coralfish12g Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 hi so in the back of my tank i have rocks and their is no way to do a water change back there. Go to to see my tank. I do water changes once every like two weeks. I always get the dirty spots where i can. The problem is today i check my water and my nitrates were at like 200. I couldn't believe it. I do water changes where i can and quite often. The whole back section though i cant do water changes . Now im sure that its because of that. I cant really moves the rocks around. Is there some sort of way to get in there. and do you think hats why the nitrates are so high? Please anybody who has the same problem or anybody with an answers comment. Link to comment
paneubert Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 1. 200? Yikes. 2. Not everyone wants to go see a video. Can you post any photos? 3. We are going to need a lot more details about your tank, the percentage of water you change, water source, feeding schedule, etc.... Ok....so I watched the video. I do not think you have 200 nitrates.....those fish would be dead or at least not as happy as they look. Also, where are the rocks? I did not see them in your video of the back chambers? My solution is to take them out, verify your test kit is right, and keep up with the water changes. Link to comment
FishStrings Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 At 200 nitrates you want to change most the water immediately and get really aggressive with premixing the water to get perfect salinity. I would be running chemical filtration too. As to the source of the nitrates, would need more information. Only death or buildup can cause that. Link to comment
tako Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Are you sure the test kit is accurate? Does the tank still look like it does in the video? Link to comment
coralfish12g Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 yes my red mushroom in the tank died but other than that evrything is like that. Everything does look a little more diturbed. When i say rocks in the back ...i mean in the back of the actually tank. i change either 1 to 2 gallons once evry 1 to two weeeks. I probally have beeeen feeding a lot. Its strange it seems like im giving my fish lots of food bu t they always look so hungery Link to comment
HecticDialectics Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 you mean there are rocks in the back in the overflow section?? take them out. don't put them back. half your problem has now been solved. Link to comment
StevieT Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The water in the tank is constantly moving so just because you can't suck it out of the back doesn't mean it isn't being changed. You really only need to siphon the rear chambers twice a year. But you need to start with good filtration in chamber one to catch all the detritus. Take the rocks, rubble, bio balls out like HD said. Problem pretty much solved there Either get a new test kit or re-read the directions because you are way off. Link to comment
dekonstruktr Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Don't overfeed The trolls Link to comment
paneubert Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Don't overfeed The trolls That was my other thought....that tank does not look that good with 200 nitrates. Might be a troll....or a bad test kit! Link to comment
matt frizz Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 This doesn't make sense. Just because you can't take the water from a specific spot doesn't mean that the water is trapped back there. You have flow in your tank so the water is constantly moving, it doesn't just sit in the same place. Take the rocks out of the back because they are detritus traps waiting to happen. Get more aggressive w/ your water changes and also age your water at least a day before changing (with pumps and heater on). Link to comment
MedRed Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Do you make your own RO/DI? Link to comment
coralfish12g Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 i dont mke my own rodi water....GUYS IM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE FILTER AT ALLLLLLL!. Im talking about the rockwork /aquascaping you seee. in my tank i place the rocks more toward the back in a cave. I cant get back there with a syphon also i did like a gallon water change and stuff is looking better. The test kit is fine maybe it wasnt like 200 but then it was probally close to like a 100. Also i dont get bioballs whats the difference? Link to comment
MedRed Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Do you use an RO/DI unit? Have you tested your water source? If it's not coming from your water source it could be an accumulation of detritus, uneaten food, etc. Another issue is that most live rock is porous and in the time period it takes your water to be saturated with nitrates, your rock can harbor it as well. In these cases, it will take a lot of water changes over time with controlled feedings to truly bring the nitrate level down. As you do water changes, your rocks will leach more nitrates back into the water column. vodka or biopellets may also be of consideration. Link to comment
coralfish12g Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 thank you i jst got a new pump so hhopefully there will be less debriss Link to comment
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