Frustration

J

Jordan8008

New Member
Ok so about three weeks ago I tested my water as usual just to make shure everything was in check and I noticed a huge spike in my nitrates, and since then I have been following the "Dilution is the Solution to Pollution" method, but the tank is 5.5 gallons and I must have done 10 water changes in the past three weeks and when I tested the water again today it is still high.....things you should know: I do use RO/DI water, I have a penguin 100 on the back with the weel removed, and I don't overfeed......so I am really starting to get frustrated......because I don't know what is causing the problem....any thoughts on this?

Thanks

Jordan
 
J

Jordan8008

New Member
Havent lost any livestock as of yet but the frags and other coral arnt looking that great......as far as inverts being lost the only thing I have in the tank other then the fish are blue legged hermit crabs, I started with 10 a year ago but have no idea how many are left at this point......so i dont know what that means

Thanks

Jordan
 
S

sadielynn

New Member
is that the tank that you built the stand/canopy for? Did you drain any water and refill to move it ? Reaquascape it perhaps... anyone of those could set you into a mini cycle I think that what you are experiencing is a cycle of some sort break down of a molt or death of some other organic matter ....not sure tho...Do back off the water changes a bit to maybe 2 a week in a smaller ammount such as a 1 gallon change 2 times a week perhaps add a 1/2 or full unit of chemi pure to combat this problem in conjunction with the water changes ....Doing that many water changes will only prolong a cycle of what ever magnitude :mrgreen:
 
J

Jordan8008

New Member
Ok this all sounds good, to answer AMF's question, No I am not dosing the tank with anything nor have I but that is a good thought. Sadie, it is the tank that I built the stand for but I didnt take any water out i just picked it up.....(its only 5.5g so not that heavy) and sounds good I will back off the water changes and I shall see what happens.....thanks for the advice

Jordan
 
skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
You may also want to try another test kit if you can't explain the level, they usually have a shelf life of about a year once opened and most have an expiration date someplace on the package. You may be able to have your results checked at a LFS.
 
J

Jordan8008

New Member
Yea I am going to take my water down to the lfs today, the test kit is a month old, but who knows it could be wrong......id love to think so anyway...cause thats a pretty easy fix

thnaks

jordan
 
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