Help...Nitrate always HIGH

[14 foot reef]

Definitely Change your test kit first.......API is known to fail at Nitrate. also if you have any nitrites in your water ( which I'm sure you don't) this is info only for future cycles of new tanks) your nitrate test kit, no matter what brand) will false test for very very high nitrates until your nitrites hit zero.

 

[Mark3]

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

nah....they make great food for a harlequin shrimp

 

[Mark3]

Definitely Change your test kit first.......API is known to fail at Nitrate. also if you have any nitrites in your water ( which I'm sure you don't) this is info only for future cycles of new tanks) your nitrate test kit, no matter what brand) will false test for very very high nitrates until your nitrites hit zero.

all my other tests are pretty good...just the nitrates that are way out of line....

I am having some die off that is of concern....had a couple of red pipe organs that recently died off....that was when I did the 4 water changes in a row and brought one sorta back....half way back...see photo

 

[92Miata]

What are you dosing/using/etc?

With that many softies that tank should be sucking up nitrates.

 

[Mark3]

all my other tests are pretty good...just the nitrates that are way out of line....

I am having some die off that is of concern....had a couple of red pipe organs that recently died off....that was when I did the 4 water changes in a row and brought one sorta back....half way back...see photo

This was a full healthy coral a couple months ago... My laziness has made it look like this....


Not dosing anything....just food and top off water
This is coming back, I thought it was a complete goner....the other one is completely gone.

 

[Mark3]

Definitely Change your test kit first.......API is known to fail at Nitrate. also if you have any nitrites in your water ( which I'm sure you don't) this is info only for future cycles of new tanks) your nitrate test kit, no matter what brand) will false test for very very high nitrates until your nitrites hit zero.

That's interesting, ...didn't know that

 

[nereefpat]

A remote deep sand bed would process the nitrates. A sulfur denitrator would work too.

 

[Neuel]

I would start by doing weekly water changes of at least 30 more like 50 %. That's what I did.

 

[14 foot reef]

The cost of a Nyos Nitrate test kit is way cheaper than all the salt you will go through chasing a false test kit number.

Please at least get a separate test of nitrates on an different brand before you start adding equipment or massive weekly water changes for multiple weeks.

 

[Ditryin]

I had the same problem.... I couldn't get my nitrates below 80 so I did a lot of Googling to find a solution. A BRS video said to do a 30% water change, then three days later do another 30% water change, and then three days later do one more 30% water change. I did that but the nitrates went right back up. We cut back to feeding every other day (which the fish are not happy about). A BRS investigates video said to replace the filter socks every 3 or 4 days, which I do, because after four days the nitrates start going up in their experiments. (I sew my own so it's a cheap fix). And I have a giant ball of chaeto.

But nothing was really helping.

Then last January I came across a Dr. Tim video on nitrates from MACNA last year and in it he said that your skimmer kills your good bacteria.

So I immediately turned the skimmer off. I did the three 30% water changes again and my nitrates haven't gone above 20 since. I can live with that.

I still try to replace the socks every 3 to 4 days, and I'm lucky if I have time to do a 20 gallon water change every week, but so far it's working fine for me.

I've been wondering if I should just pull the skimmer out since I haven't used it in months and add more live rock in it's place, or put the skimmer on a timer so it only runs for, say, two hours after we feed the fish. I guess that's worth an experiment to see if it helps.

Hope this helps!

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

Not saying Dr Tim is wrong, but is there harder evidence that the skimmer is killing the bacteria? I find it hard to believe because there are many people using them on their tanks all the time, and the bacteria lives on the rock, sand, and biomedia, right?

 

[Mark3]

I had the same problem.... I couldn't get my nitrates below 80 so I did a lot of Googling to find a solution. A BRS video said to do a 30% water change, then three days later do another 30% water change, and then three days later do one more 30% water change. I did that but the nitrates went right back up. We cut back to feeding every other day (which the fish are not happy about). A BRS investigates video said to replace the filter socks every 3 or 4 days, which I do, because after four days the nitrates start going up in their experiments. (I sew my own so it's a cheap fix). And I have a giant ball of chaeto.

But nothing was really helping.

Then last January I came across a Dr. Tim video on nitrates from MACNA last year and in it he said that your skimmer kills your good bacteria.

So I immediately turned the skimmer off. I did the three 30% water changes again and my nitrates haven't gone above 20 since. I can live with that.

I still try to replace the socks every 3 to 4 days, and I'm lucky if I have time to do a 20 gallon water change every week, but so far it's working fine for me.

I've been wondering if I should just pull the skimmer out since I haven't used it in months and add more live rock in it's place, or put the skimmer on a timer so it only runs for, say, two hours after we feed the fish. I guess that's worth an experiment to see if it helps.

Hope this helps!

wow...that is interesting....I have ran skimmer for many years 24/7 and always had high nitrates....seeing all the gunk the skimmer pulls out every day, how could that be good to shut it down?

 

[TheDuude]

As some others have already stated I would get a better Nitrate test kit. The API kits are all over the place in my experience.

I would also try dosing Mirobacter 7 and see if that starts to bring down your Nitrates.

 

[Mark3]

As some others have already stated I would get a better Nitrate test kit. The API kits are all over the place in my experience.

I would also try dosing Mirobacter 7 and see if that starts to bring down your Nitrates.

I will get a new test kit and see before doing anything drastic.

still wondering about use of bio brick ....anybody use them?

 

[Mark3]

Not saying Dr Tim is wrong, but is there harder evidence that the skimmer is killing the bacteria? I find it hard to believe because there are many people using them on their tanks all the time, and the bacteria lives on the rock, sand, and biomedia, right?

right....and if anything, I would suspect the UV run 24/7 ...but I don't think that is the problem....maybe this hobby is not for the lazy, it just takes work and maintenance...

 

[schooncw]

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.

I used the Brightwell and Marine Pure blocks. What a mess they made of my sump!

 

[schooncw]

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.

What did you think about the pellets? Nopox does nothing for me, except tick of my leathers

 

[schooncw]

I will get a new test kit and see before doing anything drastic.

still wondering about use of bio brick ....anybody use them?

Brightwell and Marine Pure made a mess of my sump. Never again....

 

[Lizbeli]

Brightwell and Marine Pure made a mess of my sump. Never again....

Interesting. How long were they in your sump for?

I have a tank coming on two years that has had the big marine pure block since day one. It actually has a skimmer sitting on top. Im not noticing anything coming apart yet. You aren’t the first person I heard of who had this happen. Wonder if they start to break down at a specific timeframe.

 

[flourishofmediocrity]

Brightwell and Marine Pure made a mess of my sump. Never again....

what happened?