Dying fish and Nitrate question

[csquare77]

Hello I have had my tank set up for about 6 moths since I have moved and everything was fine up until a few weeks ago. First my numbers

PH:8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20 ppm*

*The levels were very high at one point over 80ppm, but all the other numbers were the same Ammo and Nitrite, 0. So that's my first quandary.

Second, I have had 2 damsels die(last week) and a clown just yesterday. *The nitrate level was better when they died at like 20-40.

All of the fish that died were doing fine and showed no sign of stress. I come home from work and find them dead. The tank is down to 1 clown now. before I moved I had the tank for over 2 years and never a problem.

Thoughts?

 

[old man of the sea]

Excuss me, but when I readied over your thread, I get the feeling that you not too long ago just setup this tank, that its just gone through its cycle, is this correct?

Buddy

 

[MCluett]

I agree your tank has more then likely just gone through a small cycle due to the move. It is alittle odd that it took 6 months for it to occur though. Did you recently add any new rock to the tank or do anything to stir up the substrate?

Matt

 

[melosu58]

Those nitrate readings would not have killed your fish. I`m thinking the move caused another cycle

 

[csquare77]

Yes I moved back in August. Before the move the tank was established for almost 2 years. The move was not a long one, only a day.

MCluett, the sand did get stirred up a bit when a piece of LR shifted and I moved it around to secure it.

 

[old man of the sea]

When in moving your tank, no matter of the tank size, your tank will go through a short cycle period, lasting not more then a few weeks.

 

[CaptainAhab]

I doubt the tank cycled 6 months after the move. What did you do to get the nitrates down from 80 to their current level? Did you do a massive cleaning/PWC and possibly stir the sand up while trying to clean it? A little sand storm from move a piece of LR shouldn't be an issue either.

Any new additions lately? Do anything different in the last couple of weeks?

 

[old man of the sea]

when we move our tanks, the tank when setup again will go through a small cycle period, their is no escaping this. Its like when I moved my two tank system for eels, after moving, I had the eels staying at the LFS until after the small cycle finished and that the nitrate levels then leveled off at untraceable levels, then I gotten the eels back into their tanks.

Buddy