nitrates

jazzyz · 05-03-2006, 10:35 PM

i made the mistake of using crushed coral as a base (as per my lfs advice) instead of sand. now im worried bout nitrates. what is the most effective way to reduce the levels??? ive heard fuges, coil denitrator, Nitrate Reductor, ect... what is the best method. i have a corner tank, so theres not much room under the tank. i do have a 13l x 17w x 26h space so i was thinking of putting a 15 gallon rubbermaid and either filling the thing w live sand in an attempt to create a dsb or fillin it w miracle mud. i have a fowlr tank right now just cycling up but love inverts so im concernd w nitrates. any comments would be appreciated.

Brandon1023 · 05-03-2006, 10:57 PM

Hmmm, I'd be interested to hear what others have to say about this, too. I can't imagine crushed coral would necessarily be a mistake, causing high nitrates. Of course I like sand better, its more natural anyways. If your tank is cycling, then of course the nitrates will be high. But once that is done, I just don't see the crushed coral as being a source for high nitrates. Over feeding and over stocking are the 2 big ones that come to mind. Do you have any fish now? If so how many? What kinds? How long has the tank been setup?

jazzyz · 05-03-2006, 11:12 PM

i set up the tank two weeks ago. the first week the lfs told me to add 9 lil damsels. i did. they lived one day all my levels were zero. all of a sudden the ph dropped to 7.4 from 8.2, the tank turned cloudy, and all the fish died. no other levels changed. also, my sg was 1.020 bc the lfs said to keep it low, i have since raised it to 1.025 after everyone on various boards told me to. anyway, noone knows why that happend. today i added 2 damsels and a snowflake eel. they seem to be doing very well. nitrites are 0, nitrates are 10, ammonia is .25. i have added the live bacteria (the kind that has to be refrigerated).

gkw · 05-04-2006, 01:04 AM

9 lil damsels!!!!! i suggest u not to listen to that guy again. Your water level should be: ammonia and nitrite - 0 and low nitrate before you can start adding fishes in there...that's if you have a cocktailed shrimp in there to start the cycle, or you can do a damsel (not 9) to start the cycle.

You still have ammonia in your water, I would return the livestocks, throw a cocktailed shrimp in there (or leave the damsel if you want, but that's cruel IMO) and wait for your cycle to be done. I haven't try the live bacteria in a package, so can't tell u if it's working or not.

As for the CC, you can vaccum it to suck the trapped debris out of your CC when water change because trapped debris = nitrate. I personally like the sand and you can keep some interesting fishes/inverts with sandbed.

Like everyone say here, "Go slow, let it grow!"

Good Luck, read up, and WELCOME Bud!

GKW

Brandon1023 · 05-04-2006, 08:12 AM

OK 2 weeks is too soon to add any fish, especially an eel. Do you have any live rock? If not, get some, and cycle your tank that way. Also what GKW said about a raw shrimp will help, along with the live rock. How many gallons is the tank? Whoever told you to add 9 damsels is a total idiot, and you should probably never go to that fish store again. I wouldn't trust them ever again. They will probably tell you to go ahead and add a trigger fish to your tank, and not to worry, it wont eat corals! Yea right! I never went through that, but its just an example. Anyways yea, take the livestock back, get a credit or whatever, and get some live rock if you don't have some already. Wait about a month, keep checking your levels, and when ammonia and nitrite are zero, and nitrates are about 5, MAYBE 10, then you will be OK to SLOWLY start adding fish. One a week, so as not to overstock. Also, remember the general rule is 1 fish per 10 gallons, in saltwater. That can be played on, depending on the size and type of fish, but it's a good starting point.

jazzyz · 05-04-2006, 10:50 AM

yeah i have a 92 gallon tank w 120 lbs or so of tonga live rock. i always hear of the benefits of sand what is the downside?

rickzter · 05-04-2006, 11:23 AM

crushed coral will leach calcium, no? I think there is some pro's to cc.

gkw · 05-04-2006, 01:46 PM

I thought sand and crushed coral are aragonite. Sand's just smaller, right?

Jason McKenzie · 05-04-2006, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gkw

I thought sand and crushed coral are aragonite. Sand's just smaller, right?

Yup.

To answer Jazzyz I would just do water changes on a regular basis. 10% every other week will do. Nitrates between 0 - 25 aren't bad. The next step in my mind would be to go for a Refugium

J

Oh BTW. Ditto on the 9 damsels please stop spending money at that store

J

coral reefer · 05-04-2006, 06:11 PM

The pet shop guy is a little on the well should I say" not the sharpest knife in the drawer. You need to go slow!!!!!Ask Matt-
Well where to start?)&*%#@$@ Ah yes, Do a water change first of all. As mentioned above, are you feeding too much? You need to get some live rock and or live sand to seed your tank. The least the guy at the pet shop could do is give you some sand from an established tank, but then again all the bacteria is probably dead as well as the fish for that matter...hahaha No seriously get some live sand to help rid your tank and speed up the cycling process. Oh, by the way, i'd get the eel out of the tank and return it until the tank is established or it will end up on the list of departed inhabitants that once occupied your tank.
Another thing that I would do is read! There are many good books on the market dealing with tank setups, fish, inverts and corals etc. Help yourself bigtime by reading to learn as much as you can about the saltwater hobby...You will be fascinated with all that you will learn about water parameters/testing/how to's and what not to do's.
Again, do a water change, add some carbon, get your protein skimmer going 24/7, add some live sand and rock(you may even want to look into investing in a refugium).
Hey nobody's perfect especially with regards to this hobby. I've done a few dumb things myself whether it be by trial and error or my stupidity, however I learned from my mistakes and invested in some good reef /saltwater aquarium books. The last thing I want to stress is ask questions!!!there are many knowledgeable people here as well as in other forum websites. But remember the only dumb question...is the one you didn't ask!!!best of luck_you will get it right! Gee, I feel like a high school or college football coach!