High Nitrates

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by Tabbi, Dec 11, 2008.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. Tabbi

    Tabbi Plankton

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2008
    Messages:
    1
    Brief description of the problem.
    A picture(s) will also help.
    PARAMETERS (important)
    Temperature: 77
    PH: fluctuates 7.8-8.0
    Ammonia:0
    Nitrite: 0
    Nitrate: 200+
    Salinity:
    dKH/KH/Alkalinity:
    Magnesium: ?
    Calcium: ?
    Phosphate ?


    Tank size? 72 gal
    Estimated total system?


    Reef, fish only or, freshwater? Fowlr

    Current inhabitants? What and how many? 1 clown, 1 coral beauty, 1 eblie, 1 damsal, 1 yellow tang, 1 blue tang, 1 anthia, 1 valentina puffer fish. 3 anemone

    Clean up crew? None


    How long has your tank been set-up? I have had it one month but the previous owner had it set up for 7 years.

    Substrate. I just replaced previous substrate 3 days ago with new Aragonite gravel and sand to lower nitrates, so far no difference
    Type?
    Depth? 3-4"

    Live rock? yes
    How much? 75-85 lbs
    Did you recently add some? NO

    Filtration
    .
    Type?
    Protein skimmer? Yes
    Do you wet or dry skim? Wet
    Maintenance schedule for filtration? Clean weekly
    Drilled tank/hang on back overflow?
    Sump/refugium. What's in it and how much? Sump
    Macro? What kind?

    Lighting.
    Lighting type? Unsure
    Age of bulbs? Unsure

    Feeding
    What? Prime reef flakes,
    How much? 1 pinch apprx 1-2 tsp
    How often? 2-3 times per day

    Water change schedule.

    How much? I normally do 10 gal per week but when I changed the substrate I changed about 15 gal.

    My nitrates have been high since I got the tank set up. I have used one medium bottle of prime to lower nitrates. I have changed the old substrate to new substrate. I have a protein skimmer as well as a UV light in the sump area. My filtration consists of the bag that covers the pipe coming down to the sump and a foam strip between the protein skimmer and the return pump. Do I need any more filters?

    I have lost 1 anemone, 2 wrasses, 1 anthia and a wolf blenny as well as a pseudochromis within the last week. My other anthia has popeye right now. My other fish seem to be doing well and the LFS told me that the nitrates was probably not my problem. Do I need to add oxygen to the tank or more filtration?
     
    1 person likes this.
  2. Click Here!

  3. adam

    adam Montipora Digitata

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2008
    Messages:
    1,067
    You are way over feeding and when you changed the sand you actually set up a new cycle. You are gonna have to do a major 50% water change. Folowed by more water changes ever few days. Are you using RODI water? Stop all that feeding 1x a day a pinch of the food. They should eat for 1-2 minutes. Also clean that bag that covers the pipe from the sump. What brand skimmer? What is temp? You need to know your KH and salinity. Do you have alot of algae growth?
     
  4. 10acrewoods

    10acrewoods Fire Goby

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2008
    Messages:
    1,337
    Location:
    Carbondale Il
    could be high because of disturbing sand bed. Also when moving tank what type of water did you use to replace lost water. Nitrates are best takin out by natural means. Live rock usualy cures this problem. But 200 ppm is high, I would be carefull cause you might be losing more fish. might look into denitrater. http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/diy-denitrator-55257.html pic of system might help too. ph is low also should be closer to 8.3. High movements in ph cause lots of fish stress also.
     
  5. adam

    adam Montipora Digitata

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2008
    Messages:
    1,067
    Ph 7.8 - 8.0 would not kill any fish. It is nitrates and your overfeeding
     
  6. 10acrewoods

    10acrewoods Fire Goby

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2008
    Messages:
    1,337
    Location:
    Carbondale Il
    true but don't need this low. nitrates are main problem. But this needs to be adressed to.
     
  7. PharmrJohn

    PharmrJohn The Dude

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2008
    Messages:
    4,622
    Location:
    Shelton, Washington
    OK, your nitrates are high because of a few things. Your feeding schedule is one of them. Now, you're kind of caught in a bind here, because IMO max feeding should be no more than two to three times per week. But you have an anthia, and if memory serves (I could be wrong), you need to feed these guys twice daily at least.

    Also, you moved the tank and you replaced the substrate. Both will cause a cycle. Your NH4 and NO2 are good because the bacteria are keeping up, but you can see the results in your NO3.

    I would first try a nitrate sponge just to lessen the numbers as an immediate measure. WCs will help, but with numbers this high, you would have to replace out most of the water and I don't think that is serving much. Keep on your routine for a month or so anyway, then you can back off a bit if you want. So do the nitrate sponge thang.

    You are a candidate for a denitrator. Tangster here on this site makes denitrators. Most have good luck with them. Some don't. Mine keeps the levels at around 20 and I haven't done a WC in seven weeks now. A fuge will get rid of the nitrates and phosphates that you have pretty quickly as well. Your PO4 is likely through the roof also. It is a byproduct of waste as much as NO3.

    I see you have a sump. You may want to consider turning part of it into a fuge. I did that with my 20g long. The macro-algae you put in that will get rid of both NO3 and PO4 pronto.

    If you don't want to do a fuge, I would consider a denitrator and a phosphate reactor. So that's about it. That's my story and I am sticking to it!!!!!
     
    1 person likes this.
  8. Click Here!

  9. 10acrewoods

    10acrewoods Fire Goby

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2008
    Messages:
    1,337
    Location:
    Carbondale Il
    clean up crew could handle over feeding also. I see there is no such thing. need to add snails and hermit crabs stuff like that will help in the breakdown of food.
     
  10. adam

    adam Montipora Digitata

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2008
    Messages:
    1,067
    You also had too many fish at the beginning for a 72. Get a good clean up crew.
     
  11. missionsix

    missionsix Super Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2007
    Messages:
    5,734
    Location:
    Bend,Oregon - USA
    With 3 anemones you are actually diving out of fowlr and should consider maintaining other required parameters.
    Why not start the system over and build what you want rather than take on another persons?
     
    1 person likes this.
  12. tigermike74

    tigermike74 Panda Puffer

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    2,116
    Location:
    Southern CA
    Watch your anemones, if they die, they will ruin your tank. The one that died may have resulted in the nitrate problem. I am coming off the heels of super high nitrates as well, I feel your pain. Mine was caused by an unseen dead crab in my LR, and many worms in the LR that were decaying under the rock. I also had a Eheim canister filter that was causing a high amount of nitrates. I would reconsider having a puffer in your tank though. They are notorious nippers of reef animals and they may pick at the anemone if they (the anemones) are not large. The problem here has to be resolved one step at a time. A few pieces of the puzzle are out of place, so let's take it one step at a time. First, let's get the pH up to 8.2ish. Dose with some buffer to get that up. Buffering your alk will help it from swinging wildly. Doing a water change that is properly buffered will help that, and will remove a percentage (depending on % of your WC) of your nitrates. As a side note, flake foods are notorious for releasing a high concentration of nitrates per serving. Feed them twice a week, trust me, they will find natural foods (pods etc) in the tank when they are hungry. 1-2tsp is a HUGE amount of food, especially multiple times a day. When feeding, litterally just take a pinch between your fingers and add to the tank. And as the others have said, adding new sand created a new system since you removed the existing bacteria. Since this is a bit of a desperate time, I would try using "Cycle" or some type of live nitrifying bacteria to speed up the bacteria cycle. Fish & Aquarium Supplies: Biological Additives for Bio Filters to Remove Ammonia