Garlic & Nitrates

[WesnJena]

Can someone tell me if garlic will help neutralize lethal levels of nitrates in my tank? We have two fish dying due to nitrate levels and would like to know if there is a quicker solution besides water changes

 

[1979camaro]

garlic will not neutralize nitrates as far as I know

if your tank has reached a level where nitrates are killing fish you have some serious problems which I think you need to address...perhaps a large water change should be your first step though

can you tell us a bit more about your setup?

 

[S.Reef]

Garlic will not remove nitrates.

If your fish are dying its probably not from nitrate, but some other more harmful chemical.

 

[nicolleen]

hi,

nitrates are not toxic for fish, even in high concetrations. garlic is good as a mild antibiotic. i also think your problem is hidden somewhere else.

maybe you tell a bit more about the situation, so that people can help you better?

lg
niki

 

[1979camaro]

well, in marine aquariums nitrates can cause serious problems for fish at relatively low levels compared to FW and they are definitely deadly to inverts at very low levels. but, i am mostly concerned that a water change is too difficult of a solution, it seems kind of irresponsible to me

 

[nicolleen]

hi,

thank you, i'm very sorry! i did overlook that this post was in the saltwater section! please accept my apologies.

lg
niki

 

[yamahaguy06]

lol, I'm thinking well thats kinda a controling or agresive post there, lol *PEACE!*

 

[1979camaro]

no worries nicolleen...sorry if it came across as harsh, twas not intended as such

 

[WesnJena]

Thank you for all the replies. We lost our lion due to water conditions, too little too late I'm afraid. When the water was tested we were told that the nitrates & nitrites we off the scale. No other bacteria present. Symptoms we thought were caused by a 'moody' lion were more serious than we knew. We have begun our water changes that had been neglected due to personal issues. (yes-1979camaro- it might seem irresponsible of us, but not normal pratice. This 125 gal marine tank has been running since 2001 with no prior problems until now. I was looking for a quicker fix because I din't think that the water change would be enough to save the fish. only able to do a 20% change a week) Hopefully we'll be able to save our grouper.

Again, thanks for all the replies and the information.

 

[1979camaro]

are you using live rock in this system? are you skimming? what are you feeding? all of these things can also contribute to either a cause of or solution to the problem...

sorry for your loss, i know its never pleasant to lose a fish

 

[WesnJena]

Sorry to say we lost our grouper. We are shutting the tank down for awhile as there are no other fish in it and we do not have the heart to continue with the large tank for awhile. We're taking a break from the big system and are going to set up a smaller reef system for now. Thanks again for all the replies, hopefully we'll come back with good news soon.

 

[yamahaguy06]

I'm sorry to hear all that, ussaly these guys on here are very knowleagable w/ salt water set up's. so come back and if you ever have a question just post it up, but I am sorry again you couldn't find a solution to your nitrate prob. it's funny they just shot up like that. well good luck with your future tank and keep us up to date.

-Sean

 

[nicolleen]

hi,

well this is a shame! maybe you can run the tank without fish for a while, until it has stabilised a bit, and then start slowly populating again?

i've got no experiences in seawater of my own, but my mum's got two, 300L and 1000L, and i've learned it takes a hell lot of patience... don't give up!

lg
niki