(Sorry for the lenght, trying to be as detailed as possible. So bare with me)
Hey everyone, newbie question here. This is my situation. I got a 29 gal. fish tank mid December 2014. We put two 20 lb. bags of CaribSea Arag-Alive Hawaiian Black Aquarium Gravel in the tank first. Then a day or so later we added 18 lbs. of Fuji live rock. We also bought:
And we borrowed a friend’s power head. We think it’s too big for our tank but planning on getting a replacement soon. We did constant testing of the water (PH/Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate/Salinity), every 3 days. They always came out with results of: 8.2 PH, 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 0 Nitrate, 1.022’ish salinity, and an average of 76-78 degrees in the tank.
We added a Black & White and an Orange & White Ocellaris Clownfish to the tank, about 2 wks. after we got the tank. I know too soon, but they were a gift given to us, and we couldn’t hold them at the pet store anymore.
Everything was fine. The water was never an issue the fish seemed fine, etc. Then about a wk. later we got some snails (4 Margareta, & 3 Cerith), and a peppermint shrimp to help with the algae build up on the live rock and the glass. The algae was a brownish color. A week later after adding the cleaners the algae on the live rock was gone, and the majority of the stuff on the glass was gone too. Here or there the Nitrate would be the only thing to change and go up to 5 or 10ppm and we would do a water change and then it would go back to 0. We also added a cleaner shrimp, because they are fun looking and about a week after that a Scooter Blenny (dragonet fish.
Up to this point we were having no issues. I would say about 3 wks ago from today we changed out the filter we have for a Fluval C4 Power Filter. We were told this is the better filter to have. We originally were going to start the tank with this filter but it took a while to deliver. So we used the API filter as a temporary one till the new one arrived. Again no issues yet. We also got 4 turbo snails and the next day 3 out for the 4 snails died.
About 2 wks. ago we added a Valentini Puffer fish, a Kanopia Polyp Rock, and 9lbs more of Fuji live rock to the tank. We also tested the water the next day and the nitrates were going up to 10ppm again, so we did a water change. The next day the puffer died, and did another water test and the nitrates increased, instead of decreased, for the first time with the water change. It is now more like 20ppm. So we did another water change, two days after the last water change, and I took apart the Fluval filter and cleaned out the parts, in the salt water that was in the tank, that we would of dumped from the water change.
Each time we did a water change we took about 6 gals. out and then added the same amount back in. We were using RO water the whole time and Instant Ocean sea salt. Just 4 days ago I did another water test and the nitrates are still up near 20ppm. So I bought a phosphate & calcium test and the results came out as .25 phosphate and it took 21 drops with the calcium test to make the water turn blue. I also purchased a Purigen pouch to put into the filter, which I was told should help remove the nitrates and phosphates.
Two days ago the blenny died. And I tested the water and now besides the nitrate still at 20ppm. The ammonia is now at .25ppm. So last night we did another water change of 6 gals. Today we tested the water again and the Ammonia is still at .25 and the Nitrate is still at 20ppm.
I am at a loss and don’t know what else to do to get the nitrates out. Besides mangrove plants, which we just don’t have the room for, to fit into the tank. I also don’t know what is causing the levels to go up after having no issues in the beginning. I try not to over feed the fish I feed them 2 times a day. In the a.m. I feed them the pellet foot and in the evening it’s the frozen mega marine mix (small amount of 1 cube). I tried agitating the top of the sand bed to get any food laying on top of the sand up and out the tank, through the filter. I used the fish tank scrubber to clean the walls and scrapped off the white dots that were growing on the walls of the tank. We were told that is normal, and they were small feather duster worms. We also noticed some red stuff growing onto the live rock. We also were told not a bad thing it’s called coralline algae. But we do have brown rock type growths appearing on the sand bed. They look like the color of rust they are hard and form into a ball like a rock and are all over the sand bed. That has been happening since we stated to get algae on the live rock and don’t seem to go away. Not sure what that is yet.
Oh and also green algae is starting to grow all over the rock now too. Just started to happen right around when the nitrate levels wouldn't drop. Give or take a week or so ago.
What can we do to get the nitrate and phosphate levels down that we haven’t done yet. I am afraid of more fish dying. Please help.
Hey everyone, newbie question here. This is my situation. I got a 29 gal. fish tank mid December 2014. We put two 20 lb. bags of CaribSea Arag-Alive Hawaiian Black Aquarium Gravel in the tank first. Then a day or so later we added 18 lbs. of Fuji live rock. We also bought:
- 24”-34” LED Fluval Full Spectrum Marine & Reef lamp, 25 watt.
- Aquatop GH150 Aquarium Submersible Glass Heater, 150 watt.
- API Super Clean Power Filter, up to 50 gal.
And we borrowed a friend’s power head. We think it’s too big for our tank but planning on getting a replacement soon. We did constant testing of the water (PH/Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate/Salinity), every 3 days. They always came out with results of: 8.2 PH, 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 0 Nitrate, 1.022’ish salinity, and an average of 76-78 degrees in the tank.
We added a Black & White and an Orange & White Ocellaris Clownfish to the tank, about 2 wks. after we got the tank. I know too soon, but they were a gift given to us, and we couldn’t hold them at the pet store anymore.
Everything was fine. The water was never an issue the fish seemed fine, etc. Then about a wk. later we got some snails (4 Margareta, & 3 Cerith), and a peppermint shrimp to help with the algae build up on the live rock and the glass. The algae was a brownish color. A week later after adding the cleaners the algae on the live rock was gone, and the majority of the stuff on the glass was gone too. Here or there the Nitrate would be the only thing to change and go up to 5 or 10ppm and we would do a water change and then it would go back to 0. We also added a cleaner shrimp, because they are fun looking and about a week after that a Scooter Blenny (dragonet fish.
Up to this point we were having no issues. I would say about 3 wks ago from today we changed out the filter we have for a Fluval C4 Power Filter. We were told this is the better filter to have. We originally were going to start the tank with this filter but it took a while to deliver. So we used the API filter as a temporary one till the new one arrived. Again no issues yet. We also got 4 turbo snails and the next day 3 out for the 4 snails died.
About 2 wks. ago we added a Valentini Puffer fish, a Kanopia Polyp Rock, and 9lbs more of Fuji live rock to the tank. We also tested the water the next day and the nitrates were going up to 10ppm again, so we did a water change. The next day the puffer died, and did another water test and the nitrates increased, instead of decreased, for the first time with the water change. It is now more like 20ppm. So we did another water change, two days after the last water change, and I took apart the Fluval filter and cleaned out the parts, in the salt water that was in the tank, that we would of dumped from the water change.
Each time we did a water change we took about 6 gals. out and then added the same amount back in. We were using RO water the whole time and Instant Ocean sea salt. Just 4 days ago I did another water test and the nitrates are still up near 20ppm. So I bought a phosphate & calcium test and the results came out as .25 phosphate and it took 21 drops with the calcium test to make the water turn blue. I also purchased a Purigen pouch to put into the filter, which I was told should help remove the nitrates and phosphates.
Two days ago the blenny died. And I tested the water and now besides the nitrate still at 20ppm. The ammonia is now at .25ppm. So last night we did another water change of 6 gals. Today we tested the water again and the Ammonia is still at .25 and the Nitrate is still at 20ppm.
I am at a loss and don’t know what else to do to get the nitrates out. Besides mangrove plants, which we just don’t have the room for, to fit into the tank. I also don’t know what is causing the levels to go up after having no issues in the beginning. I try not to over feed the fish I feed them 2 times a day. In the a.m. I feed them the pellet foot and in the evening it’s the frozen mega marine mix (small amount of 1 cube). I tried agitating the top of the sand bed to get any food laying on top of the sand up and out the tank, through the filter. I used the fish tank scrubber to clean the walls and scrapped off the white dots that were growing on the walls of the tank. We were told that is normal, and they were small feather duster worms. We also noticed some red stuff growing onto the live rock. We also were told not a bad thing it’s called coralline algae. But we do have brown rock type growths appearing on the sand bed. They look like the color of rust they are hard and form into a ball like a rock and are all over the sand bed. That has been happening since we stated to get algae on the live rock and don’t seem to go away. Not sure what that is yet.
Oh and also green algae is starting to grow all over the rock now too. Just started to happen right around when the nitrate levels wouldn't drop. Give or take a week or so ago.
What can we do to get the nitrate and phosphate levels down that we haven’t done yet. I am afraid of more fish dying. Please help.
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As for the puffer we were told it may of had "ink" or something like that. Common in puffers. Supposdly they are very hearty fish to have but the first month of having them is a very delicate situation for them and they are hit or miss if you get a healthy one because they are prone to intestinal parasites due to their diet. Clearly I guess we lucked out and got a sick one. Well lesson learned. Thanks again.
