your nitrates are so high????
Maybe something died and you did'nt notice....(I lost a LM and i never found him, ANYWHERE...)
Your sebae might have started a new cycle.

[Mikeman]

I'd still getter the bigger tank, you could, if you want, transfer all your remaining fish into it after it cycles one by one over a monthly period.

I would also go ahead and get some more hermits and snails, although, blue legs are known to eat snails so i don't know how much luck your going to have with snails

I'd probably do a big water change soon also

[bongobrian]

Some other solutions to help reduce nitrates: a refugium with macro algea lit 24/7, a deep fine-grain sand bed, devices like the "nitra-gon" which utilize chemoautotrophic bacteria that break down nitrate into nitrogen gas. Also, don't over stock your tank and don't over feed. I would keep using your nitrate sponge and doing water changes until you get your trates down under 20ppm. After that, start implementing some or all of the above ideas. Definitely get yourself a good skimmer too. Good luck!

[GregD]

HoagieSmuggler,

I DOUBT that your fish died due to high Nitrates. Nitrates even at a high level 100 or greater won't have an effect on fish, however can be extremely toxic to corals (even at small levels).

For example I have a FOWLR, that has a heavy bioload and the Nitrates stay around 80-100 ppm. All of the fish in the tank have been alive for over 2 years.

A review of the nitrification proces may help in determining the reason for the death of your fish -
- Waste enters tank (waste is food not consumed, dying organisms, fish poo, etc.)
- Waste begins to produce ammonia
- Ammonia feeds bacteria that produce Nitrites
- Nitrites feeds bacteria that produce Nitrates
- Nitrates must either be exported (through water changes, cultivation of macroalgae that consumes Nitrates) or Nitrates must be processed by anaerobic bacteria (such as those in sand beds).

Ammonia and Nitrites are very TOXIC to fish, Nitrates are not. A skimmer itself will not remove Nitrates directly but will remove waste from the water before it has a chance to begin the nitrification process. I would check the levels of the following in your tank as they are more likely to have caused your fish's death -
- Ammonia
- Nitrite
- PH

Don't get me wrong, I highly recommend a skimmer for the reason above as well as for the other benefits of skimming. This will greatly help as your tank as it is maturing.

Good Luck!

[bongobrian]

I also agree with GregD (no I'm not trying to rhyme) your nitrate levels should not have any adverse effects on your fish. Nitrates aren't toxic to fish, but could have been the cause of killing your anemone. Perhaps your anemone died first causing an ammonia spike which then caused your fish to die. If I were you, I would be testing for ammonia and nitrite right now... not nitrate.

[reef120]

HoagieSmuggler

I would also 3 to get a refugium to help export your Nitates. I would also recommend doing more then monthly water changes on a small 30 gallon tank with suck a load you may want to start doing 10-15% WEEKLY water changes. Remember this the smaller the tank the less room for mistakes and the less you want to overstock your tank expecially with having a tank in a 30gal. I would do two things but one is a must reguardless if you go with a bigger tank get a nice skimmer and you may want to concider a refugium. If you stay with the 30gal them get a nice skimmer and do weekly water changes and cut down on your load...

[Penguin]

I agree totally with what GregD said. Nitrates are not toxic to fish. The high levels you're seeing could be the end result of an ammonia spike from something dying in your tank, or they could have risen slowly over time. The above posts have given a lot of good suggestions for lowering nitrates (water changes, not overfeeding, skimmer, low bioload). One thing to add: test your source water for nitrates. If you're using tap water and your local supply has high levels of nitrate then water changes aren't going to help.