Nitrate level way above 100ppm!

[tshere]

Bio-wheel. Twice daily feedings. Both culprits for trates. I'd also get a trate check from your LFS to make sure your test kit is OK.

Feed once every other day for a while.

What kinda cleanup crew ya got for the excess food that sits on the bottom and the rocks?

Well, I did have 2 snails but I think they're dead. I noticed that this morning. I have 3 crabs.

 

[afilter]

Have you tested your tap water yet before you do any more PWC?

 

[lando]

Welcome to AquariumAdivce.com!!!
At first glance, it would appear you have several issues gong on, all contributing to your NO3 problem. In general, high NO3 is caused by over-stocking and over-feeding. You do not look over-stocked, but are over feeding. As mentioned, cut back to very light feedings every other day. Also, your source water (being tap) and your biowheel all contributors. The lack of biological filtration (LR) is also not helping.

So where to start? As mentioned, water changes are your best defense. Make sure you use a good quality RO/DI water and aged SW. Several changes of 50% every other day should get you back n track in a couple weeks. Now...can you explain your feeding technique and what you are feedig as well as what is left in the tank?

 

[tshere]

I tested my tap water and it shows 0 ppm. I do have 15 lbs of live rock. How much more do I need? I have a Percula Clown, a Neon Velvet Damsel, 2 crabs, a feather duster, and lots of little pink and blue worms(haven't figured out yet what these are). I feed them Wardley Total Color Marine Gourmet Flake Blend now. I was feeding them brine shrimp. I just put probably 20 or so flakes in the tank. They usually eat them right away. What's the best food for these fish??

 

[roka64]

I do have 15 lbs of live rock. How much more do I need?

Most people like to have about 1.5-2LBs per gallon for the good filtration.

lots of little pink and blue worms

Most likely bristleworms, but it is hard to tell with out a pic.

 

[dskidmore]

For a system where you keep invertabrates, 1-2 lbs of live rock per gallon is recomended. For a fish only system, the amount of live rock is just a matter of taste.

There's noting wrong wtih those flakes, but variety is good for the diet. Consider occasionaly supplimenting with a freeze dried or frozen seafood product. Some people actually make thier own fish food by blending fresh shellfish and greens, and freezing it (a bit overboard for the casual aquarist.)

Remember to underfeed! They're not getting as much exercise as they would in the open ocean, and they're really small, so it doesn't take much to keep them healthy.

 

[tshere]

I do have 15 lbs of live rock. How much more do I need?

Most people like to have about 1.5-2LBs per gallon for the good filtration.

lots of little pink and blue worms

Most likely bristleworms, but it is hard to tell with out a pic.

 

[austinsdad]

Well, I did have 2 snails but I think they're dead.

Inverts are usually the first to go when trates are up. Dusters might react soon also to bad water.

Got room for another 15 lbs of rock? It's not so much the weight of the rock but the surface of it. I'm not familiar w/bio wheels, but can you get rid of it too?

 

[roka64]

I'm not familiar w/bio wheels, but can you get rid of it too?

They tend to be just like bio-balls and sponges. NitrAte factories.
Tshere, I would add another 15LBs like austinsdad said, then possibly look into removing the bio wheel, but keep some premixed water, in case.

 

[tshere]

My feather duster is coming out of his tube. Does that mean he's dying? I will get more LR. If I do get rid of the Bio-wheel, what do I replace it with?

 

[austinsdad]

Yep thought they would real soon. This is when I really hate to say I told ya so. Oops, I guess I just did.

He'll most likely die IMO. If not, he'll crawl into a hole somewhere and construct another tube. If so, it'll take months to see it again. But most likely scanario #1 will play out I believe.

Again, not knowing bio-wheels, maybe yuo can simply just remove the bio-wheel itself from the larger filter? I dunno.

If you get uncured rock, you may have even more deaths for a while if the ammonia goes up and you don't do enuf water changes to keep it at bay.

Can ya get another pic? Try the macro mode if you have one. Maybe others can learn from it.

Good luck.

 

[dskidmore]

My feather duster is coming out of his tube. Does that mean he's dying?

He's certianly unhappy. He might just be trying to move to an area with higher current, or he might be ill.

 

[roka64]

1st., on the bio wheel. I would add the cured LR, watch my water. Wait a few days and test again. If you don't have ammonia (you could possibly get this if the LR is not completely cured) or nitrItes, you should be able to remove the bio wheel. You could replace the bio wheel, with some more LR rubble.
I don't know if I would try that until you get your tank under a little more controll, by doing PWCs, it doesn't look like the parameters are stable, at this point. I would worry about the nitrAtes, get those down and let things settle, then work on the biowheel.
Other's feel free to chime in....

 

[tshere]

So how do I know if the LR is cured? I'm going to do another pwc in a few minutes and see if that changes anything. It's still reading above 80 ppm as of now. I'll post the reading after I do the pwc.

Thanks all of you for your help with this. If you can't tell, I'm new to saltwater aquariums. I doubt that comes as a surprise to most.

 

[roka64]

So how do I know if the LR is cured?

Your LFS should be able to tell you that. Generally, they should have good build up of purple coraline and other life on the rock. You might be able to use base rock (much cheaper). Generally the base rock should be all white, out of water with no life on it. Those are loose guidelines.
I would try to do about a 50% PWC.

I'm new to saltwater aquariums.

Don't worry, I can guarantee, we were all new at one time!

 

[dskidmore]

You can always cure rock in a bucket so it won't contaminate the tank. Curing just means the rock has gone through a cycling process where everything that can't survive in your aquarium has died off and been completely eaten by other life forms on the rock. If there's stuff left that can't survive in the aquarium, it will die and rot if not cured first. Rock that has been sitting in a display tank in the aquarium store for awhile should be cured. A fresh shipment from somewhere may or may not be cured.

 

[austinsdad]

Smell it. If it smells like fresh water, likely it's cured. If foul, then not. Look at it too. dead looking stuff on it is a sign its uncured and it'll smell funky too most likely.

That's almost accurate IMO. Watch the ammonia after you add it if in doubt.

 

[tshere]

Ok.......now I'm really confused. I did another 50% water change last night and the nitrate level still hasn't changed. I don't know what's going on. I guess I may just have to take a water sample to the fish store to get it checked. I don't know why my test kit would be wrong. Update on the feather duster.........I think he's just about seen his last day. He looks really ill.

 

[dskidmore]

Were you doing any partial water changes before this 100 ppm crisis? If you were doing PWCs before, it should have come down by now.

LFS water check is a good idea. Sometimes we just don't realize when a test kit goes bad. I had the opposite problem with a nitrate kit, that always read 0. It was a freshwater planted aquarium, and no matter how much I fertilized, the nitrate stuck on 0. I eventually realized that my plants couldn't possibly be metabolizing that much fertilizer and got a new test kit.

 

[tshere]

Before the "crisis", I hadn't done a pwc in several months. I know, I was slacking. But, I checked the water in my tap and it read 0 ppm. I don't understand. Maybe I'll check the water in my freshwater tank and see what it reads. I didn't even think of that. I'll do that right now and see what the results are.