NO2 getting so high?

[solarnailspa2007]

I have 6 fishes in the tank for right now? All the fishes and water test seemed fine until this afternoon my NO2 getting up to 1.0 and all my fishes getting white spots over their bodies. I took a test and Ammonia, NO3 are OK . pH is 7.8 and NO2 is 1.0 I have 3 filters: 2 of xP3, 1 of xP4. Should i do a sump with plant in it? Is it gonna be better. Am i doing something wrong?

[Hop]

When did you add the fish? You may be in the middle of a mini-cycle, the test could be bad or there may be some other factor.

[solarnailspa2007]

I added them last week at the same time. They kinda big from 3.5 to 6 cm each. Should i need to buy a sump to get my NO2 down to O. is it gonna be better with this sump at ( http//cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=350130276946 )
for my 75 gallons. Do i need to have air pump in the tank?

[Hop]

You don't need a sump to reduce no2. It is the middle ground for the nitrification process. What are you using for the bio filter? Liverock?

[Hop]

Oh and the white spots may be ich. A seperate condition possibly being aided by the increased stress of the fish due to the water quality.

[solarnailspa2007]

thanks for answered me. But what is bio filter? Do u have any to recommended to me and how to use it? u mean what kind of filter i am using? i have about 130 pounds of live rock? You said "A seperate condition possibly being aided by the increased stress of the fish due to the water quality." Can you tell me more about it... I am 100% sure they are getting ich. My NO2 is down to 0 now. They can swim now but they white spots still on their bodies. NO3 is .25 but i am sure it will going down.

[Hop]

Liverock is your biofilter then. I was just making sure you were not trying to use an undergravel filter, bioballs, bio wheel or canister before I answered further about the nitrogen cycle. If your no2 is down and no3 is up, that is a good thing.

As far as the stress issue, if you go through a cycle where there is ammonia and nitrite, it stresses the fish. they can handle no3, but are not very tollerent of the other parts. if you increase their stress, you can reduce their immune system and their ability to fight off the ich effectively.

Unless you have a quarentine tank ready or the ability to get one set up, I would do what you can to reduce their stress, give them stable water conditions and keep them eating well. Adding a few drops of a garlic supplment to the their food can also help boots their appetite during this time for them.

[solarnailspa2007]

The problem is i have six fishes and they are go to the back every time i am trying to catch them? Hahaha.... I used to have hospital tank for sick fish but i am using it for my nemos and small dory already. I have black bioballs inside the Rena xP3. Do u think i need some plant in the tank. They usually dont last long in my tank because My triggers and my tangs eat them all. Do u think that i should be Ok without a hospital tank? Because 6 different fishes need 6 different tanks... Thanks again.

[solarnailspa2007]

Oh yeah, should i turn off all lights and let them resting. I have my lights on about 12 hrs a day. think its too much so i set for 9 hrs now? Is it gonna help? maybe i dont have much room for them?

[Hop]

I would get rid of the rena and the bioballs. It is just a nice box for nitrate production. Actually you can treat 6 sick fish the same quarantine tank as long as it is big enough. No, you don't need a plant in the tank, however; a refugium may be something to look into down the road. Once your beneficial bacteria is in place and running strong, you should never have a detectable ammonia or no2 reading unless you suddenly increase the bioload again with adding too many fish at once or something dies and over whelms it.

[Loverotties]

I never add more then two fish at a time,well back when I had fresh I did,but just fresh.

[Hop]

it is a good rule of thumb George.

[solarnailspa2007]

I think u r right about mini-cycle, Hop. At first, i see all my fishes have white spots all over their bodies. I checked the water and NO2 was high. Then 5 hrs later, i check again NO2 was down and NO3 was high at that time. Thats so crazy, man. Then the next day, i check again NO3 & NO2 was down to 0 but Ammonia is up to.50
Should i be patient to wait or should i do something to make ammonia going down? Maybe i put too much fishes at the same time. Maybe its over feeding? are we only feed once aday?

[jenglish]

besides anthias and maybe a few other high metabolism exceptions, many tanks are fed every 2 or 3 days. There is nothing much to do about the ammonia except wait IMO. Its not a good habit to get into to add things to the tank every time the params get a little out of whack. SOunds like you have some biofilter going you just overloaded it a bit and it needs awhile to play catch up. You may want to soak their food in garlic or even finely chop garlic to mix into the fish food. It helps the fish naturally fight off a number of parasites. I can find a link somewhere that explains how it functions. Watch your fish for signs of difficulty breathing. If it is ich it can buildup in the gills and cause breathing issues

[ultimatumparagon]

another thing you could consider is adding cleaner shrimp to your tank certain ones climb onto fish and clean off the parasites, a UV light can kill this disease and help bring it into control but i dont recomend leaving it on permanantly it wont hurt but it wont help the biodiversity of your tank in the long run you can buy reef safe treatments to subside ich try petsolutions.com A refugium with plants will help reduce nitrates chec what plants you use some release toxins back into the water calurpa taxifolia is great for pulling nitrates out of the water but is illegal for sale or trade in some states a mangrove plant o plats is also great for nitrate control but most important test and do water changes with R/O water good luck.