Priscilla Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 Hi everyone! Will it be alright to add in 1 lava rock in my brackish, no filter tank? I set up a new tank and the nitrates are very high and I don't know what's the problem here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimple minded Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 I use lava rocks in most of my tanks and see no effect on water parameters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted September 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 Oh okay! Thank you! Then I'm confused on how my nitrate level can be so high.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpier Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 14 minutes ago, Priscilla said: Oh okay! Thank you! Then I'm confused on how my nitrate level can be so high.. Rocks wont affect nitrates unless there is something organic on the rock or in the pores (lava rock) and is decaying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 Are you using a freshwater test kit? I believe with brackish tanks, the saltwater kits may be more accurate. What is your filtration setup, and how long has the tank been running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted September 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 oh okay! I've already thoroughly washed and soaked the rock in distilled water. oh man, what seems to be causing the low pH and high nitrates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 High nitrates and low pH sounds like old tank syndrome to me. Is this a possibility? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted September 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 2 minutes ago, sarah said: Are you using a freshwater test kit? I believe with brackish tanks, the saltwater kits may be more accurate. What is your filtration setup, and how long has the tank been running? The test kit I bought is for fresh and marine tanks. I have been using this test kit/strips for my opae ula jar for about 2 months now. I actually wanted to upgrade my 1l jar to a 2.8l mini tank. Bought 4 more opae, lava rock, bleached coral and brackish water from the seller's tank. Everything else is the same, coral sand, black gravel, sea fan, marimo ball. Washed everything thoroughly but the water is still wrong He told me that I didn't have to cycle or leave it for awhile before adding the shrimps. I added his water yesterday morning and I tested it today and the nitrates was the highest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted September 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 2 minutes ago, sarah said: High nitrates and low pH sounds like old tank syndrome to me. Is this a possibility? old tank syndrome? Could it be the water he provided me? Because he told me that he mixed new water and some from his 3+ years old tank of opae ula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 So you just set up this tank yesterday? Does it have a filter? Does all your water come from the seller? Are there shrimp in there now? If no shrimp, you can just do a big water change to remove the nitrates. What are you using to make new water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aennedry Posted September 15, 2016 Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 Do you have any plants to absorb the nitrates? I keep a brackish water macro algae, chaetomorpha in my tank to absorb nitrates, and to give the tanks a bit of natural green. Not many plants work in brackish, this one I got from the dealer I bought my opae'ula from and he swears by. =^._.^= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted September 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 Do you have any plants to absorb the nitrates? I keep a brackish water macro algae, chaetomorpha in my tank to absorb nitrates, and to give the tanks a bit of natural green. Not many plants work in brackish, this one I got from the dealer I bought my opae'ula from and he swears by. =^._.^=Hello! I added 1 medium marimo and also planning to add 1 horned nerite cuz I've done a bit of research and found that they actually reduce some nitrate? Anw I did a water change last night! The nitrate has reduced but the pH is still about 6-7 which is bad! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aennedry Posted September 15, 2016 Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 Marimos aren't really good for brackish tanks. Some people say they work, but they are found normally in fresh water (and they are not really an algae) A nerite will keep the glass clean from algae, but I have never herd that they will lower nitrates. I have found in my freshwater tanks that they poop a lot, and I would think that they would increase the nitrates. Opae'ula are pretty durable, I didn't even drip mine, just dumped them in the tank, they were fine. So you wouldn't have had to mix water from the two tanks for them to adjust. And Sarah had a good question. Are you relying on your dealer for water, because I am not sure why he mixed new with old water. You don't get any beneficial bacteria in water, and if his tank was high in nitrates you are adding them to your tank. Is it possible for you to purchase a box of salt water tank salt and mix your own with RO water? Do you have any of the water he gave you that has not been put into your tank? Extra water? Test it and see what it reads. If it tests the same as your new tank, it may be the water you are using. Do you have a hydrometer to test the salinity of your water? If the water is on the fresher end of brackish that may also be a problem. My water is at a salinity of between 14 to 20, specific gravity between 1.010 and 1.015. =^._.^= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted September 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 So you just set up this tank yesterday? Does it have a filter? Does all your water come from the seller? Are there shrimp in there now? If no shrimp, you can just do a big water change to remove the nitrates. What are you using to make new water?The tank has been up for 2 days already and it does not have a filter. The first time I filled the tank, it was filled with all the seller's water. After I saw the high nitrates, I removed like 50% of it and added my newly prepared waterNo shrimps inside, I put the 4 new ones in my current jar which have been with me for about 3-4 months now. I am using distilled water and Red Sea marine salt. I hope it's okay :/ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted September 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 Marimos aren't really good for brackish tanks. Some people say they work, but they are found normally in fresh water (and they are not really an algae) A nerite will keep the glass clean from algae, but I have never herd that they will lower nitrates. I have found in my freshwater tanks that they poop a lot, and I would think that they would increase the nitrates. Opae'ula are pretty durable, I didn't even drip mine, just dumped them in the tank, they were fine. So you wouldn't have had to mix water from the two tanks for them to adjust. And Sarah had a good question. Are you relying on your dealer for water, because I am not sure why he mixed new with old water. You don't get any beneficial bacteria in water, and if his tank was high in nitrates you are adding them to your tank. Is it possible for you to purchase a box of salt water tank salt and mix your own with RO water? Do you have any of the water he gave you that has not been put into your tank? Extra water? Test it and see what it reads. If it tests the same as your new tank, it may be the water you are using. Do you have a hydrometer to test the salinity of your water? If the water is on the fresher end of brackish that may also be a problem. My water is at a salinity of between 14 to 20, specific gravity between 1.010 and 1.015. =^._.^= Hello, I got some water from him because I haven't got any marine salt. But soon after I bought it and made my own water. I added all into the tank and don't have any left I don't know why 2 nights ago I had this feeling to test the water because we were suppose to put the shrimps into the new tank :/ I tested his water salinity, it was 1.014. Last night I removed 50% of his water and added my newly prepared water. Nitrates have gone down a lot but the pH is very low and I'm confused because I have coral sand and bleached coral in the new mini tank [emoji17]Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aennedry Posted September 15, 2016 Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 My tank does not have a filter either, that is what the chaetomorpha is for. It is often used in refugiums on salt water tanks to remove nitrates and phosphates. The maramo ball won't do this, and I don't know if regular chaeto will live in a brackish tank. The new shrimp should be fine in the old tank. I am assuming you are mixing the water for the new tank the same as you are for your old one? And that one is fine... I would dump out all the old water and replace it with new. On the original topic of this thread, I keep lava rocks in my fresh and brackish tank, and have had no problems. I will admit that if something worries me, before I add it to a tank, I boil it for a half-hour or so, just to be sure things are dead. What does your water test at before you add it to the new tank? =^._.^= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted September 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 My tank does not have a filter either, that is what the chaetomorpha is for. It is often used in refugiums on salt water tanks to remove nitrates and phosphates. The maramo ball won't do this, and I don't know if regular chaeto will live in a brackish tank. The new shrimp should be fine in the old tank. I am assuming you are mixing the water for the new tank the same as you are for your old one? And that one is fine... I would dump out all the old water and replace it with new. On the original topic of this thread, I keep lava rocks in my fresh and brackish tank, and have had no problems. I will admit that if something worries me, before I add it to a tank, I boil it for a half-hour or so, just to be sure things are dead. What does your water test at before you add it to the new tank? =^._.^=Oh okay! Maybe I'll go find some of the chaetomorpha. Will they spread around the whole tank? I didn't test the seller's water before adding in, only the salinity How long will it take before I can add the shrimps into the new tank, if I were to add in newly prepared water?Okay! Are there any different kinds of lava rock? Because it looks different from the usual smooth looking one. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aennedry Posted September 15, 2016 Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 I bought my Opae'ula from petshrimp.com. He has the macro algae, and he has a forum dedicated to Opae'ula. I got a lot of info from that before I ordered my shrimp. Maybe someone there, as everyone is running brackish with Opae'ula, might be able to toss an idea in to help your problem. =^._.^= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aennedry Posted September 16, 2016 Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 Lava rock comes in all types and several colors, depending on what kind of lava it is, and how it cooled. Up in the northwest of the USA we have red (which I don't care much for) and black which I love to 'scape my tanks with. This is my five gallon Opae'ula tank with the macro algae. I also have small snails and somewhere in there is 50+ shrimp. I am planning on switching to a black sand; the pale shrimp are hard to see against the white. The macro algae being used is a fine chaetomorpha that will grow in brackish water. Mustafa says he had not seen this type before he got it, and hasn't seen anyone else with it. Salt water chaeto is much coarser. I do not know if he ships to Singapore but it can't hurt to ask. , And here is my 2.5 gallon. As you can see, while both 'black' the lava are two different types, not sure what kind the top is, but the bottom is flow lava. Shells are from several beaches along the Atlantic (summer vacations!) and gathered by me. If you look closely along the top of the heater you can see little Opae'ula larvae. Two or so weeks after hatching they will turn into little mini-shrimp. And to be honest, I haven't tested anything in the tanks besides the specific gravity. =^._.^= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted September 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 Hello! Thanks for sharing! I changed to black gravel for the same reason as well and also to see if they have been molting [emoji23] I have learned a lot from that forum but so far I haven't seen anyone with same problem [emoji848] Anyway, I've already taken out most of my seller's water and added my new water plus 100ml of my jar's water, hopefully the good bacteria can spread in the new tank, what do you think of this? Did a test yesterday, nitrates have gone down a lot! pH was starting to look okay. But this is only half a tank! I'm going to add more prepared water in today. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscilla Posted September 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 Lava rock comes in all types and several colors, depending on what kind of lava it is, and how it cooled. Up in the northwest of the USA we have red (which I don't care much for) and black which I love to 'scape my tanks with. This is my five gallon Opae'ula tank with the macro algae. I also have small snails and somewhere in there is 50+ shrimp. I am planning on switching to a black sand; the pale shrimp are hard to see against the white. The macro algae being used is a fine chaetomorpha that will grow in brackish water. Mustafa says he had not seen this type before he got it, and hasn't seen anyone else with it. Salt water chaeto is much coarser. I do not know if he ships to Singapore but it can't hurt to ask. , And here is my 2.5 gallon. As you can see, while both 'black' the lava are two different types, not sure what kind the top is, but the bottom is flow lava. Shells are from several beaches along the Atlantic (summer vacations!) and gathered by me. If you look closely along the top of the heater you can see little Opae'ula larvae. Two or so weeks after hatching they will turn into little mini-shrimp. And to be honest, I haven't tested anything in the tanks besides the specific gravity. =^._.^=Btw your tank and the little babies look amazing! Hopefully my shrimps will feel more at ease in the new tank and maybe breed soon? [emoji23]Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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