High Nitrates

[Aaron Soliz]

Hello All,

not really an emergency but would hate for my other corals to start to die.

For about 3 months i stopped doing weekly water changes in my Nuvo 20 gallon. I had the nitrates checked today and they are at 35 and I believe my Gold Octo is starting to fill it because it’s receding and not as full as it use to be. None of the heads have died off but, I would like to try to save it from completely dying off.

Everything else is in check.
Mag is on point. Nitrite is 0, ammonia is 0, PH is 7.8, Calcium is 450 and Alk is 8.

Only thing I can think of is the nitrates. How do i bring them down but not at a rapid fast rate? 5 gallon water change maybe?

thanks!

 

[Crustaceon]

“I stopped doing weekly water changes“

The appropriate fix is the opposite of the above statement. 35ppm isn’t too crazy but you will want to get them under 20ppm and preferably between 5-10ppm in most cases.

 

[mike550]

Big water changes until you bring nitrates down. If you could do a 10G water change three days in a row, your nitrates should get down to 5-10.

If you're wondering it's simple math. First 50% change gets you from 35 to 17.5. Assuming no nitrate increase (or very small), the next water change gets you to 8.8. Third water change gets you to 4.4

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Big water changes until you bring nitrates down. If you could do a 10G water change three days in a row, your nitrates should get down to 5-10.

If you're wondering it's simple math. First 50% change gets you from 35 to 17.5. Assuming no nitrate increase (or very small), the next water change gets you to 8.8. Third water change gets you to 4.4

is that safe to do? i have other fairly pricey corals and def woulnt want to hurt or kill them

 

[Aaron Soliz]

“I stopped doing weekly water changes“

The appropriate fix is the opposite of the above statement. 35ppm isn’t too crazy but you will want to get them under 20ppm and preferably between 5-10ppm in most cases.

not fully just once every 3 weeks but now i realized that's a no no. i was thinking 5 gallons tom but would 10 be too much at once?

 

[Crustaceon]

I’d do 5 gallons every 48 hours until you get things under control. Try to siphon your sand while you’re at it as detritus can really build up. Once you have nitrates around 10ppm, go to a 10% weekly water change schedule and see where your nutrients stay after a few months.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

I’d do 5 gallons every 48 hours until you get things under control. Try to siphon your sand while you’re at it as detritus can really build up. Once you have nitrates around 10ppm, go to a 10% weekly water change schedule and see where your nutrients stay after a few months.

thanks friend. I do appreciate the help. Should i get inside my sand bed or just the top. I stopped as well from going into my sand as i heard good bacteria lives there.

 

[Crustaceon]

You can siphon up to a 2” sandbed (possibly even a 3”) with no issues. And don’t worry about the bacteria, it’s stuck to the sand grains so your siphon isn’t going to do anything impactful to the population. I have a 1” sandbed and siphon it down to the glass every weekend with no issues to speak of.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

You can siphon up to a 2” sandbed (possibly even a 3”) with no issues. And don’t worry about the bacteria, it’s stuck to the sand grains so your siphon isn’t going to do anything impactful to the population. I have a 1” sandbed and siphon it down to the glass every weekend with no issues to speak of.

that’s great to know. I also have a one inch sand bed. Sometimes I don’t even know what to believe anymore but if it doesn’t affect your, it shouldn’t affect mine. Here is a photo of the whole tank for fun under blues. I hope my octo will pull through. Thanks again for your help! Oh, Phosphates are 0.2 so those are fine too.

 

[Crustaceon]

I’ll bet you have a ton of detritus in your sand which is contributing to your high nitrates and phosphates. That first siphoned bucket will be gross, lol.

 

[Crustaceon]

I think you’ll like this: My old 100 gallon lps dominant tank with a 1” sandbed that was also siphoned on water change day. I had tons of growth out of my torches, frogspawn and hammer coral with 8dkh, 10ppm nitrates and probably normal phosphates but I never bothered to check back then.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

I’ll bet you have a ton of detritus in your sand which is contributing to your high nitrates and phosphates. That first siphoned bucket will be gross, lol.

apologies, i meant .02 is where my phosphates are at.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

I think you’ll like this: My old 100 gallon lps dominant tank with a 1” sandbed that was also siphoned on water change day. I had tons of growth out of my torches, frogspawn and hammer coral with 8dkh, 10ppm nitrates and probably normal phosphates but I never bothered to check back then.

I want that 100 gallon! Lol! That’s beautiful. Thank you for sharing with me! Big help

 

[Crustaceon]

Glad I could help. Make sure to feed a lot (my tank got two cubes of frozen mysis or brine per day, some of which were squirted into the corals with a turkey baster) and stay on those water changes. It makes a big difference.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Glad I could help. Make sure to feed a lot (my tank got two cubes of frozen mysis or brine per day, some of which were squirted into the corals with a turkey baster) and stay on those water changes. It makes a big difference.

will do will do. Cheers mate.

 

[TheGreatBarrioReef]

I haven’t done a water change in about 7 months and i dont have no3 problems. Hows your temp? I know its getting hotter and you should keep an eye on your temperature.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

I personally would not do frequent or large water changes to address this. 35 Is a bit high, but not enough to warrant drastic action. Furthermore, water changes are not a good way to deal with high nitrates .

I would reduce inputs such as feeding while increasing export such as growing macro. Resume a normal water change and cleaning schedule .