nitrate high... UPDATE LEECHING ROCKS! HELP

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by bobssecrtsn, Apr 16, 2011.

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  1. bobssecrtsn

    bobssecrtsn Sea Dragon

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    Ok guys ll give every little detail I can with my set up...

    135g reef with fish tank
    200lbs of live rock
    75lbs of crushed corals
    Nitrate 100
    Nitrite 0
    Ammonia 0
    pH 8.3
    Po4 0
    Mag 1350
    Ca 350-400
    Alk ?
    Salt 1:025
    Teemp 80
    Sandbed 2"
    Skimmer unknown (has a aqua usa pump)(also bought on criaglist)
    The setup..

    I took the advice on blowing the rocks I did a 20g wc and my nitrate still sky rocked.. the skimmer is skimming foam but not that dark foam. I have a 30g sump just for the skimmer with not baffles. 2x canister filters I jus turned them off before work ill check my nitrate when I get home. I have 2 yellow tangs 1stripe tang 2f perc clowns 3 damsels 1 lionfish.

    The problem...

    I bought the rocks and sand off criaglist . I jus blew the rocks off yesterday. For detetrius build up. And before I setup the tank I washed the crushed coral thoroughly with hose water. I'm guessing it was dead now . The rocks came with good growth of coraline and it caMe with corals. I noticed no po4 so it can't be leeching. Overall I did about 20g waterchange 5 days ago with another 20g wc yesterday I'm not overfeeding I'm actually skipping feeding today but my tangs has ich prolly due to the high nitrates they're eating aglea off the glass and rocks though.

    I cleaned the canister filter 5 days ago I'm running filter pad 4x bags of carbon 1 chemipure elite 1 denitrator sacks.

    The tank was previously a freshwater tank I washed it spotless of anything.. the canisters was also fw also washed that. I used the old carbon for acouple days then I switched them out with new ones

    Theory..

    Do you guys think its thw crushed coral sand? I bought them on criaglist and itt was in a 5 gallon jugs one with water and 1 with out water. I'm thinking I can buy the carribean fine grain sand and set it on top? The sand is roughly 2 inches.

    **UPDATE**

    i soaked one of my rocks in a bucket with fresh catalina water. tested the water before and it was at 0. i let it sit over night and i just tested it and the nitrate was at 30! what do i do to stop the leeching? will it reduce its leeching overtime or will it keep leeching on forever..

    and also i was thinking of buying the instant ocean nitrate remover. will this stop the leeching from the rocks? or will it just reduce my nitrate
     
    Last edited: Apr 17, 2011
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  3. Zoanthids21

    Zoanthids21 McKoscker’s Flasher Wrasse

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    I would say you have mostly stirred up the tank and created a nitrate problem..I had the same thing in my 29g, i moved it across the street and ended up having nitrates above 90. After many WC and cleanings and increased filtration..Its down to about 5ppm
     
  4. nc208082

    nc208082 Zoanthid

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    you needed to clean the aquarium with vinegar to disenfect the fresh water aquarium.

    I use crushed coral but have a much lower nitrate so that may not be the problem.\
    Secondly those canister filters can be nitrate factories.

    Buy a good skimmer, dont waste your time with a crappy one that doesnt work. it is vital part of your filtration.

    lastly i wouldnt recomend using used sand or crushed coral, go new.

    lastly why you have a lionfish with clowns and tangs be careful. secondly you have multiple yellow tangs in the same tank?
    trouble

    lastly check your test kits, it seems weird to have nitrates that high and no ammonia or p04 readings
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2011
  5. bobssecrtsn

    bobssecrtsn Sea Dragon

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    Thank you for the reply. But would you think majeno anemone give out nitrate? Because I have a lot of them... and how long would I need to leave my canister filters off to notice a drop in nitrate. Also would any chemical warfare from ocorals cause nitrate?
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2011
  6. Zander

    Zander Spaghetti Worm

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  7. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    Along with the water changes try some Microbacter7, just going to assume your water source is good.

    Majano and aiptasia can take a lot of abuse.

    For long term, I am not familiar with your canister, but you may want to look into it contributing if after you have tried exporting the nutrients (cheato, mangrove), removal and dilution by water changes and or the use of products similar to Microbacter7, and are still having issues with the nitrate level.
     
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  9. bobssecrtsn

    bobssecrtsn Sea Dragon

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    I was looking at az no3. Eliminator hass anyone tried that. And I also have a ball of cheatos in my display. Seems like its not working...
     
  10. gabbagabbawill

    gabbagabbawill Pajama Cardinal

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    you have a lot of things going on...

    first of all, how long has your tank been set up?

    "Crushed coral" if is what substrate you have, is known for causing high nitrates because it is very porous and allows lots of detritus to get clogged in it, and as it decays causes nitrates to go up... the fact that it came from a previous tank could mean it has a lot of decaying matter in it that is releasing nitrates into your tank... if you can get rid of this and go with aragonite instead, it would be better in the short term and long term for your tank...

    Source water - what is your source water? Are you using RO/DI water to mix with your salt water? If not, you could be introducing nitrates through your water supply...

    Test your fresh/ newly mixed salt water before you do a change next time to see if it has nitrates in it....

    cheato will not work overnight, but will help slowly reduce nitrates over time...
     
  11. bobssecrtsn

    bobssecrtsn Sea Dragon

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    i have a conclusion.. i got new catalina water and i put it in a bucket soaked a small peice of rock over night.. i just tested it and the nitrate was 30! my guess is my rocks are leeching the nitrate. if i get the instant ocean will my nitrate decrease and if will the leeching from the rocks stop?
     
  12. gabbagabbawill

    gabbagabbawill Pajama Cardinal

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    are you talking about live rock? how long have you had the rocks in the tank?

    Have you performed water changes using RO/DI water in your salt mix?

    I'm not familiar with "catalina water".

    Instant Ocean is a salt mix, to be added to clean pure H20. You want to use RO/DI filtering to achieve the purest water possible before adding your salt to mix.

    How long has your tank been set up, and how long have you had your rocks? Let's take this a step at a time....