Nitrates are killing me!

onehundred20 · #1 01/20/2007, 11:57 PM

Ive been battling nitrates for some time now, Im wondering if maybe my lionfish and grouper are the cause.

I have a 15 gallon fuge full of cheato lit 24/7.

4" dsb fairly new switched from BB about a month ago.

asm g3 skimmer

fish:
maroon clown
purple tang
clown grouper
lionfish

Im stumped as to where the nitrates are coming from the are 20+ all the time. I do bi weekly 30 gallon water changes. I only feed 1 time every 2 days at the most.

Do you think the big carnivores are the cause?

Im sick of my sps stning over the nitrates.

saltycreefer · #2 01/21/2007, 12:04 AM

Why dont you get a 55 gallon can and prep some water for a change. Do 2 water changes that big in a week and see if you still have nitrates. If you get them low, they will be easier to maintain with your usual 30 gallon change.

saltywawa · #3 01/21/2007, 12:06 AM

get some live rock and try some prime

FishNutzBoi · #4 01/21/2007, 12:14 AM

mayb ur fuge is too full so the chaeto can't grow as fast as ur NO3. pull some out

onehundred20 · #5 01/21/2007, 12:17 AM

i have 100lbs of live rock, I may try the water change method......

Im pretty sure my fuge is good the cheato isnt that big yet.

one thing thats weird is my salifert kit reads 50ppm or so(its really hard to tell exactly what its reading since the test only uses 1ml of water., but my red sea reads 20ppm....I know the salifert has a bad reputation for the nitrate kit..which one do you guys think is closer to the right reading?

Der_Iron_Chef · #6 01/21/2007, 01:10 AM

Did you have high nitrate levels when your tank was barebottom? What skimmer are you using?

Inefficient/insufficient skimming, overfeeding, messy tank inhabitants, detritus build-up and insufficient water changes are the most likely causes.

onehundred20 · #7 01/21/2007, 01:27 AM

yes they were higher than they are now.

ReefWreak · #8 01/21/2007, 02:51 AM

There is always the sugar/vodka dosing method in the Advanced or Chemistry forums. If you still can't figure it out, you can always try to cook your rock by dipping and keeping them in the dark for long periods of time, probably releasing a LOT of stored up detritus.

jacmyoung · #9 01/21/2007, 06:45 AM

Have you tested your water source? Nitrate tests are very unreliable. There is a thread here about testing many brands of nitrate tests, the numbers are all over the board.

I started sugar addition and my algae has since disappeared in my tank, but the test kept showing 10ppm until I tried a different test showed zero.

If your livestock are doing good, and you don't have bad algae growing in your tank under strong lighting, your fine.

Ramble On Rose · #10 01/21/2007, 10:09 AM

Are you using RO/DI water? If you are not seeing 0 TDS from whatever water you are using to topoff with - that may be the source.

dvmsn · #11 01/21/2007, 10:31 AM

IMO you are right, groupers and lionfish are really dirty. It sound to me like your setup is perfectly all right. Nitrates are sign of high bio-lode, so it sounds like waste is to blame

onehundred20 · #12 01/21/2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jacmyoung
Have you tested your water source? Nitrate tests are very unreliable. There is a thread here about testing many brands of nitrate tests, the numbers are all over the board.

I started sugar addition and my algae has since disappeared in my tank, but the test kept showing 10ppm until I tried a different test showed zero.

If your livestock are doing good, and you don't have bad algae growing in your tank under strong lighting, your fine.

Yes I tested my water source(RO/DI) and before I changed my filters it was the culprit, it was testing 10 or so but I changed my filters and its back to 0.

I tried the sugar method and all I got was bad cyno=/

onehundred20 · #13 01/21/2007, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dvmsn
IMO you are right, groupers and lionfish are really dirty. It sound to me like your setup is perfectly all right. Nitrates are sign of high bio-lode, so it sounds like waste is to blame

I think they ahve alot to do with it even if I feed less, I dont want to get rid of them though since they were my first fish and Ive had them for over 2 years....Maybe Ill start looking for another tank to house them in.

CeeGee · #14 01/21/2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by onehundred20
I think they ahve alot to do with it even if I feed less, I dont want to get rid of them though since they were my first fish and Ive had them for over 2 years....Maybe Ill start looking for another tank to house them in.

if that is your coral in your avatar you must be doing something right...

saltycreefer · #15 01/21/2007, 03:12 PM

WATER CHANGE! And see where you're at. Nitrates arent gonna go down by themselves. Get them low and be careful feeding, then your fuge and rock should be able to keep them low.

onehundred20 · #16 01/21/2007, 03:26 PM

I wish that was my coral ceegee

yeldarbj · #17 01/21/2007, 03:53 PM

Water changes and try some Purigen.

Der_Iron_Chef · #18 01/21/2007, 05:07 PM

Don't use any chemicals or additives. Be diligent in cleaning your tank of detritus, cut back on feedings (if you're feeding every day, try feeding every other day), and skim like a mofo.

A little elbow grease usually solves the nitrate problems. Also, what skimmer are you using?

onehundred20 · #19 01/21/2007, 10:39 PM

asm-g3, i also am very diligent with my cleaning...30g water change every 2 weeks.

Craig Lambert · #20 01/21/2007, 10:48 PM

What brand of test kit are you using?

Rhodesholar · #21 01/21/2007, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by onehundred20
4" dsb fairly new switched from BB about a month ago.

Give your sand bed a little more time. I installed a DSB and my NO3 still measured 30ppm for 3 months after. Nothing changed and I thought DSBs were all hype. Then I measured one day, zip for NO3. Haven't had a problem since.

It is accurate though, the fish you are keeping are rather messy and not helping the cause.

onehundred20 · #22 01/21/2007, 11:41 PM

red sea and a salifert.....now I tested my make up water today with red sea and it read 20 while salifert still reads 0...

tank water reads 50 with salifert and 20 with red sea.

onehundred20 · #23 01/21/2007, 11:46 PM

im about to throw in the towel though and buy a FO tank....Its getting really frustrating I read and read, ive bought everything I need to run a successful tank....but I still keep loosing my corals or they just brown out....and the only logical cause I can think of is nitrates because its the only nutrient I cant keep in check. Its been over a year and its still not solved and im begining to think I should save my money.

onehundred20 · #24 01/21/2007, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rhodesholar
Give your sand bed a little more time. I installed a DSB and my NO3 still measured 30ppm for 3 months after. Nothing changed and I thought DSBs were all hype. Then I measured one day, zip for NO3. Haven't had a problem since.

It is accurate though, the fish you are keeping are rather messy and not helping the cause.

this is what im hoping for....hopefully the dsb will keep my crappy fish in line.

RichConley · #25 01/21/2007, 11:58 PM

A stock G3 isnt nearly big enough for big dirty fish like that.

It probably would need to pull 3 times the air to handle that load. Look into meshmod, or buy a better skimmer. The ASMs are really sub par.