nitrates

can high nitrates kill fish? lost 2 fish n da past week corals r doin great but then again I have n all lps reef tank just wondering any feed back would b appreciated thnks

Short answer, yes nitrates can kill fish. No nitrates didnt kill your fish if your coral are still healthy. Coral are impacted at lower levels than most fish.

How high are nitrates? IMO fish can tolerate very high nitrates.

High nitrates will kill your fish although some corals are thriving sir. You need to test and have clean water ready for water change.

reefiness said:

No nitrates didnt kill your fish if your coral are still healthy. Coral are impacted at lower levels than most fish.

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Not true.

Dre said:

Not true.

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Its true from my experience, and many articles I've read. Unless you have an article showing contradictory evidence which I would like to read if you can link it.

heuerfan said:

How high are nitrates? IMO fish can tolerate very high nitrates.

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Yup. I ran systems with 50ppm no3 and fish were fine.

fish can absolutely tolerate higher nitrates levels than most every coral.

jackson6745 said:

Yup. I ran systems with 50ppm no3 and fish were fine.

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50PPM Is not high

jkidd155 said:

can high nitrates kill fish? lost 2 fish n da past week corals r doin great but then again I have n all lps reef tank just wondering any feed back would b appreciated thnks

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I think you have to do more home work, more tests, what mean to you "high nitrates" ?
Salinity ? you use RO/DI , water change , temp. post some pics.

I have a salifert test kit it was pass 50 closer 2 100 far as phosphate it was high it was 00.9 temp 78.9 salinity 125 I do water changes every week I have a 300 gpd ro unit so really don't know wat it could be

jkidd155 said:

I have a salifert test kit it was pass 50 closer 2 100 far as phosphate it was high it was 00.9 temp 78.9 salinity 125 I do water changes every week I have a 300 gpd ro unit so really don't know wat it could be

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Your water quality is poor, cleaning the tank up with a few water changes will only help. Not sure the size of your tank but is it possible that your don't have enough biological media? Are you adding fish that are not compatible causing fights and more stress? You maybe getting ammonia/nitrite spikes which will stress fish badly. If you have a clean sump or a way to not get crap all over a piece of media in the sump (mechanical filtration first), I would recommend getting a marinepure 8x4 filter block. It's great at denitrating, and provides loads of biological surface area.
Can only speculate without know all the details of your system.

I have 2 8x4 n 2 4x4 blocks n da refugium wit cheato as at as fish I have fox face purple tang 2 wrasses 2 clowns n 2 anthias

To keep corals happy and aglea under control you should be planning a water change when phosphates get up to .05 ppm or when nitrates get up to 20 ppm.

Fish can tolerate much higher levels but it will stress them, especially if those higher numbers you have are swinging around.

theMeat said:

To keep corals happy and aglea under control you should be planning a water change when phosphates get up to .05 ppm or when nitrates get up to 20 ppm.

Fish can tolerate much higher levels but it will stress them, especially if those higher numbers you have are swinging around.

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I wouldnt recommend just doing water changes based on phosphate and nitrate levels. There are more reasons for water changes such as replacing elements which will be used even if your tank is processing nitrates and phosphates well.

Although its not a bad idea if these guidelines increase your frequency of waterchanges from your usual schedule.

Good point Reefness, especially since most trace elements can't be easily or accurately tested for.

But kinda off topic and more confusing based on op's posts,

I do a water change every week wit ro I have a 150 cube wit a 40 gallon sump im assuming nitrates went high bcuz of dead fish n my phosphates bcuz of feeding heavy just saw one of my clowns wit a white film on his body 2day took him immediately looking at da rest of da fish c know signs on them assuming marine velvet don't know how he got it had him well over 6 months n my tank wat can I do?

How much do you change, 10 gals weekly? You have a volume of about 170 gals. You should be changing at least 30 gals weekly. Stop feeding heavily...

I do 30 gallon water change every week

As far as da clown having a white film on him I took him out once I saw him wat should I do as far as da other fish wat should I do? No signs of white film on them