why won't my level's go down?

steaminmikado · #1 01/26/2006, 10:09 PM

i've had my 55 gal tank set up for about 3 months now and i have been taking things slowly. i've got about 2.5 to 3 inches of sand, 9 to 10 ibs of live rock, a corallife ballest light, 2 maxi-jet 1200's, and a seaclone 150 skimmer. i've got 3 damzels, 1 clown fish, 1 tang, and 1 trigger fish. my nitrite level is 2.0 ppm, my nitrate is 10 ppm, and my ammonia is 1.0 ppm. my tank is a little on the cloudy side and it stays that way. i perform water changes on a regular basis and even after i do a water change of 50% at times; the water quality (numbers) stays the same. i forgot to menchion that my filter is a hang on filter. i use prime, and i use water out of my faucet to premix my water. i even measure my premixed water and everything's at 0. what is going on with my tank? do i have too many fish or what? please help!!!

graveyardworm · #2 01/26/2006, 10:15 PM

Holy crap thats alot of fish in a 55 at only three months. You should have alot more rock atleast 55 lbs, ditch the hang on filter once the ammonia and nitrite are under control it will add to your nitrates. I would suggest removing some fish more specifically the tang and trigger. Keep up with water changes they're probablt the only thing keeping fish alive.

I almost forgot

Tava176 · #3 01/26/2006, 10:17 PM

Try and do less water changes. 50% is a lot on a tank that young (50% is a lot on a tank that is 10 years old!). It sound like your tank has not fully cycled or it is possible that you added livestock too quickly and the "very young" biological filter could not keep up. I would say that you are suffering from what is refered to as "new tank syndrome". wht kind of hang on filter are you using? A simple power filter is not enough for a saltwater tank.

Fast Fred · #4 01/26/2006, 10:25 PM

Your levels are high because of a lack of biological filtration (live rock) and you are having to dump loads of food in the tank for too high of a bioload.

NCreefwannabe · #5 01/26/2006, 11:00 PM

Taking it slow doesnt mean that many fish. Ditch the tang and trigger until your tank is more mature. Keep steady with the water changes, no more than 12%.

graveyardworm · #6 01/26/2006, 11:07 PM

Why is everyone telling him to do smaller water changes? I would be doing min 50% changes to save my livestock, or better yet move the livestock to a QT until the tank cycles.

Petstorejunkie · #7 01/26/2006, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tava176
Try and do less water changes. 50% is a lot on a tank that young (50% is a lot on a tank that is 10 years old!). It sound like your tank has not fully cycled or it is possible that you added livestock too quickly and the "very young" biological filter could not keep up. I would say that you are suffering from what is refered to as "new tank syndrome". wht kind of hang on filter are you using? A simple power filter is not enough for a saltwater tank.

indeed sounds like you had too much fun at teh fish store and either there was a communication gap between you and your attendant, or they just wanted to sell you some fish.
i reccomend adding some seachem's stablilty or some biospira to the tank, although you mentionsed that you are using prime and i recently read that prime doesnt jive with the biospira very well.
if you continue with your water changes the situation will never get better, if you are constantly removing the bacteria, it will never have a chance to catch up with your fish. if you can have your lfs house some of your fish for now, perhaps keep the damsels for the poo factor, until things settle down again. no more water changes until all you have are nitrates you must give it a chance to recycle.
sorry this happened to you the first 8 months are hell, arent they?
i would definately invest in a sump withan overflow box if i were you, and use the hang on filter for carbon and purigen type chemical filtration

graveyardworm · #8 01/26/2006, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Petstorejunkie

if you continue with your water changes the situation will never get better, if you are constantly removing the bacteria, it will never have a chance to catch up with your fish.

An insignificant amount of the bacteria is in the water itself. The majority of the bacteria live on surfaces like glass, sand, filters, LR. Changing water will reduce ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, and will not deplete the beneficial bacteria.

graveyardworm · #9 01/26/2006, 11:41 PM

Read Here

Petstorejunkie · #10 01/27/2006, 12:06 AM

true generally only 4%of total bacteria lives in the water column in an established tank, but it has been my experience that if you leave things alone they will get better much quicker than if you are frantically doing water changes during the cycling process.

dchao · #11 01/27/2006, 12:27 AM

I am with the water changing camp. Yes, during the cycling, it's wise to not change the water. But steaminmikado has fish in the tank already, so frequent water change and drastically cut back on feeding is the only way to save his fish (absolutely no left over food in the tank).

Secondly, you have to add more (cured) LR's, typically, one LB of LR's per gallon of water. Since LR's will be your main filtration, you can remove HOB power filter. Make sure the Seaclone is producing nice skimmate, at least half a cup per week. If less than that, get a better skimmer.

Adding some more water flow won't hurt either.

steaminmikado · #12 02/06/2006, 07:48 PM

well everyone... i've added more live rock.. 17ibs, took my trigger out and put him in a 30 gal tank. my buddy gave me a hang on filter. aftger i put the filter in (doubled it up), and with the live rock, and with the trigger & damzels out of the tank, it cleared up for about 3 days and the levels came down. after a week with the new filter added on, the water is trying to turn green again. i feed the fish very little and one a day. why is it trying to turn green again? i talked to someone that seems very knowledgable about it and he said to cut back on my lighting too. the other tank 30 gal, is staying clear for now. i just don't understand???? i give it a lil hell, and it gives me a lot of hell...!?!?!?!

graveyardworm · #13 02/06/2006, 07:56 PM

I think the reason for the green algae could be 2 things tank is still cycling due to addition of new rock, and high nutrients still in the water from the previous cycle. Since there is no livestock in there you could cut back on the lights for a few days and do some large water changes. Continue to check your levels.

steaminmikado · #14 02/06/2006, 08:00 PM

i have 2 fish in my aquarium now.. about how long should it take for the water to clear up you think?

graveyardworm · #15 02/06/2006, 08:05 PM

The fish in there probably wont be too happy about it but they should be fine if cut back your lights (turning them off completely would be better). With the lights off it should clear up fairly quickly, but whether it stays clear or not is dependant upon how much nutrients are in the water when you turn the lights back on.