Help...Nitrate always HIGH

[Mark3]

Water changes aren't working for me...what is the way you bring it down?

Tank is 125gal with 40 gal sump. Protein skimmer and about 200lbs of live rock, ...40 watt UV runs 24/7. Overgrown with Kenya tree coral,

I'm thinking about Seachem Denitrate or MarinePure block or Brightwell Bio Brick...

How do you keep nitrates down? I have done as many as 4 20gal water changes in a week, and still only brought it down to about 10 or 20 ,which would be ok, but I'm not going to do 4 water changes a week.

 

[Crustaceon]

I’d look into vinegar dosing and investing in a hanna phosphate checker. You’ll need a phosphate additive as well if your number is under .04. Carbon dosing is an extremely effective way to reduce nitrates & phosphates but you especially have to keep an eye on your phosphates when you do it and not let them bottom out otherwise the process will stall out.

 

[Poseidon03]

Best bet would be to get ahold of bio media and some phosphate RX. I would also check all your parameters. If your nitrates is out of line that much, other parameters could be way out of balance too.

 

[Mark3]

I'm looking for low maintenance solution...wondering about anyone who has used bio blocks, ...
I know tank needs attention...but I loose interest easily...that's why I'm looking for low maintenance solutions.
Here is a full tank shot right now, as is.

 

[Pistondog]

I'm looking for low maintenance solution...wondering about anyone who has used bio blocks, ...
I know tank needs attention...but I loose interest easily...that's why I'm looking for low maintenance solutions.
Here is a full tank shot right now, as is.

Chaeto in the sump with a good horticulture light, mounted low to increase PAR.
Or as algae scrubber.
Have you checked your phosphates?
Id guess those'll be your longer term problem. Nitrate gets used up faster than phosphate by chaeto or bacteria.
As someone suggested, you could also dose carbon, but the bacteria required will also use oxygen that your fish could use.
I forget about the chaeto except to throw out 1/2 every 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[jaxteller007]

Our 180 runs consistently between 20 and 40 nitrates. I can't tell the actual number real well because the color on the ApI strips sucks. Maybe my test strips are bad.
We had a hair algae problem but a lot of snails including some Mexican turbos knocked that out. We haven't seen any issues other than a stupid copepod bloom that won't go away. All the fish and our duncan coral seem really happy and healthy so I'm not stressing it too much.

 

[Nathan Milender]

To answer your question, I don't know. I have the opposite problem. Maybe you don't need to do anything though. Your Kenya tree looks healthy and your fish (no close ups) look healthy. Maybe it does not matter. You could also verify it with a different brand test kit and make sure the reading is correct.

 

[Deschutes541]

Before you go nuts, buy a better quality test kit. I switched from API to Nyos to test my Nitrate. I can test the same water and there will be a significant difference between the two.

 

[Mark3]

I'm pretty sure the readings are close enough,...when I do a water change it goes down a bit, but like I said, one week I did 4 changes in a row, 20 gallons every other day and got it down to about 10 or 20ppm ....but that was a lot of work and a lot of saltwater, not something you can keep up with....

...and 20gals once a week doesn't seem to make a noticeable difference

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

The big water changes might need to be done for now to get them down to a more reasonable level. I would invest in some better test kits, and make sure to check the phosphates in the tank to see where that is, that may / will prevent a huge algae outbreak that will really make your loss of interest go out the door and make you want to shut the tank down.

once you get the nitrates in check you maybe able to get away with running a reactor with GFO or phosguard and a little drier skimming to help maintain the levels. filter socks may help as well.

I know you want a low maintenance cure, but you are going to have to do some heavy work up front. this is where an ounce of prevention/ care will avoid a pound of cure. it took a long time to get here, and it will take longer to get away from where you are.

 

[Mark3]

The big water changes might need to be done for now to get them down to a more reasonable level. I would invest in some better test kits, and make sure to check the phosphates in the tank to see where that is, that may / will prevent a huge algae outbreak that will really make your loss of interest go out the door and make you want to shut the tank down.

once you get the nitrates in check you maybe able to get away with running a reactor with GFO or phosguard and a little drier skimming to help maintain the levels. filter socks may help as well.

I know you want a low maintenance cure, but you are going to have to do some heavy work up front. this is where an ounce of prevention/ care will avoid a pound of cure. it took a long time to get here, and it will take longer to get away from where you are.

I don't mind a little work to get it down to where it needs to be...(20 gal, every other day) ... But then I would like something in place to keep it there.
...That's what I am looking for...what will maintain it?
Here are some quick shots of the tank right now

 

[Fishnut]

I would thin out the Kenya tree corals to increase your flow. You may have some areas that are trapping waste due to the restricted flow from so many corals. Then vacuum 1/2 of the tanks gravel & use a turkey baster to blast debris out of the rocks during the next water change. Remember one big water change vs many small ones will bring down numbers quicker. I have a soft coral tank that has nitrate readings off the charts 180+ with no ill effects on fish or soft corals. There are plenty of beautiful mushrooms and softies that will do fine with high nitrates and little tank maintenance

 

[Hincapiej4]

Using RODI or tap water?

 

[Mark3]

More quick shots... Yes I know it needs lots of Tender loving care... Mmmm, some hard work and cleaning...

 

[Mark3]

Using RODI or tap water?

RODI

 

[bsr2430]

You might want to pluck those little starfish out.... looks like you might have a couple.

 

[Tiki Reef Joshua]

Test your freshly mixed salt water. I bet your testing kit is bad.

 

[ThePurple12]

Definitely add macroalgae or an algae scrubber.

 

[Englishreefer85]

Well I used to think my nitrates would’ve never drop... went from carbon dosing to bio pellets to chaeto back to carbon dosing.
My nitrates were around 50 ppm using Red Sea kit. Then I realised that if I only did small water changes say 10% then my readings would only drop 5ppm and by the time my next wc was due the nitrates are back to 50ppm.
I recommend doing upto 50% wc then start managing your nitrates from there. However you could lose a coral or 2 like I did (I lost most of my zoas and palys). But the main things are that my old and carpet nem have flourished.

 

[92Miata]

Before you go nuts, buy a better quality test kit. I switched from API to Nyos to test my Nitrate. I can test the same water and there will be a significant difference between the two.

This is definitely good advice - although I'm not a fan of the nyos kit (although I'm not sure anything is better).


What is the problem you're seeing in the tank that you're trying to fix? High Nitrates aren't a problem themselves.