HELP !!High nitrates? Phosphates?

[larryhaynes]

Hello, i am new to the hobby and have been having problems with elevated nitrates and phosphates for some time now, and my corals are starting to become affected. i do 6 gallon water changes EVERY week and still have the problem i have a 29g biocube with purigen, chemipure not the elite and aquamaxx bio pellets in a cpr nano tumbler also have lots of rubble in the middle chamber 30lbs lr, and 40lbs ls. two clowns, two damsels, two gobies. several snails hermits and a cleaner shrimp.. lots of softies, lps, and a few sps.. what am i doing wrong? i just did an 18 gallon wc over the past three days and still have the problems! i dont get it i have cleaned everything in the back. someone please help me!!

 

[glb]

Have the nitrates always been high or is this a new problem?


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12g Nanoreef. Zooanthids, Ricordia, Star Polyps and two clownfish. CF Lighting, 75% actinic blue, 25% 10,000k white.

 

[mike007]

What are you using for your water changes? Do you have live rock? Most nitrate problems are caused by excess nutrients which is usally overfeeding.There are some good threads here that will help you understand why you are having these issues.

 

[Rikerbear]

Sand bed or bare bottom?
RO/DI water for WC and top offs
When you do your water changes, do you siphon up the detritus off the bottom and out of the back chambers?
Do you use any form of filter floss, sponges, etc?

 

[tbone74]

Sand bed or bare bottom?
RO/DI water for WC and top offs
When you do your water changes, do you siphon up the detritus off the bottom and out of the back chambers?
Do you use any form of filter floss, sponges, etc?

What are you using for your water changes? Do you have live rock? Most nitrate problems are caused by excess nutrients which is usally overfeeding.There are some good threads here that will help you understand why you are having these issues.

In the first post he said he has 30# live rock and 40# live sand. +1 on siphoning the detritus, are you topping off with RODI water or tap? What are your actual phosphate and nitrate levels?

 

[larryhaynes]

pretty much always been high just more so lately

 

[larryhaynes]

i use rodi from the lfs also no filterfloss just a sponge..i thought floss was a nitrate breeding factory and cant really vaccume the sand it always gets sucked up and out of my tank i do try though

 

[glb]

Are you using tap water for the changes? That can be high in nitrates and phosphates. Once I started using seawater (I live in s. fl and my LFS purifies and sells it), my nitrates went from 30 to 10 or less. RO water for salt mix and alone for topoffs works too. In my experience, Purigen helps keep nitrates low after they've been brought down. Just my humble opinion.


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12g Nanoreef. Zooanthids, Ricordia, Star Polyps and two clownfish. CF Lighting, 75% actinic blue, 25% 10,000k white.

 

[Reefing Madness]

I'd remove the rubble from the chambers, as this stuff will cause a Nitrate build, almost the same as using a mechanical filter, it will trap detritus. If your using a Crushed Coral substrate, it to is large enough to collect detritus and thus cause you issues. You can vacuum out the substrate for this problem, remove the rubble, then do a 50% WC, this should help quite a bit. Then you need to run a GFO to get rid of the phosphate issues and maintain it. Chemipure Elite has GFO in it.

 

[Rikerbear]

In the first post he said he has 30# live rock and 40# live sand. +1 on siphoning the detritus, are you topping off with RODI water or tap? What are your actual phosphate and nitrate levels?

Sorry I missed that part.......

 

[Rikerbear]

i use rodi from the lfs also no filterfloss just a sponge..i thought floss was a nitrate breeding factory and cant really vaccume the sand it always gets sucked up and out of my tank i do try though

Yes floss can and will cause a nitrate build up which was why I was asking if you used it.

 

[larryhaynes]

thanks alot guys i will take out the lr rubble and get chemipure elite

 

[larryhaynes]

ok so mynitratesare at around 25ppm and my phosphates are .13 this is after three 6 gallon wc's so i just bought some chemipure elite lets see what happens are 6 small fish to many for a 29g maybe thats the problemk

 

[glb]

With corals less fish is better. That being said, I have two clownfish in my 12g nano and the water quality is great!


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12g Nanoreef. Zooanthids, Ricordia, Star Polyps and two clownfish. CF Lighting, 75% actinic blue, 25% 10,000k white.

 

[larryhaynes]

how should my rear chamber in the middle be set up should i fill it up or leave it as a drip system onto the lr rubble (biocube 29) or just take the rubble out and just go with purigen and chemipure elite (no floss) what is the best way to set it up? btw thank you ALL for your help

 

[glb]

In my middle chamber I have bio balls Purigen and DeNitrate, both by Seachem. I have no problems with nitrates or phosphates. This may not be the perfect setup but it's working for me.


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12g Nanoreef. Zooanthids, Ricordia, Star Polyps and two clownfish. CF Lighting, 75% actinic blue, 25% 10,000k white.

 

[Jmeza]

Too many fish, which means you have to feed a lot, which means more junk in you're water. Agree with taking out the rubble, detritus trap! Also I think you said you have a sponge, another bad idea. It would be better to use filter floss just have to change it super often. Purigen and chemo pure elite work great!


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[larryhaynes]

ok the rubble comes out i have no skimmer so i need the sponge its small i just use it to catch the debris from chamber 1 where it overflows into chamber 2 i clean it everyother day or so any other help or ideas

 

[larryhaynes]

btw i am getting rid of one of my fish (velvet damsel) he is getting to big anyway just got to catch him

 

[glb]

I've used sponges without a problem but they need to be cleaned often. It's amazing how dirty they get.


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12g Nanoreef. Zooanthids, Ricordia, Star Polyps and two clownfish. CF Lighting, 75% actinic blue, 25% 10,000k white.