Thanks for all the help (You guys are great!!) I have my live rock curing
seperate from the tank right now. As soon as it's done curing I'll add it
in. After this do I just run the cansiter filter with only charcoal?

Thanks-Susan
"Billy" wrote in message
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"Susan" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks guys for the help. I actually did buy more live rock today. I
currently am running a Fluval 204 canister filter. I added a new poly
pad also in hopes it will help lower nitrates and take out any metals and
I changed some water in the tank. I'll wait a bit and check the nitrates
again. Is it a possibility that I may have a mantis shrimp that could be
killing off my shrimp?


I would agree with the others, the nitrates are high, and may be
contributing to the short life of your shrimp. If there was a mantis,
you'd be able to tell. A cleaner shrimp done in by a mantis would most
likely be in more than one piece when he was done with it. g
The canister may be contributing to your high nitrates. The bacteria on
the polypads are great for converting ammonia to nitrites, and nitrites to
nitrate, but that's where it ends. Only water changes, Live Rock, a DSB,
algae scrubber or something on those lines can do the rest. I'd go with
Mark's suggestion to add the FULLY CURED LR to your tank, (don't believe
advertisments that say 'fully cured', cure it yourself, trust me on this.)
and lose the canister very soon after that. I wouldn't try adding any
livestock until you make whatever changes needed to get those nitrates
down. It would be fine in a fish-only tank, but not in what you're
striving for. Please let us know if you need any assistance, or have any
other questions!

billy