HELP

[MACHO]

i've been running into the issue of my nitrates skyrocketing. I have done 2 water changes this week and nothing has gone down. I take my water to the fish store to be tested and its normally at 40-50 I test the water at home and it's above the 80 mark dark purple for the red sea test kit. I don't know what to do anymore. some of my corals aren't opening anymore like my gorgonian or green star polyps. my pipe organs are only opening to the polyp and not extending. I'm running biogen to take the nitrates down as I also had phosphate problems tested it yesterday at around 1 I only dose ph buffer as my ph is naturally really low. please help. Oh also my orp is running at 153 currently and i'm not sure how to get that up at all. I'm relatively new to reefing and don't know how to fix the problems i run into.

 

[Shorething]

How many gallons is your tank and how big are your water changes?

 

[Flippers4pups]

What's your source water?

 

[MACHO]

What's your source water?

i have a rodi system i've already tested the mixed saltwater and im getting 0

 

[vetteguy53081]

Take a sample of your water to a trusted LFS and have them test your tap water source for : PH, Nitrate, Nitrite and ammonia.
How old is your salt mix and what type of mix are you using?
Add ChemiPure Blue to your system. It will help reduce Phos and Nitrate and polish your water.

 

[MACHO]

Take a sample of your water to a trusted LFS and have them test your tap water source for : PH, Nitrate, Nitrite and ammonia.
How old is your salt mix and what type of mix are you using?
Add ChemiPure Blue to your system. It will help reduce Phos and Nitrate and polish your water.

im using salinity salt mix and i just got a new bag a couple days ago

 

[Auquanut]

Probably a stupid question, and please don't be offended.

You said that your NO3 is normally tested at the LFS and tests at 40 to 50.
Then at home using the Red Sea test set it's off the charts.
Are you using only 1 ml of tank water and 15 ml of RO in the test vial? I had the same thing happen when I used 16 ml of tank water in the test vial and freaked out. Anything over 4 ppm NO3, and you have to adjust the test.

 

[vetteguy53081]

im using salinity salt mix and i just got a new bag a couple days ago

Salinity - One of my favorites and best. Aquanut is correct on test procedure. Also do what I suggested with test from LFS on your tap to get to Root of source.

 

[Colin_S]

A couple of things to consider to lower nitrates. Make sure you're not over feeding and have you considered a refugium or Algae Turf Scrubber (ATS)

 

[MACHO]

A couple of things to consider to lower nitrates. Make sure you're not over feeding and have you considered a refugium or Algae Turf Scrubber (ATS)

I had a refugium with chatoe in it the chatoe died off since my orp is 153 there is really low nutrients

 

[phillygeeks]

Salinity - One of my favorites and best. Aquanut is correct on test procedure. Also do what I suggested with test from LFS on your tap to get to Root of source.

He mentioned using rodi water and after mixing his nitrates are zero. He didn't mention TDS, nor did he mention ammonia or nitrites in his freshly mixed salt water, but if those are low is it beneficial to check the tap water?

 

[MACHO]

He mentioned using rodi water and after mixing his nitrates are zero. He didn't mention TDS, nor did he mention ammonia or nitrites in his freshly mixed salt water, but if those are low is it beneficial to check the tap water?

so your saying my tap water could be the culprit even though im using rodi water

 

[phillygeeks]

so your saying my tap water could be the culprit even though im using rodi water

No. I was wondering what the benefit of doing that would be since I saw you mentioned you used RODI and it tested low. I was referring to the post I quoted that mentioned doing that. I didn't want to say that would be waste of time bc maybe I was missing something that a more experienced reefer wasn't.

Are you able to measure TDS and the nitrate precursors of ammonia and nitrates of your RODI output?

 

[JoshO]

I had a refugium with chatoe in it the chatoe died off since my orp is 153 there is really low nutrients

How long has it been since the chaeto died off? Does it correlate to the rise in nitrates?

 

[MACHO]

How long has it been since the chaeto died off? Does it correlate to the rise in nitrates?

i don't think so i sucked out most of the detritus in the sump and the chatoe went with it it's been a while since it's died off

 

[MACHO]

No. I was wondering what the benefit of doing that would be since I saw you mentioned you used RODI and it tested low. I was referring to the post I quoted that mentioned doing that. I didn't want to say that would be waste of time bc maybe I was missing something that a more experienced reefer wasn't.

Are you able to measure TDS and the nitrate precursors of ammonia and nitrates of your RODI output?

only tds not nitrate or ammonia

 

[JoshO]

i don't think so i sucked out most of the detritus in the sump and the chatoe went with it it's been a while since it's died off

I'm thinking more along the lines of the chaeto was consuming the nitrates and now there is nothing doing that. I know it doesn't consume a huge amount but if it's been on the rise since the die off then might be worth trying to reintroduce it in some way. In the mean time it's definitely worth running something in the sump to absorb the nitrates.
Testing your fresh saltwater for ammonia or nitrates could help solve the issue if that has somehow ended up with high levels

 

[phillygeeks]

only tds not nitrate or ammonia

I'm a little confused by this. Can you post your effluent TDS then? It would also help to know your ammonia and nitrites as they will convert to nitrates

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

What is the total water volume of the tank? Several things can do this. It’s an elimination game and the start is knowing all of the water parameters and tank volume. Then we need to know aka livestock numbers, skimmer, corals etc. how much your feeding as well. Is your skimmer able to handle the heavy bioload of your water volume?

 

[Greg P]

Stop dosing the pH buffer and watch your tank. Buffers cause other issues.
Test the Big 3; Alk, Ca and Mag
pH is not such a big issue, as long as it's between 7.7 ish and up to 8.5