My 20-Gallon (Tall) Softie/lps Nano-Reef!

[FrontMan]

Any idea why my nitrITE would be high? Could it be the microbacter7?

oh lord, no.

[Fishgirl2393]

I was not happy to find this because all seemed to be going well and nitrates and all other parameters were good but I really need to find out why this is happening so I can get it fixed and corals can be happy and healthy.

[mynd]

I am sorry to chime in here after reading quite abit of this post and the nitrates high post. As there are plenty of people giving you good advice, there are some on here that are really clueless. If you have deep pockets, so be it, but honestly.. if you want to have a decent tank ( picking a couple names out of a hat ) I would hook up online with User Deleted 2 or ChadF and do what they have stated in here, as nice as Metrokats tanks are I would seriously in this case "Stay away from those suggestions" Sorry Metro, but your just digging her a deeper hole here with your advice.

 

Fishgirl.... Tear down your whole tank, sell everything and read these forums for the next few months.. then once you do all your reading and then read some more and when you think you are done, read some more.. then maybe you might be ready for a reef. I did not get to the end of these posts as they just get more and more heartbreaking as you go along.

 

Sorry for this advice... and you and others may not like it and I can't say for you to start off small as this is no place for that. reading=free... please do some more and latch on to someone here ( as stated above ) that can take the time to work with you one on one without all these interruptions/opinions...

[Fishgirl2393]

I'm not tearing the tank down. My high nitrates were not really high nitrates but were an inaccurate API test kit. That's why I kept thinking that they were high. I now have an accurate kit. Everything lately (since the restart a few months ago) had been going well. I just need an idea about why my nitrites are about 0.15-0.20 (not even 0.25). I did lose the SPS coral that was not doing well in the tank (the only coral that really did not do well) so I guess the fact that it was declining for a while could be the cause but I don't know. All my softies have been multiplying and the LPS have been doing well too (the candycane had too much flow on it and was declining for that reason but it's doing much better now) and the chalice reproduced too. So, the only real issue is that my nitrITES are high for some reason in the past few days. I don't know why. I just need someone to help me figure that out.

[Nano sapiens]

If nitrites are truly high, then you have a mini-cycle occurring. In an established tank, ammonia and nitrites are never measurable with our hobbyist test kits unless something throws the system off.

 

Did something die recently that wasn't promptly removed? Any large pockets of decaying food/detritus stirred up recently?

[Fishgirl2393]

My system was perfectly fine until the nitrITE spike. I'm just trying to get some ideas about why that is the way it is so I can prevent future problems and remedy this one.

And I'm a biology major so I understand this stuff just fine.

[Chadf]

In a tank that has been properly cycled and has proper filtration you should never be able to detect nitrites. I don't get it. Why are you even testing for them? What is your setup like again? Equipment list and what's your maintenance like and stocking?

 

FTS please and all water parameters.

[Fishgirl2393]

I tested because everything else tested OK but my kenya trees were closed up (they still are) and they NEVER do that unless the water has something wrong.

20-gallon tank.

2 Aqua-Tech 5-15 power filters (both with floss rinsed out or disposed of every 2 days and one has Seagel for phosphate control)

1 Lee's Counter Current Skimmer (works pretty well even though it is not considered to be a "great" skimmer)

1 heater (small little Tetra brand), 1 Koralia 425 PH, Odyssea T5HO lights (4x24watt) with 2 actinic, 1 10,000K, and 1 12,000K bulbs.

Stocking is just corals right now (plus the hermit crabs and snails for CUC)

I do a 4-5 gallon water change every 2 weeks.

Here is a FTS:

The cup in there is because I have a very small chalice coral in it.

SG: 1.024

pH: 8.1

dKH: 10

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0.20ish

Nitrate: 15ppm

Phosphate: 0.02

Calcium: 425

[Passaggper]

I don't believe it is the microbacter 7 causing your nitrites. I think, at times, depending on your little ecosystem, you will have SOME levels of nitrites and ammonia. Generally, they won't be detectable. There are some articles that indicate a "steady state" level of around 0.1ppm or less. Additionally, Nitrites can be generated by exposing Nitrates to UV light and vice versa. I would probably check it again tomorrow and do a water change.

[Passaggper]

I tested because everything else tested OK but my kenya trees were closed up (they still are) and they NEVER do that unless the water has something wrong.

20-gallon tank.

2 Aqua-Tech 5-15 power filters (both with floss rinsed out or disposed of every 2 days and one has Seagel for phosphate control)

1 Lee's Counter Current Skimmer (works pretty well even though it is not considered to be a "great" skimmer)

1 heater (small little Tetra brand), 1 Koralia 425 PH, Odyssea T5HO lights (4x24watt) with 2 actinic, 1 10,000K, and 1 12,000K bulbs.

Stocking is just corals right now (plus the hermit crabs and snails for CUC)

I do a 4-5 gallon water change every 2 weeks.

Here is a FTS:

Reef new.jpg

The cup in there is because I have a very small chalice coral in it.

SG: 1.024

pH: 8.1

dKH: 10

Ammonia: I haven't tested (will test)

Nitrite: 0.20ish

Nitrate: 15ppm

Phosphate: 0.02

Calcium: 425

I would be shocked as shit if your ammonia is 0.0ppm. I'm kind of surprised you haven't checked that!

[Passaggper]

Why would you be shocked? I know ammonia=nitrite=nitrate. Is that the only reason you'd be shocked?

It is 0.

Consider me shocked.

[Fishgirl2393]

Did something die recently that wasn't promptly removed? Any large pockets of decaying food/detritus stirred up recently?

The SPS coral (montipora) died but I don't know if that could have caused it (it has since been removed). It is possible that with the turkey basting, detritus in the sand bed got stirred up but I don't know for sure.

 

Why would you be shocked? I know ammonia=nitrite=nitrate. Is that the only reason you'd be shocked?

It is 0.

[Fishgirl2393]

The only corals that are not open today are the kenya trees and the clove polyps it seems. I don't get this.

[Eclipse]

You have any snails? It's possible that a snail died and it's hidden somewhere where you simply can't find it, and it might be rotting. If not a snail then more than likely SOMETHING died.

[Fishgirl2393]

One of my crabs (hermit crabs) turned murderous today. I don't know if it has killed any other crabs or not but it did kill a hermit today to get its shell. I only have 1 snail (nerite) and it's still alive. I'm watching the tank closely and monitoring all parameters to make sure nothing gets worse. I don't like the nitrites being detectable.

[Fishgirl2393]

Need to test the tank today I guess. The Kenya trees have opened up today though so I suspect that the nitrITES are low again. Don't know why the tank had the little "upset" that it did. Watching closely.

[metrokat]

you think that was advice?

If you had been in it from the beginning when fish girl made thread after thread after thread about the same problem, ignoring the same advice given by 10's of hobbyists to do pretty much the same thing, she makes this thread. You seriously thought I was advising OP? bless you too cute

Sorry Metro, but your just digging her a deeper hole here with your advice.

[Fishgirl2393]

OK, let's not do this again. The tank seems to be OK now. I'm going to attribute the nitrITES to the addition of Microbacter7 (the ONLY thing that changed) because after I stopped adding it (after 2 days of high nitrITES), the nitrites went away overnight. I've never heard of that happening before (and I've done research) but then, most people who posted about using it either used it before the tank was cycled or alongside carbon dosing (neither one of those fits my tank). So, chemistry is very different in my tank as compared to both of those types of tanks. In any case, I'm watching water quality closely. I've got better test kits now (no more API) so it's easy for me to know my water quality.

[patback]

Why was microbacter added? Obviously there was a reason. Adding it just for the hell of it is pretty stupid. I guess you you can take some amoxicillin if you really want also.

[metrokat]

I routinely add mb7 to my tank. I dont dose carbon and my tank is not newly cycled either. There goes that theory. Are you using tap water again?

[Fishgirl2393]

Nope. I'm using nothing but distilled and have done so since I restarted (I don't even deal with LFS RO/DI). Not a drop of tap. I was adding MB7 because I started the tank with dry rock and was trying to get more of the anaerobic bacteria in the rock. I am very aware that adding MB7 shouldn't cause the nitrites to spike but that was literally the ONLY thing I did to the tank so it does make me wonder (I don't know for sure that was the cause, but like I said, it was the only thing done to the tank). But the tank is better now (and the corals look good).

[CustomAquariumBx]

Well glad the tank is better now.

Also note the Kenya tree under stress could cause some allelopathy in the system. Which could've helped the sps health decline. Not sure but something to consider as well. Aside from the parameters being out of whack. Had a customer complain that everytime his Kenya's shribbled up an nearby sps would bleach. All parameters were good. Unfortunately it took us some time to realize the culprit and remove it, all was well after. Just an idea, and putting it out there.

[Fishgirl2393]

You could be right (about the Kenya). I am running carbon though so I would THINK that would help some. But in any case, I'm just glad things look better now.

[CustomAquariumBx]

Their's too many variables in reefing to know exactly what went wrong. Ohhh and don't feel bad I had a test kit make me go insane once before. Not cool!

[Fishgirl2393]

Tank is still doing well. Candycane coral is slowly recovering from the excess flow. Looks MUCH better now! Hopefully will be adding a frogspawn (if I can get one) and then (in the next few weeks) a royal gramma to the tank. I hope I haven't made a mistake with adding GSP because it has probably tripled in size since I got it (October 13). But it is pretty so right now, so that's OK with me (and I have it on a rock by itself). I'm a bit concerned that I MAY have a small leak close to the top of the tank (silicone seal) because the water level seems to drop really fast and the salinity never seems to get much higher so that makes me think it's NOT evaporation (plus I'm not running my fan right now so it shoudn't be evaporating fast anyway). But if there is a leak, it's not a bad one (and being close to the top, could probably be easily fixed).