High nitrates

[pam0630]

ive just done my water change yesterday took 15 gallons out of the 125 gallon tank

i just checked and the nitrates are still high 30 ppm...........

i know that i was over feeding....i now feed every other day...need to cut back on how much i feed....

any suggestions to get those nitrates down??????:frusty:

 

[mike007]

15 gallons is not going to do it. You have to get rid of the excess nutrients. Don't starve your fish. You can feed a small amount everyday, rule of thumb never let it hit the bottom. If you are feeding liquid coral foods you can cut way back on that. Continue with the water changes and watch your feedings. Fish are pigs and everyone likes to watch them pig out. Do you have a proper size skimmer ?

 

[pam0630]

i clean the sand everytime to get rid of the algae.....how much would you suggest without causing a problem with fish and corals

 

[socal619]

i thought over feeding causes phosphates?

 

[pam0630]

then why nitrates so high

 

[PSU4ME]

Do you have a refugium? What do you feed? And last question, how big is your skimmer?

I agree that 15 gallons on a 125 isn't going to bring it down that much. How often do you change the water ?

 

[mike007]

There was a video posted some time back where this guy did 100% water changes in several minutes. I would do maybe 25 gallons a day for several days untill you get your level where you want it. Believe me most nitrate problems are caused by overfeeding.

 

[pam0630]

i have a good octopus skimmer....i empty the cup several times and week and boy it stinks.....so is 0 the best results for nitrates or is 5-10 ppm ok...

yes i have a refugium....i do weekly water changes at 15 gallons

 

[socal619]

0 is always best, do you have a bunch of fish? usually people do 20% water changes should be doing 25 gallons a week. whats your skimmer rated at?

 

[mike007]

5-10 is okay for a reef tank. Fish only can handle alot more.

 

[socal619]

5-10 gallons a week? his nitrates are high when hes doing 15, why would he do less? id say 25 gallons every three days til you get your nitrates down

 

[glb]

5-10 gallons a week? his nitrates are high when hes doing 15, why would he do less? id say 25 gallons every three days til you get your nitrates down

Agree.

 

[Duffam3434]

5-10 gallons a week? his nitrates are high when hes doing 15, why would he do less? id say 25 gallons every three days til you get your nitrates down

I believe he was talking about the Nitrates in that post.

 

[Palting]

You said you know you were overfeeding and that's why your nitrates are high. Overfeeding does cause elevated nitrates, as well as phosphates. You can rapidly decrease the nitrate evel by doing a near 100% water change, along with vacuuming the substrate and cleaning the rocks. However, if you have a lot of coral in there, this can shock the system. The better way to do it is do multiple water changes, say 25-30 gallons, along with a limited vacuuming of the substrate, maybe once or twice a week.

If you have mostly softies and fish, nitrate levels of 10 or so isn't bad. You may end up with algae issues, though. If you want to have SPS/LPS and be successful at it, then you need a nitrate level close to if not 0.

 

[zemuss]

I agree with what is being said. The only thing I will say is the refugium probably isn't working as good as you think it would be. Yes it will export your nutrients but not as fast as a ATS will. Do some research on an Algae Turf Scrubber. It has helped me maintain my nutrients in the 2 to 5 range and I feed three times a week, but sometimes I feed more.

Also a 15 gallon change weekly isn't doing much as you can see. I would do a 25% change weekly but to reduce the nitrates now I would do three 50% changes. Why? Because three 50% changes is not going to replace the water 100% more like 75%. This is because the water changes are done over time and not all at once. IMO 50% changes on that tank is the best way to go.

"Z"

 

[pam0630]

i have 25 gallons of water made up...going to do that change today...then make up some more water....do another change out this weekend..thats when i can do it.....start new job tomorrow.....
I will clean the top of the sand.....before i usually do a water change the day before i blow off the rocks...is that a good idea... YES OR NO.....

again i appreciate all the help on this issue

 

[pam0630]

for fish i have blue hippo tang, yellow tang, blonde naso tang, fox face, coral beauty, six line wrasse, 5 chromis, 1 anthias

thats my fishes in my 125 gallon

 

[Palting]

i have 25 gallons of water made up...going to do that change today...then make up some more water....do another change out this weekend..thats when i can do it.....start new job tomorrow.....
I will clean the top of the sand.....before i usually do a water change the day before i blow off the rocks...is that a good idea... YES OR NO.....

again i appreciate all the help on this issue

for fish i have blue hippo tang, yellow tang, blonde naso tang, fox face, coral beauty, six line wrasse, 5 chromis, 1 anthias

thats my fishes in my 125 gallon

I will not be the tang police . I will say that tangs make BIG poop, I have 4 of them, and leave it at that.

When you have high nitrates, it's a good idea to stir the top layers of the substrate and blow off detritus from the rocks to get all that junk into the water column just before each water change. I personally only stirr the surface, not vacuum it, as I believe vacuuming removes beneficial lifeforms from the substrate, but that's controversial.

The frequent larger water changes will get that nitrate level down for the short term. Long term nitrate control is about balance between production and export. 10% water changes as you are doing, feeding just the right amount once a day so that its all consumed by the fish within minutes, a good oversized skimmer, are good to start. Make sure you have an adequate amount of large porous live rock, and good flow across the rocks to allow nitrate processing, and across the the whole tank to avoid detritus accumulation. If you have mechanical filters like socks or sponges, rinse them clean once a week in fresh water to avoid their becoming biologic and turning into nitrate factories. Replace chemical media like GFO and carbon monthly, again to avoid their becoming biologic. A refugium with macroalgae needs to be at least 10% of the DT volume to have any impact on nitrate export. IMO, ATS is just another form of nitrate export, niot necessarily better than a good refugium.

 

[pam0630]

my sump is the eshopps 200 30 gallons rated for 125-225 gallons...i think i do need more sea grass in there....thats a good nitrate remover

where can i find chaeto reasonably cheap.....LFS is out of site for his price on it......

ive thought about when im cleaning the sand that i would be removing little critters that would be beneficial....never thought to stir up sand..thought that would make more of an issue than other method

 

[Reefing Madness]

Your not making up enough water for you changes, if your tank is 125g and your sump is 30g, 25g water changes isn't going to do anything for you. If water changes are what you want to do, you need to do 50% every day until you get those numbers where you want them.
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