Help with nitrate battle!!!!

[Nzg62ol]

Hey HFB,

I have never had problems with nitrate but for some reason it has shot through the roof and I can't get it back down. I believe it has started to effect my fish as well. I have EBJD and red and gold severums. Oddly enough my EBJD are only ones showing symptoms.

Symptoms - heavy breathing, lethargic, looks to be some fin root on one EBJD, swimming quickly with no sort of direction, flashing their heads, also scratching against sand and objects but they're scratching their head/gill area. DEFINITELY NOT THEIR USUALLY BEHAVIOR..

Parameters- PH-7.6
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - .25
Nitrate - 80-100ppm..........

my my tanks is a 250 gallon with and eheim 2262 as filter. Tank is well oxygenated with two power heads as well. I can't seem to figure out how to get my nitrate down and what is effecting my fish. Nitrate, fungus, bacteria, parasite, etc.

PLEASE HELP, any advice or help will be takin happily.

Also I have been doing 35-25 percent water changes daily to help nitrate (hasn't worked) and the fins bro picked and lost two EBJD aren't due to bullying as it's my bigger ones being effected and haven't seen any bullying.

PLEASE HELP!!

Thank you,
Noah

[supadave]

First of all.....DO LARGER WATER CHANGES . How many fish are in the tank ? When was the last time you cleaned the Eheim ?

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[Nzg62ol]

Also so I have no live plants only holey rock ad driftwood

Hey HFB,

I have never had problems with nitrate but for some reason it has shot through the roof and I can't get it back down. I believe it has started to effect my fish as well. I have EBJD and red and gold severums. Oddly enough my EBJD are only ones showing symptoms.

Symptoms - heavy breathing, lethargic, looks to be some fin root on one EBJD, swimming quickly with no sort of direction, flashing their heads, also scratching against sand and objects but they're scratching their head/gill area. DEFINITELY NOT THEIR USUALLY BEHAVIOR..

Parameters- PH-7.6
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - .25
Nitrate - 80-100ppm..........

my my tanks is a 250 gallon with and eheim 2262 as filter. Tank is well oxygenated with two power heads as well. I can't seem to figure out how to get my nitrate down and what is effecting my fish. Nitrate, fungus, bacteria, parasite, etc.

PLEASE HELP, any advice or help will be takin happily.

Also I have been doing 35-25 percent water changes daily to help nitrate (hasn't worked) and the fins bro picked and lost two EBJD aren't due to bullying as it's my bigger ones being effected and haven't seen any bullying.

PLEASE HELP!!

Thank you,
Noah

[supadave]

You should be 0 for Ammonia.

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[Nzg62ol]

I don't have any food decaying in my tank, cleaned eheim this weekend (drained it and changed floss an filter pad didn't clean media) and my first water change was 50-60 percent but was scared to continue so much of a water change due to effecting my bio filter and reducing nitrate too quickly.

Should I lightly clean media and sponge in my 2262 and continue daily large water changes? (No water change has helped. 25 percent nor the 50 percent)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUICK REPLY
Noah

[Nzg62ol]

Also they have been chewing/pushing out there gill and lips as if chewing on something. Not sure if this has anything to do with it but have not seen that behavior before.
After they do the chewing motion they will scratch or dart across my tank..

[Nzg62ol]

As well as keeping fins tucked (ecspecially their top fin)

[supadave]

Have you checked your water before adding it to your tank ? If not , check the water straight from the tap before adding to your tank . Check it for everything. .....Ammonia. ..Nitrate...etc. Post your readings . Also, what are you using as a dechlorinator ?

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[Austy16414]

A few things here.. 1. There should be no ammonia on a cycled tank, so either you broke your tank's nitrogen cycle or possibly you just did an extremely heavy water change and didn't detoxify ammonia 2. EBJDs are a genetically weak fish, which could explain why they are the first to show symptoms 3. One 2262 seems like pretty light filtration on such a large tank, which definitely isn't helping your situation (possibly the bio load is too high?) 4. You described flashing and darting, which to me usually equals some kind of external parasites
Kick up your water changes and look in to extra filtration. How long has the tank been up and running?
Hope some of this helps

[Nzg62ol]

Tested tap water before and was fine, don't Remeber the exact reading so can retest later today.

This tank has been up and running for a little user two years now. Has raised many healthy fish such as mbu and fahaka puffers.
I did do a water change last night that was closer to 40-50 percent. But dechlorinated with Sea chem prime
As to filtration I also have 2 2217s but they're on a 65 tall and 90 tall.
I have an eheim 2260 but the pump or top where the pump an actual canister leaks and couldn't find exactly where. Haven't had time to take to LFS for help cause I can't seem to stop that leak. (Am going this weekend for them to help and buy new media since beneficial bacteria in the 2260 is long gone by now)
i plan on using some media from my 2262 in the 2260 when fixed this weekend to help bump start it.

what kinda external parasite. Their poop hasn't been white or stringy because at first I thought maybe gill flukes when first saw symptoms, but now I'm dumbfounded..

[danielp]

Are you vaccuming your substrate? That most likely is where your nitrate problem lies.

I just had a major nitrate problem. had to remove all the rock and vaccum every square inch of my gravel to get the nitrates down.

I even tried nitro sorb and it didn't help.

[Nzg62ol]

Yes, but I have sand so I comb through the top of it to get the waste.
Just removed all decor and vaccumed again. Now doing 50 percent water change

[troy tucker]

IMO>Your filter is the prob. You do need to clean the media but use tank water to reins clean all the media.
1. Are you on city water?
2. How many fish are in the tank?
3. Befor this prob.- How often were you doing water changes? and how much at a time?

[Nzg62ol]

1) I'm using pasadena tap water (tested it and it was safe)
2) 35 totale fish. 25 EBJD ranging from 3inch to 7 inch (maybe 4 that big the rest are smaller) and gold and red severum.
Fish count may be high now. But usually have an eheim 2260 along wig my 2262. (Will have it back this weekend)
3) water changes 20 percent weekly. Vacuum different sides of tank substrate each time. And Reims once a month each two weeks apart from one another.

[Nzg62ol]

Eheims* not Reims