Red-ish Water / White spots on 2 fish

[tamz273]

Hey guys,
My water in the tank is turning someone red-ish.. Its not visible when viewing the tank but when I filled a cup to make their food mixture, I noticed it a few days ago. Today its alot redder, and im getting scared/worried.. I just tested for nitrates and they are SKY HIGH! 80ppm! Unfortubaltely my LFS is closed now, and will need to wait till tomorow to go get some water for a water change... (planning a 50% water change)

My other problem is tiny white dots on 2 of my fish. They seem like they have "acne" on their side. One is a baby hippo tang, about 4 months old, and the other is a Purple wrasse...

Help?!

[fsn77]

The fish might have ich, but it's hard to say without a good picture.

The water is turning red... hmm...
Can you list describe your tank / maintenance schedule in some detail? (size, how long it's been running, equipment list, time since last water change, any recent battles with algae, etc.)
Can you list the other inhabitants of your tank?
Has something changed in your tank recently? (other than the noticable red tint)
Lose any fish or large inverts just prior to the red color appearing?
Any additions recently? (livestock, equipment, etc.)
Was it a few days ago when you first noticed it, or did you notice it prior to that?
Have you tried running some fresh carbon to clear the coloration / remove the potential contaminant?

Sorry there's not much there to help in the immediate future, but there's not a lot to go off of in your original posting.

[tamz273]

Hey, thanks for the reply.
I did a water change to bring my nitrates down a little bit. The spots on my hippo havent increased, but are slowly fading away, so im assuming its ick. No one else has picked it up. It might have been the stress in the tank due to high nitrates that caused teh Ick.
also, the redness starting happening after i added some phytoplankton to the tank. Alagae started growing on teh glass (normal reaction) and then the water started forming a red "film" of algae on teh surface. It wouldnt go away even with the power heads constantly turning the water on the surface to break the surface tension. Im not sure how to get rid of it, or weather or nto it will go away..

I put some garlic in the food last night, but the fish havent eaten any of it n its all just gathered up in the power heads filters...

Any ideas?

[Amphiprion]

Are getting red surface films or is the water actually red? Some phytoplankton products that contain red algae will do this. Also, cyanobacterial pigments can do the same, giving the water a reddish-pink tint. In rarer cases, oxidized iron (oxidized after water containing iron is added) can give the water a rusty red tint. Because you describe a red film, I am leaning toward it being the rupture and/or proliferation of cyanobacterial cells. If that is the case, I'd immediately back off on the phytoplankton addition.

[tamz273]

I add phytoplankton every 2-3 weeks (5ml to 110Gal system) which i dont think is much, but I will stop anyway. My concern now is getting everything back to normal... the film seems to have dissappeared atm, i think things are settling down.. My hippo tang has MORE spots on it now, and I dont want to loose this fella.. Ive watched him grow for quite a bit, and lost my hippo before him..

well the leftover garlic cause any water imbalances to the tank? should i take it out or just leave it in the water to dissolve?

[tamz273]

...?

[Amphiprion]

What garlic were you feeding it? Some studies actually showed that garlic (and other terrestrial-based oils) may even actually cause long term hepatic issues...

[tamz273]

I used some garlic i use to cook, label says (mixed with extra-virgin oil)..
By hippo tang is hiding in a rock and breathing very heavily... I think he won't make it through the day..

This will be the second Hippo that I look in 1 year =(

[tamz273]

no one...?

[tamz273]

I got back home today, did another water change, and tested for nitrates an hour after my water change. My nitrates are still around 50ppm, and this is the THIRD 25% water change i did this WEEK...
I have some sources of nitrates that i cant seem to track down... any ideas?

[Amphiprion]

Most of it is likely locked into the interstitial spaces in sand and live rock. You are lowering the concentration gradient in the water, thus releasing more from there. It will take A LOT of water changes to get rid of it. I suggest the use of a refugium and macroalgae to help things along as a potentially more feasible option.

[tamz273]

what is A LOT...? 2-3 water changes per week for a month? is that enough or more?

[Amphiprion]

It is impossible to say. It may take less or very well longer than that. But I do agree that that is a viable outlook on the situation. Growing some macroalgae will greatly expedite all of this...

[tamz273]

im sure it would, but i dont have a sump setup and i cant make one because my tank isnt predrilled.. and an overflow is too noisy.. So i guess its up to water changes..