Nitrites in Quarantine

Puffersayhi · 06/03/2013, 05:52 AM

I have a 10 gal Quarantine/Emergency tank set up for new fish. In it, I have a small heater, 425 gph powerhead, HOB filter, 2 live rocks, and 2 royal grammas. The royal grammas use the live rock as shelter, and I figured that the live rock would also help convert any ammonia through nitrites into nitrates. When I started noticing nitrite levels building up, I increased my water changes up to what it is currently at 40% twice a day, but I can't keep them down. Before this morning change out I was at .50 ppm Ammonia, .25 ppm Nitrites. The Royal Grammas have stopped eating and will weakly struggle to get back in the rock if I try to dump them out of the rock.

What should I be doing to keep chemistry in spec with a small QT and is there anything I can do to possibly save my fish?

bnumair · 06/03/2013, 06:34 AM

Qt is not cycled and the amount of live rock doesnt have enough beneficial bacteria to handle the bio load. Ammonia is toxic in any amount nitrite not as much.
Best u can do is keep doing water change frequently and in between water changes use products like prime amquel or ammonolock etc to keep ammonia down.
What disease are u treating in qt? also qt is usually bare with no rock...

Puffersayhi · 06/03/2013, 06:42 AM

I'm not treating any diseases in my tank, just keeping an eye out for ich or anything else that might contaminate my main tank. The royal grammas seemed to do much better with something to hide in, is there anything that could provide them cover ("safety") without getting in the way?

bnumair · 06/03/2013, 06:52 AM

2" pvc elbows or other fittings can be used to let fish hide in without effecting anything.
well with the parameter complications ur going through u can place filter floss or ceramic media in HOB or in a media sock and place it in the tank. keep doing water changes till u get a hold on ammonia.
if u do decide to take the rock out (should be that way to begin with) then keep alot of water ready for frequent water changes.

drej424 · 06/03/2013, 06:53 AM

Pieces of PVC pipes make great hiding spots for QT tanks. I've even used old coffee mugs, turned on the side, in a pinch.

Just wondering if the LR could be causing the spike? If there is die- off coming from the rock, that would explain why the water changes aren't working.

bnumair · 06/03/2013, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drej424

Pieces of PVC pipes make great hiding spots for QT tanks. I've even used old coffee mugs, turned on the side, in a pinch.

Just wondering if the LR could be causing the spike? If there is die- off coming from the rock, that would explain why the water changes aren't working.

good point. if liver rock is not cured and established then it will cause the issue and needs to be taken out.
What the history/source of rock?

reefkeep3r · 06/03/2013, 07:21 AM

I am new to the hobby but now I need to do research on "Liver" rock. I suppose it could have great filtering capabilities, also seems like it would be kinda expensive.

Sorry bnumair, had to say it.

bnumair · 06/03/2013, 10:39 AM

Lol darn cell phone auto correct. Liver rock I wonder lmao

Puffersayhi · 06/03/2013, 12:01 PM

Thanks for the help bnumair and drej424. Turns out I did too little too late. One of the fish had died and wedged itself deep inside of one of the rocks (took 5 minutes to get it out after the fact), which caused ammonia to spike and thus (because of the live rock) nitrites to also go up. I was slightly deluded that ammonia wasn't that bad for fish and so I let it climb higher than I should have assuming the live rock would take care of it. Also coupled with probably over-feeding lead to disaster and 2 dead fish. I appreciate the input and will do more research and give more care next time. All I can do now is take a step back and take on board this hard lesson, for the sake of me and my former fish.

bnumair · 06/03/2013, 12:14 PM

Sorry Puffer. Its not easy to lose fish but it happens and best thing is to learn from this mistake and dont repeat it again. Also qt all fish and take the rock out of the qt and cycle it. Read the stickys or click on the blue number under my name it will take u to my blog with tons of helpful threads.

06/03/2013, 05:52 AM	#1
Puffersayhi Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 26	Nitrites in Quarantine I have a 10 gal Quarantine/Emergency tank set up for new fish. In it, I have a small heater, 425 gph powerhead, HOB filter, 2 live rocks, and 2 royal grammas. The royal grammas use the live rock as shelter, and I figured that the live rock would also help convert any ammonia through nitrites into nitrates. When I started noticing nitrite levels building up, I increased my water changes up to what it is currently at 40% twice a day, but I can't keep them down. Before this morning change out I was at .50 ppm Ammonia, .25 ppm Nitrites. The Royal Grammas have stopped eating and will weakly struggle to get back in the rock if I try to dump them out of the rock. What should I be doing to keep chemistry in spec with a small QT and is there anything I can do to possibly save my fish?

06/03/2013, 06:34 AM	#2
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	Qt is not cycled and the amount of live rock doesnt have enough beneficial bacteria to handle the bio load. Ammonia is toxic in any amount nitrite not as much. Best u can do is keep doing water change frequently and in between water changes use products like prime amquel or ammonolock etc to keep ammonia down. What disease are u treating in qt? also qt is usually bare with no rock... __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE

06/03/2013, 06:52 AM	#4
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	2" pvc elbows or other fittings can be used to let fish hide in without effecting anything. well with the parameter complications ur going through u can place filter floss or ceramic media in HOB or in a media sock and place it in the tank. keep doing water changes till u get a hold on ammonia. if u do decide to take the rock out (should be that way to begin with) then keep alot of water ready for frequent water changes. __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE Last edited by bnumair; 06/03/2013 at 07:02 AM.

06/03/2013, 10:39 AM	#8
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	Lol darn cell phone auto correct. Liver rock I wonder lmao __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE

06/03/2013, 12:14 PM	#10
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	Sorry Puffer. Its not easy to lose fish but it happens and best thing is to learn from this mistake and dont repeat it again. Also qt all fish and take the rock out of the qt and cycle it. Read the stickys or click on the blue number under my name it will take u to my blog with tons of helpful threads. __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE

06/03/2013, 06:42 AM	#3
Puffersayhi Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 26	I'm not treating any diseases in my tank, just keeping an eye out for ich or anything else that might contaminate my main tank. The royal grammas seemed to do much better with something to hide in, is there anything that could provide them cover ("safety") without getting in the way?

06/03/2013, 06:53 AM	#5
drej424 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: LI, NY Posts: 438	Pieces of PVC pipes make great hiding spots for QT tanks. I've even used old coffee mugs, turned on the side, in a pinch. Just wondering if the LR could be causing the spike? If there is die- off coming from the rock, that would explain why the water changes aren't working.

06/03/2013, 07:21 AM	#7
reefkeep3r Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 146	I am new to the hobby but now I need to do research on "Liver" rock. I suppose it could have great filtering capabilities, also seems like it would be kinda expensive. Sorry bnumair, had to say it.

06/03/2013, 12:01 PM	#9
Puffersayhi Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 26	Thanks for the help bnumair and drej424. Turns out I did too little too late. One of the fish had died and wedged itself deep inside of one of the rocks (took 5 minutes to get it out after the fact), which caused ammonia to spike and thus (because of the live rock) nitrites to also go up. I was slightly deluded that ammonia wasn't that bad for fish and so I let it climb higher than I should have assuming the live rock would take care of it. Also coupled with probably over-feeding lead to disaster and 2 dead fish. I appreciate the input and will do more research and give more care next time. All I can do now is take a step back and take on board this hard lesson, for the sake of me and my former fish.