another wicked high nitrates post...

[G Santana]

Did you go by the chart or did you do less - if so how much did you dose?

I went straight off the chart.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I went straight off the chart.

Thanks for confirming. Did you have/deal with any cyano issues?

 

[Dan_P]

so I read many of the previous posts (really, I did) but i must've not understood what the cause is.. So I bought my tank that was up and running for 3 months.. took most of the water out and live rock and transported it home (2hrs) I did keep the live rock covered in its water.. fast forward I have the tank up for a month (IM 25 lagoon) with 4 small clowns (put them in after 2 weeks). I added Dr. Tims at the initial install.. at present my readings are:
PH-8.0
Ammonia-negligible to 0
Nitrite-0.5
Nitrate-100 or higher
temp-78*

I have done 3 20% water changes to date but still can't get my nitrates down.. I'm using Salifert test kits with expiration dates of 11/24.. My fish are doing fine and my crabs and fighting conch are as well.. when i first out my fish in the LFS said my nitrates were 5 so not sure why they went so high.. I also have a nano skimmer running.. I will confess that I tend to be heavy handed when feeding my fish (2x day) tho... Is this my problem or are there other issues unknown to me? I will have my lfs test my water again tho in the event the nitrate test kit is ng.. Thoughts???

thanks,
/jc

The presence of nitrite is driving up the nitrate reading, i.e., your nitrate is probably not above 100 ppm. Until the nitrite is gone, performing a nitrate test might be a waste of time. Feeding fish 2 times a day is probably just enough.

 

[G Santana]

Thanks for confirming. Did you have/deal with any cyano issues?

When the nitrates hit 3 I halved the dose as the program calls for as maintenance, the nitrates continued to drop then I stopped dosing altogether but I did get a small amount of cyano, once the nitrates climbed to ten several weeks later the cyano dissapeared.

 

[BZOFIQ]

When the nitrates hit 3 I halved the dose as the program calls for as maintenance, the nitrates continued to drop then I stopped dosing altogether but I did get a small amount of cyano, once the nitrates climbed to ten several weeks later the cyano dissapeared.

Thanks, going to start this weekend.

 

[G Santana]

Thanks, going to start this weekend.

Post your results, this may help sway folks who are on the fence about dosing Vodka.
Good luck

 

[mrjoe]

sorry I had a typeo.. NO3 was 30.... wonder why I couldn't edit it..

 

[mrjoe]

hi all .. so after a 25% water change and and new kit my NO3 reading is around 25... I will do another water change 10% water change to confirm it will go down .. fish and few inverts I have are happy tho..

 

[JGT]

Post your results, this may help sway folks who are on the fence about dosing Vodka.
Good luck

My dilemma, and more of a question for you. Just through water changes I’ve gotten my nitrates from 60 to under 30. I figure if I continue WC I should be able to get them down to where I want them. I see that you didn’t do WC. Is this cause you didn’t want to, or you tried those and it still didn’t get your nitrates down?
In theory WC, can be used to get nitrates down, it just becomes a question of how often are you having to do those WC, no?

 

[Dbichler]

Water changes are expensive on big tanks especially trying to get nitrates down say on my 210 a 50% water change is a minimum of $20 and that only halves nitrate so really would need much more to get to a desired level. Bottle of vodka and vinegar $15 lasts months.

 

[G Santana]

My dilemma, and more of a question for you. Just through water changes I’ve gotten my nitrates from 60 to under 30. I figure if I continue WC I should be able to get them down to where I want them. I see that you didn’t do WC. Is this cause you didn’t want to, or you tried those and it still didn’t get your nitrates down?
In theory WC, can be used to get nitrates down, it just becomes a question of how often are you having to do those WC, no?

My Q. To you is, after your water change, provided you did nothing else were you able to maintain it at 30?

The reason I ask is that long before I tried Vodka, I scoured the net looking for sound advice and I found some Reef Guru (forgot which one) but he stated that water changes are good but will not cure your nitrate problems alone, he stated that feeding your fish in most cases will outpace your tanks ability to handle/consume nitrates. He said that it was inevitable, so I tried Vodka.
At 130 gallons and at 80ish nitrates, how many water changes would it take to make a significant impact that I wouldn't refuel by feeding and mind you I only have 5 fish and I feed once a day and still had issues.
12 weeks, a tiny bit of Vodka is a small price to pay versus hours of water changes, salt and a sore back lol

Additionally, I run an ATS and a skimmer both 24/7 and still had issues

 

[JGT]

Water changes are expensive on big tanks especially trying to get nitrates down say on my 210 a 50% water change is a minimum of $20 and that only halves nitrate so really would need much more to get to a desired level. Bottle of vodka and vinegar $15 lasts months.

Yep, I def get the cost disparity. Not to mention less work not having to do as many WC.

 

[JGT]

My Q. To you is, after your water change, provided you did nothing else were you able to maintain it at 30?

The reason I ask is that long before I tried Vodka, I scoured the net looking for sound advice and I found some Reef Guru (forgot which one) but he stated that water changes are good but will not cure your nitrate problems alone, he stated that feeding your fish in most cases will outpace your tanks ability to handle/consume nitrates. He said that it was inevitable, so I tried Vodka.
At 130 gallons and at 80ish nitrates, how many water changes would it take to make a significant impact that I wouldn't refuel by feeding and mind you I only have 5 fish and I feed once a day and still had issues.
12 weeks, a tiny bit of Vodka is a small price to pay versus hours of water changes, salt and a sore back lol

Additionally, I run an ATS and a skimmer both 24/7 and still had issues

Bit tough to answer as I started my DIY NoPox dosing around the same time. Without water changes it seems to be hovering around 30 if I go a week without a WC. But the NoPox hasn’t kicked in yet (3rd week at 3ml) and like you and others do not want to have to constantly do massive water changes to keep nitrates in check.
Prob I’m facing now though is my PO4 has dropped to .01 which may also explain the NO3 stalling around 30. So planning to bump up my PO4 to get the NO3 going back down.
Always something.