Stingray Help

[wontonflip]

:*( - It passed away. I will continue to improve my nitrate attack. My LFS told me that 20 ppm was ok to keep the ray. I'm wondering now if he was just trying to get my money instead of the well being of the fish

Sorry to hear :( A lot of LFS's have the "bottom line" in mind, not the fish's welfare. Even the best LFS's in the end have to make money somehow, even at the expense of ill-informed hobbyists. Almost everyone here is guilty of impulse buys. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't. Hopefully your wallet can handle the times that it doesn't pay off!

 

[Bifferwine]

:*( - It passed away. I will continue to improve my nitrate attack. My LFS told me that 20 ppm was ok to keep the ray. I'm wondering now if he was just trying to get my money instead of the well being of the fish

You said that your nitrates were 20 to 40. There is a big difference between 20 and 40.

 

[PRC]

You said that your nitrates were 20 to 40. There is a big difference between 20 and 40.

I swear I'm the reincarnation of Nostradamus.

 

[dankolle]

Well I thought I knew a lot about reef keeping but the last 48 hours humbled me greatly. I am going to double my water changes for the next few weeks to help get rid of the high nitrates while cleaning out my canister and slowly removing my bio balls. I have a 2" live sand bed and about 75 - 85 pounds of live rock. My sump has just basic overflow screens and I have an AquaC protein skimmer and some green hair type algea down there with a grow light.

 

[dankolle]

Oh about the 20 - 40 range...Yes I know it's a big difference but my test kit has 20 and 40 with the exact same shade yellow...impossible to tell apart.

 

[x19]

Oh about the 20 - 40 range...Yes I know it's a big difference but my test kit has 20 and 40 with the exact same shade yellow...impossible to tell apart.

Mine has the same problem. I need to get a better test.

 

[bjohanson1234]

it helps if you look at it in strong sun light. Also, I look through the liquid and the lighter colors disapear and the darker color can be seen through the liquid in the tube

 

[dankolle]

So my canister filter was a freak show! There was at least 1/4 inch of waste built up in the bottom of it and the lines were clogged with goo. So I cleaned that ould really well and am using it just to polish the water when I do a water change.

I have changed the water the last 4 days in a row and got my Nitrates down to 5 - 10. I am going to keep on truckin and removing bio balls one ball at a time per water change.

The anemone is still looking shady but I'm hoping it turns around soon!

 

[Bifferwine]

Good deal! Great job turning things around. Nitrates can be hard to lower once they get high, so you should be proud of that accomplishment.

 

[wontonflip]

Yeah people who do canister filters and do not clean them should see this post for what happens :) That was definitely your nitrate source. Just keep the water changes going and hopefully the nem will perk up! Live and learn the livingreefs way!