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mike90
05/30/2006, 03:32 PM
they are going to be the death of me.

ok for the past couple of months, my nitrates have been off the charts. i use the aquarium pharmacueticals test and they the test vial always winds up being blood red in color being more than 120ppm. i just build a fuge about 3 weeks ago and put some chaeto in it. im told the chaeto will lower the nitrates. its only a 10 gallon fuge for a 90 gallon tank since that was all i had room for. i know water changes are the thing to do for nitrates but i have been doing those. i do them about once a month. is there anything else i can try to lower my nitrates? everytime i get new fish they only last about 1 week and then they die. its very frustrating.

thanks.
Randy Holmes-Farley
05/30/2006, 03:45 PM
There are lots of ways to reduce nitrate. My preferred methods are skimming an growing macroalgae. In both cases you need to have enough export capacity to match the input.

This article lists lots of ways:

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm
Bojan
05/30/2006, 03:50 PM
120ppm of the nitrates is very high.

Change water more frequently.

Read also this thread.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=595109 (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=595109)
Spuds725
05/30/2006, 04:10 PM
What light do you have for your fuge??? I would light it 24/7 at least for now.

Check out this one if you want better growth...

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=723915

Chaeto likes alot of flow...

I'm working on the same problem as you but mine aren't that high..
Sk8r
05/30/2006, 05:20 PM
DO you have bioballs or filter media in the system? This is a prime cause.
psimitry
05/30/2006, 06:33 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7466081#post7466081 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
DO you have bioballs or filter media in the system? This is a prime cause.

Seriously - that's exactly what I was going to say.

Rip out all the bioballs and or filter sponges (except for the QT sponge you should be running) in your system and replace any and all filter floss.
Spuds725
05/31/2006, 06:59 PM
gradually remove them or you can have a cycle-- give the bacteria time to build back up when you pull some of it out with the media.

Regardless of your media, the only nitrates in your tank are those you added--- just need to figure out ways to export what you add--- macro, DSB, 100 micron filter bag, skimmer, fuge where your filter feeders can grow, etc...

this isn't really chemistry (section) specific though...
LBCBJ
05/31/2006, 08:24 PM
Many have had results with refugiums ( w/ macroaglae) but it takes a while to start seeing results. The simplest and most effective thing you can do is the tried and true water change. Many go the technical route and overlook water changes, but they remian the most effective means of nutrient (in your case nitrate) transport. If your nitrates are >120ppm, I would recommend a 25% water change, followed by 10% a week or more if you have a serious nitrate problem, in your case once a month is simply not enough.
PatMayo
05/31/2006, 10:48 PM
Could something else also be going on? I didn't know that nitrates would readily kill fish? How many have you added and this has happened and how long has the tank been up?

Have you tested all of your parameters?

Regards,

Pat
boxfishpooalot
06/01/2006, 04:44 AM
Imo 99% of nitrate comes from ditritus, uneaten food and dissolved organics. Especially the organics in the sand bed and inside the pores of live rock.
mike90
06/01/2006, 11:15 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7466524#post7466524 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by psimitry
Seriously - that's exactly what I was going to say.

Rip out all the bioballs and or filter sponges (except for the QT sponge you should be running) in your system and replace any and all filter floss.


stupid question but which one is the QT sponge? and when you say filter sponge, is that the one that the wet/dry water flows through down to the bio balls?
psimitry
06/01/2006, 11:30 PM
The QT sponge is just a sponge located somewhere in the system. It doesn't matter where exactly.

Its only purpose is to contain a movable, but active bacterial culture so that you can drop it into a QT tank and not have to worry about an ammonia build up.

There's a link to why one should have a QT tank in reefkeeping somewhere, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

I'm sure RHF has it...