nitrates and dead fishies

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 21:56:56 -0400, "Allyb" wrote:

Ok, started off with pmdd, dosing drops per day, but read that you need to
keep 5 ppm nitrates in the tank. Plants seem to be consuming tons, so I'm
adding up to 20ppm per day (per advice in this forum), and I can't keep the
levels up. Fish start getting sick and dying, and I realize I'm poisoning
them. Discontinue fertilzation, water changes, everybody revives, getting
more algae now. The question is, if I can't add enough nitrates to keep the
levels in the tank where they belong, is adding amounts that won't hurt fish
going to help anything at this seemingly high rate of consumption. Also, if
the plants were really consuming that much, what was hurting the fish? The
high levels for a few hours til the plants took it up, or some kind of
byproduct? Thanks! Allison


Check your test kit. Had a bad one a few months ago and it darn near
got me into a lot trouble (NO3). Compare your results against a known
standard. Seachem has a test sample in their kits. You may want to
look at PO4, Fe etc. to see if they are in balance or within range.

good luck.