Hi, most of you know my situation but I thought I should put it here for more attention. Here is the thread for people to read instead of me retyping everything:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=67933

Basically my nitrAtes are high but the pH difference between my R/O water and tank water is significant so I cannot make BIG water changes. I ordered Kent's R/O Right as offered by Daryl and it should have come today(I have to wait till my fiance brings the mail). I have lost a bunch of fish including 2(my favorites!) within this week. I really need some help, reassurance, whatever you can give!

Well I can't give much help (I think Daryl is a better advice guru than I am!) but I can give support. I think you're one awesome fish mom and that you're going to pull through this whole ordeal

Oh Sweety, I wish I knew something about water chemistry to offer you advice, but all I can offer is support. This must be so hard for you, and all of us at Koko's feel your pain and frustration.
I certainly hope things turn around for you soon. I'd hate to see you give up caring for fish. You have so much to offer them.

Chin up, Hun.. You're not alone, you have all of Koko's behind you.

Debbie

ooh glitterfish I feel soo bad but I know you have the knowledge and you will turn this around ...don't give up just yet. you have lots of support here and have a lot of the best fish keepers here to help you through this .I hope your RO comes in soon .

Do u hav a second takn you could move your survivors into. Keep goin and we'll be here for you even in this time of darkness

Erin, I forgot - the high nitrates, are they in the water supply as well? Usually I would consider planting the tank, but that will set off some pH swings inbetween day and night due to oxgen intake and output. Have you thought about using something like Nitrazorb to absorb at least some of the nitrates? I remember using that years ago, but I can't remember if it needed to be re-charged like the ammonia absorber pillows.
How is the pH going in the RO tank now with the buffer in it? Have you decided to get the BUff-it-up? Sorry if you mentioned that in your other thread - its a long one. Somewhere I read that Daryl has a precise "receipe" that works perfectly in her particular RO water situation. I think in between the Kent product and the Buff-it-up, you should be able over time and with experimenting to get a nice balance and kH/pH reading going, and stable.

Found it: Its post #3 in here... ----> http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...mp;#entry757429

Erin, I have two more suggestions. They may not sound ideal but they are options at least. One is to go green. Before you say "AAAgh I'll never see my fish again" give it a thought. Believe me, it is a sure fire way to get zero nitrates if you can have a window that gets bright light and you can place both tanks under it. GW is incredibly easy to manage. It really helps with floaty fish and it gives you amazing peace of mind. Priceless. Water only needs changing once a week.

The other one is more aggressive filter cleaning. Anytime you have a lot of fish producing a lot of waste theres going to be more nitrites and ammonia for the bbs to break down and de-nitrify resulting in huge nitrate levels. Your bb colony must be huge, managing to make all the nitrates..perhaps cutting back on feeding (more frequent fasting days?) PLUS new filter sponge or at least a good rolling boil of some filter media in one filter only half the material at a time over a few days if you are worried..might help. Along with the fasting it would be fine to cut back your bbs some. With my tanks that have been set up for ages & ages, nitrates creep more and I need to do much more aggressive filter media cleaning. It goes against traditional thinking to consider cutting back bbs but if you can get the balance right with less feeding at the same time it is safe in a well established tank like this. Of course you have to be very careful -to slowly increase feeding etc -but I know you would be. Its not a permanent solution but it can give the fish a break from high nitrates for a wee while.

And the other one is, like Andrea suggests, a commercial helper like Nitrazorb in the filter. I think they are like carbon and need replacing and will release back but one every 10 days (you'd have to monitor how quickly they are used up).

We're with you, hang in there

Thank you so much everyone. It helps just to know I have support. The Kent's R/O Right and Ph Adjuster by API came in yesterday. I am filling up the storage barrels so that I can test them.

Andrea, there are no nitrates in the source water, just in the tanks.

Imo, I will try as you suggested with the filters first (more cleanings, a few new sponges) and see how that goes. The fish are kind of being hit from every angle right now.

Ok I found this item:

http://www.nnnn.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753994

But it only treats up to 55 gallons and I have a 90 and 75 gallon. I was wondering if this stuff would work if placed in media bags in the filters:

http://www.nnnn.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753908

Oh where the nnnn's are it's p*tsm*rt

Ok so I added the pH adjuster and the R/O right. How long do I have to wait to test for results? I tested within 20 minutes and I saw no change.

Good luck glitter!! Sounds like you're getting great advice. We'll be cheering you on! Your fishy are lucky to have a Mom like you that cares about them and takes the time to fight for them to survive. That's the difference in being fish owners and fish lovers! Don't give up yet!!

Thanks Christie!

Me and my Goldies are rooting for you Erin Hope this gets all fixed out for you

Thanks sweetie!

I ordered Buff It Up today along with his trace minerals. The R/O Right uses WAY too much, same with the pH adjuster I purchased.

Any advice on my questions above? I am waiting for the buff it up to arrive, should be here tomorrow. My ryukin Zoomer is constantly flipped and is getting sores on his belly.

Erin, the red sore on the belly might just be from the constant exposure to the air when he is flipped over all the time. I'd apply some Neosporin to it, that should keep it hydrated, and the redness should go away.

As for your pH issues, are you still adding the Kent and the other stuff to it? Has anything changed for the better in the readings, or do you have to upt the dosages?

Andrea, Thank you SO much for replying!

I figured the sores were due to being exposed to the air. I put him into a net breeder with another net over the top and pushed it below the surface so that he cannot pop up to expose his belly anymore.

The dosages for the Kent's and pH adjuster are not working well enough and even if they were I need to use like 1/4 the bottle for 20 gallons!! Like I said the Buff It Up and pH adjuster from Goldfish Connection are arriving tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have better results then.

Oh, would you still recommend the Nitrazorb? I found a couple I was wondering about and posted the links above.

OK so I got the Buff-it-up and Trace Elements(not pH adjuster, that's what Buff-it-up is! ) and added it straight to my tanks. The pH is at 7.2 after adding it. In the barrel of RO water the pH is 6.4. I added a 2nd dose and I will test it later tonight.

I put Neosporin on Zoomer's belly but it didn't look like I got any on there! How often should I re-apply?

The Buff-it-up is working! I'm going to add another 1/4 teaspoon tonight to try to get it to match what it is in the tanks.

I got the KH up to around 83-85. Is that good enough? I also got the pH to match and did a waterchange last night. I will be doing another tonight to get those nitrates down. Zoomer's belly is looking a little better but I need to know when to re-apply the Neosporin?

Hey, that sounds like a HUGE improvement! I would get the kH up just a tad more, around the 100 range, Erin. And the neosporin can be applied daily with no problem.

Hi Andrea!

I will attempt to get the kh up some more. Zoomers belly is better. After I did a water change he was able to right himself. He is still floaty but at least not upside down!

Erin, how is the whole water chemistry situation now? Are you happy with it, or is it still causing problems?

I lost Zoomer.

I'm still not doing well with the water chemistry. I can get the pH to match but no matter what I cannot get the nitrates down. Last night I took Imo's advice and replaced one sponge in one filter on each tank with a new one. I am about the test the water again now.

Nitrates can be such a battle, I know they are for me (I'm yet to maintain them below 20). Keep up the good work, I know it must be hard losing your fish, but you're doing great.

Man, Erin, I am so sorry that you had to lose a fish!

You know, I was thinking - did you give the Nitrazorb a try yet? Other than that, how about a different approach? I know I said that plants would help, but maybe offset the pH issue again. But I kept thinking - if you get the pH rock solid with higher kH, then a plant or two wouldn't hurt the pH. And I am not talking small plant here, and it wouldn't be in the tank either. How about a small plantlet from a grown spider plant, or a pothos? They don't need soil to flourish, I stick spider plantlets and pothos just with their roots in tanks and pond filters all the time, and they do fine. Especially the spiders. When I get a pothos, I just wash off all the soil and stick the plant into an open area of the glas top, so that just the roots are exposed to the water. The rest of the plant is outside, and believe me, they'll grow and trail nicely along the tank. Would that be something you could consider?

Thanks Andrea! I asked about the Zitra zorb awhile back. I saw that one things only treats 55 gallons and put a link to another product asking if it would work the same. I would be willing to try anything right now, I am so frustrated with this whole thing. I can easily get baby spider plants from my adult plant upstairs so that wouldn't be a problem!

Any news, Erin?

Hi Andrea, I've lost more fish unfortunately. I have them all in my 90 gallon now since I don't have too many left. I bought some stuff called de nitrate from the smart place for pets and have that in one filter. The buff it up from GC works really well at bringing the pH up in the RO water. I also purchased their pond trace elements to add. Some of the fish look really good while others don't. Once they're all gone I'll wait till I move to purchase more fish.

That's terrible, Erin! So, from what I read - you have a handle on at least the pH issue then? I haven't heard of that nitrate product - are you seing an improvement in your readings after using it for a while? Do you have to recharge it in some way? Have you tried some plants in the tank?

I hope it doesn't come down to a move in order for you to be able to keep fish...

Hi Andrea,

I have 4 Anubias in the tank. I haven't gotten around to the others yet as it is May and I am working long hours. I just put the nitrate stuff in the filter 3 days ago and I am going to put more in the other filter as I only had one media bag at the time. I will let you know if I see a difference. The pH is under control I just cannot fix the nitrAte problem! Oh, yes it says it is rechargeable but I don't really understand what that means or how to do it?

Good job with the pH! I really hope you can get the nitrates down Erin, they are such a big pain I'm not sure how to re-charge those things either. I too have found high nitrates will flip fish over.

You will need to read the instructions on the packet. Some rechargables are really complicated such as Purigen, where you soak them in bleach, them soak them in Prime, then soak them in a pH adjuster all before they are reusable. It becomes quite expensive.

How is the recharging going, Erin? If the absorbing material has to take care of a huge amount of nitrates, it will need recharging more frequently.

I haven't figured out how to recharge it yet.

Erin - haven't spoken to you in an age.
Listen hun, is it the Nitrazorb pillow you are using? If so, you need to soak it in a saline solution every 2/3 days (or whenever you start to see the nitrates climb). There should be a leaflet inside the box with instructions. I used 2 of the large pillows on my 40g tank to control high nitrates, but I did find I needed to recharge them every couple of days. I alternated re-charging one at a time, so that there was always at least one pillow in the tank.