General discussion and questions about my tank because I am noob at this
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Amethyst
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water stats:
Nitrate: 25
Nitrite: 1
Cl2: 0
Total Hardness: color in between 150-300
Total Alkalinity: 300
Carbonate: 40
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 1.0 (getting better as I put in the prime stuff)
Nitrate: 25
Nitrite: 1
Cl2: 0
Total Hardness: color in between 150-300
Total Alkalinity: 300
Carbonate: 40
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 1.0 (getting better as I put in the prime stuff)
Alright:
>Nitrates are high, and may be part of the problem, but this shouldn’t be the main problem
>Nitrite doesn’t need to measured in saltwater (it isn’t harmful to ocean life) - switch from testing Nitrite to Phosphate.
>There shouldn’t be any Cl2 in ocean water, so you shouldn’t need to test for this either.
>Total hardness (A.K.A. General hardness) isn’t used in saltwater keeping either.
>Assuming this is 300 ppm, that’s approximately 16.7 dKH - that’s way higher than recommended.
>Carbonate hardness is again really only used in freshwater; you should be measuring Calcium and Magnesium (both of these are parts of the total/general hardness, but they’re important enough to be measured separately/as individual parameters - too high of magnesium may harm inverts like crabs).
>pH is a bit low, but not bad.
>Ammonia is dangerously- if not lethally- high at 1.0
In summary: your Nitrates, Alk, and Ammonia are high (Alk and Ammonia are very high). pH is a little low. Stop testing for Nitrite, Cl2, hardness, and carbonate. Start testing for Phosphate, Calcium, and Magnesium.
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The crab - if it’s still alive - may be able to come back, but only if it’s not too far gone, and only if the water quality becomes good.
If your nitrates and ammonia are that high (without knowing the phosphate), I would guess it’s an overfeeding/filtration issue, but that doesn’t account for the Alk. Honestly, I have no idea how you would get Alk that high, so I’d run another test super carefully to be sure it’s not a test error.
If your nitrates and ammonia are that high (without knowing the phosphate), I would guess it’s an overfeeding/filtration issue, but that doesn’t account for the Alk. Honestly, I have no idea how you would get Alk that high, so I’d run another test super carefully to be sure it’s not a test error.
Amethyst
Active Member
Nitrate: 25
Nitrite: 1
Cl2: 0
Total hardness: like 200
Total Alkalinity: 120
Carbonate: 80
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.5
Crab: in a coma
From Ammonia test strip and 7 in 1 test strip.
Nitrite: 1
Cl2: 0
Total hardness: like 200
Total Alkalinity: 120
Carbonate: 80
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.5
Crab: in a coma
From Ammonia test strip and 7 in 1 test strip.
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Nitrate is still high. Alk is suddenly about 6.7, which is pretty low. pH is low too (low pH can mess with invertebrate shells and molting). Ammonia is still reading, so that's still too high.
It occurred to me that it your pH in your first test was also 7.6 despite your Alk being 16.7 - doing a little reading on this has me inclined to think this is either A ) an incorrect test for the pH or the Alk or both, or B ) an aeration issue. Remind me, what are you using to move water in your tank? I know you have a filter, but what are the filter's specs and what else (air stone, powerhead, pump, etc.) are you using to move the water in your tank?
Also, to oversimplify things a bit here, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and Phosphate (nutrients) are all basically added by foods/dead things in the tank. So, how many animals do you have in your tank and what are they? How big are the animals? What and how much have you been feeding to your tank? What do you have for filtration (again, I know you have a filter, but what about rocks/sand in tank? any algae or "plants" at all? any biomedia? any other filtration?)? How many gallons is you tank? Is it full or only partially full?
Amethyst
Active Member
The test said that 7.6 pH Is the highest before it becomes dangerous. And 25 Nitrate is the highest before it becomes unsafe. I have an aqua tech power filter 10-20 that uses ez change #2. I also have 2 powerful air pumps going into a big air stone in the back that spans almost the entire width of the tank and has a lot of bubbles. I have been asking my dad to get me a powered but it is too expensive so it will have to wait. I have a crab and a ghost shrimp and a clam and about 10 other creatures that I haven't seen in a while that live under the sand including the striped shore crabs. Oh also a few snails like 5 but I can only see 2 at the moment.
7.6-7.8pH is the highest you typically want to go in freshwater aquariums because freshwater tends to be more acidic - in saltwater aquariums, you typically don't want to drop below 7.8pH (8.1-8.3 is recommended, with 7.8-8.5 being considered the "acceptable" range) because saltwater tends to be more basic. Going to high in freshwater can cause issues, and going to low in saltwater can cause issues (low pH in saltwater has been shown to modify crustacean shells - this can cause issues with molting).
The filter you are using is made for 10-20 gallon tanks - how many gallons is your tank at the moment? Do you have any rocks in your tank, or just sand?
What kind of sand are you using - is it beach sand, sand from the hardware store, aragonite sand, etc.? What kind of rock are you using - random rocks from outside, lava rock for aquariums, a different kind of aquarium rock like seiryuu stone, some other specific stone, aragonite, etc.?
What are the 10 other creatures in the tank?
If your tank is small with little to no rock and it has a lot of creatures (live or dead) that you're feeding heavily, it could be causing the high nutrients - including high ammonia - in your tank. In other words, inadequate filtration in your tank may be causing water quality problems. :::: If inadequate filtration is the issue, then you can fix this by increasing your filtration (either with more/bigger filters, with more rock, with macroalgae, or with some combination of the three - so fixing this doesn't have to be super expensive). Removing dead things and uneaten food from the tank can also help.
Also, if you are using sand and rock that are not calcium carbonate based (like aragonite sand and rock), that could potentially explain the low pH as well, and the low pH may also be contributing to the water quality issues.
Amethyst
Active Member
10 gallons 1.5 of those is sand, another one of those green emerged from it. I have sand collected directly from the sand I caught the creatures in. I don't have any rock and the crabs always find creatures from the sand and eat them including snails and small clams I will be adding baby sand crabs too soon. I don't have any rocks next time at the beach I will try to find a ocean rock with a bunch of life to put in there. I keep having ammonia spikes even though there are only 3 creatures I think the ones under the sand are multiplying or something because I don't remember adding this many creatures under the sand.
Amethyst
Active Member
All I can do before the stability bottle of beneficial bacteria comes in is put the prime stuff in every 1-2 days because it will keep the ammonia levels down to only extreme stress levels but not lethal but when the stability one comes in I can put that stuff in and let my worries float away
So, with no rock and a likely overstocked nano tank that's running a regular stocking filter, that may be the problem there. Basically, it sound like you A ) probably have too many creatures in that small of a tank, and B ) need more filtration/export (likely much more).
The filtration/export is likely the more important part, but really the crabs you have will be (if they aren't already) too big for a 10 gallon tank, so the creatures definitely play a role.
Anyway, to deal with the filtration/export: a bigger filter could help, some macroalgae (like kelp, if you can figure out how to keep) could help if the critters don't eat it too fast, a skimmer may help, adding some rock may help, etc. (the rock helps by providing more growing space for bacteria which can help deal with ammonia).
Basically, knowing the filtration setup for your tank, it sounds like you need to seriously upgrade your filtration to handle the bioload.
Edit: I'd personally recommend getting another and/or a bigger filter, then setting up a refugium sump to add some water volume to the tank and to handle as much of the filtration/export as possible, but this would need a pump (flow) and lighting capable of growing macroalgae.
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Alright, so first, see my comment above about upgrading your filtration (a bigger tank with more water volume is more forgiving about this kind of a water problem, so a larger tank like you mentioned with the 50 gallon before could also help, but it wouldn't solve the problem by itself).
Second, if you can't find Fritz TurboStart, try and see if you can find the Biospira or Dr. Tim's bacteria I mentioned before. That said, your tank may very well be cycled at this point and just seriously overwhelmed by the bioload since it's a such a small tank, so the bacteria may also be a temporary fix.
Until you get the filtration upgraded enough to handle the bioload in the tank, I'd suggest more frequent water changes.
Amethyst
Active Member
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can u send me link to a good filter on amazon? I have some stability bacteria coming in the mail in 2 days it says it is bacteria that will detoxify ammonia and nitrates and nitrites and stuff and it will keep the water stats stable. I also have prime that goes with it, I do a 50-80% water change and with the little water left there is still alot of ammonia and stuff so I put the prime in and it will condition the water and remove chlorine and chloramine, and detoxifies ammonia nitrite and nitrate by seachem it works for 48 hours and it is good for the removing chlorine from new decorations I wash with tap water. So that is the prime I put in the water left after taking out 50-80% the water from the tank and then put the new water in then put in the stability that cycles the water and stuff. I will also check for Biospira or Dr. Tim's bacteria in my area to see if they can help faster than the current plan by seeing if they are closer and I can get them today.
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