Best way to lower nitrates?

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 23, 2016

Im about ready to throw in the towel with this hobby. I've battled a complete loss due to velvet, digitate hydroids, ALK/CAL crash, high phosphates and now high nitrates. I don't understand it. My nitrates are somewhere between 20-50, I only have a nitrate API kit, so you all know how hard that is to read. My phosphates with the Red Sea kit are less then .16 but more then .08 (somewhere in between the color wheel). I dose NOPX, run ROWA and chemipure elite. I feed twice a day, usually spiralina/mysis and ROE. I also feed nori daily.

potatocouch · Mar 23, 2016

Perhaps try reducing your intake.

Are you skimming wet?

Triggreef · Mar 23, 2016

vodka bud. its magic.

one for you.... one for me.... one for you....

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 23, 2016

potatocouch said:
Perhaps try reducing your intake.

Are you skimming wet?

No dry. What do you mean by reducing intakem

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 23, 2016

Triggreef said:
vodka bud. its magic.

one for you.... one for me.... one for you....

I'm already using NOPX.

JACK50REEF · Mar 24, 2016

Dont give up. Those nitrates are not that horrible. Definitely can be resolved. +1 of vodka dosing. You can also do sugar dosing. Make sure you have a good protein skimmer. Also basic maintenance like syphoning your substrate, blasting your rocks with a turkey baster and cleaning up debris in your sump area. Goodluck

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 24, 2016

What's the recipe for vodka dosing? I just started micro scrubbing my tank as well.

McMullen · Mar 24, 2016

That's not horrible nitrates! In fact, if your coral look happy I would take a deep breath and regroup.

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 24, 2016

McMullen said:
That's not horrible nitrates! In fact, if your coral look happy I would take a deep breath and regroup.

They dont, that's my issue. In 4 years of different tank, I've never had nitrates above 10.

McMullen · Mar 24, 2016

Not to distract from your nitrate issue, but have your alk/ca+ stabilized and if so, for how long. Is it possible something besides nitrate may be causing problems?

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 24, 2016

McMullen said:
Not to distract from your nitrate issue, but have your alk/ca+ stabilized and if so, for how long. Is it possible something besides nitrate may be causing problems?

It's been stabilized for about two weeks now.

Triggreef · Mar 24, 2016

Breakthecycle2 said:
It's been stabilized for about two weeks now.

Yikes. I agree no3 and even po4 (although most won't agree about po4) aren't going to cause much issue with corals. Po4 would cause decreased growth but still healthy coral up to even 1ppm.

2 weeks of stable alk and ca won't cut it for most corals. I'm fact most acros will continue looking nice for a week or 2 past alk swings even if they die from it.

If you keep alk within 1 dkh all the time, and CA somewhat stable above 400ppm, you'll seldom have corals in trouble even with your po4 and no3 elevated.

What corals are you having issue with?

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 24, 2016

Triggreef said:
Yikes. I agree no3 and even po4 (although most won't agree about po4) aren't going to cause much issue with corals. Po4 would cause decreased growth but still healthy coral up to even 1ppm.

2 weeks of stable alk and ca won't cut it for most corals. I'm fact most acros will continue looking nice for a week or 2 past alk swings even if they die from it.

If you keep alk within 1 dkh all the time, and CA somewhat stable above 400ppm, you'll seldom have corals in trouble even with your po4 and no3 elevated.

What corals are you having issue with?

Seems to be any fleshy LPS...acans, blastos, and SPS and some zoas aren't opening. Hammers, torches and mushrooms seem fine.

potatocouch · Mar 24, 2016

Breakthecycle2 said:
No dry. What do you mean by reducing intakem

You feed twice ... would you say you feeding heavily?

What am trying to say is there need to be balance of input and output.

Tautog · Mar 24, 2016

Sounds like you have been feeding to much. Once things are back to normal, feed once a day, or even better, feed every other day. When I'm away on vacation, I have a friend feed every other day, and they don't do anything else. When I get back, everything is fine, and my water is crystal.
Don't worry, don't give in, I over feed too and had some of the same problems. Blow, brush, even pick up a few rocks to get any debris out. Make a larger water change than normal. After the change, test your water. Your Ph should be low, so buffer that, and raise your Ph.
Try this, on days you feed your corals, don't feed the fish. Your fish will eat the leftovers!

Triggreef · Mar 24, 2016

Breakthecycle2 said:
Seems to be any fleshy LPS...acans, blastos, and SPS and some zoas aren't opening. Hammers, torches and mushrooms seem fine.

There's so many different nutrient export methods you should be able to keep up with nutrients no problem. But the corals you listed are pretty hardy aside from sps. Listing sps is vague as well, acro monti stylo lepto all react differently to different things. For example, when your kids spray Windex in your tank, acro will turn Brown and die if you don't fix it fast out get them out. Stylos will only suck in their polyps for a little while and pretty much be fine. Lol

twilliard · Mar 24, 2016

No one has mentioned "water changes" to reduce the baseline?
It's simple.. where does no3 actually come from? Once that question is well understood then a person can employ tactics to keep it from even happening in the first place

Triggreef · Mar 24, 2016

My point was acans, blastos and zoas are not suffering from high nitrates or po4. The OP needs to explore other reasons for those corals not being happy.