Is my tank overstocked

[CrossXchaos]

Hello everyone havnt posted in a long time my 75 gallon has now reached its one year anniversary and I am now in the process of adding my first corals. I have been having nitrate issues and decided to setup a chaetomorpha refugium which is already been going for 3 days now. The giant nitrate spike started after I began to battle the green hair algea issue I was having after a couple black outs and a lot of toothbrushing rocks along with phosguard things are looking up. The video above is after the gha fight and I am wondering if I could be missing something besides the refugium to keep the algea in check?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello everyone havnt posted in a long time my 75 gallon has now reached its one year anniversary and I am now in the process of adding my first corals. I have been having nitrate issues and decided to setup a chaetomorpha refugium which is already been going for 3 days now. The giant nitrate spike started after I began to battle the green hair algea issue I was having after a couple black outs and a lot of toothbrushing rocks along with phosguard things are looking up. The video above is after the gha fight and I am wondering if I could be missing something besides the refugium to keep the algea in check?

Nitrate likely spiked from cleaning which is best done in a container of tank water to keep anything from being released into tank.
Monitor ammonia and nitrate levels and feed lightly for a few days allowing eveything to calm down

 

[CrossXchaos]

Wow thx for the tip it makes perfect sense to scrub rocks in a container. I just learned recently that nitrates bind in the algea then release back into the water once it dies I will definitely use this method next time.

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

Large water changes will take care of the nitrate too. I do 30 gallon changes on my 75 gallon once a month or so. Nitrates are at 5ppm with a chaeto ball in the fuge.

 

[RedoubtReef]

how long have you had all those fish? If you have had them for a year or more and everyone is healthy and happy, then maybe it's ok. I think opening up (removing) some of that rockwork would add more swimming room and places to hide potentially.

 

[CrossXchaos]

Large water changes will take care of the nitrate too. I do 30 gallon changes on my 75 gallon once a month or so. Nitrates are at 5ppm with a chaeto ball in the fuge.

I was originally doing 20 gallons a month but I plan to do 20 gallon bio weekly to help lower the nitrates.

 

[Crustaceon]

Pro tip: siphon your sand next water change. Look at the color of the water in the bucket. There's your nitrates and phosphates contributing to the algae issue.

 

[CrossXchaos]

how long have you had all those fish? If you have had them for a year or more and everyone is healthy and happy, then maybe it's ok. I think opening up (removing) some of that rockwork would add more swimming room and places to hide potentially.

All these fish have been together 8 to 11 months and as you can see in the video they are in good condition I am just worried that perhaps my skimmer may not be up to snuff with this amount of fish.

 

[Lavey29]

Once you start adding corals your nitrates will lower also as they use up nutrients. PNS probio is a natural bacteria supplement that lowers nitrates level also.

 

[ReefGeezer]

You never really stated what you normal and "Spike" levels are nitrate are. Corals will not add free inorganic nitrate level as they are net nutrient users. They bind some in their tissue as they grow along with a lesser amount of phosphate. If nitrates are in control and suitable for the corals you want, you should be fine. Where you might run into trouble is when you decide you need to feed them. That will add nutrients. IMO, save for NPS corals, feeding is mostly unnecessary.

 

[Tcook]

All these fish have been together 8 to 11 months and as you can see in the video they are in good condition I am just worried that perhaps my skimmer may not be up to snuff with this amount of fish.

What skimmer are you using? What cuc do you have churning the sandbed?

 

[CrossXchaos]

You never really stated what you normal and "Spike" levels are nitrate are. Corals will not add free inorganic nitrate level as they are net nutrient users. They bind some in their tissue as they grow along with a lesser amount of phosphate. If nitrates are in control and suitable for the corals you want, you should be fine. Where you might run into trouble is when you decide you need to feed them. That will add nutrients. IMO, save for NPS corals, feeding is mostly unnecessary.

Ok so before I decided to battle the gha my nitrates were around 15-20 after monthly water change the spike went over 100 and I ended up doing a 45 gallon water change after that spike and been dosing prime. New lights will be here in 3 weeks and I'm trying to correct the nitrate to ready myself for corals.

 

[CrossXchaos]

What skimmer are you using? What cuc do you have churning the sandbed?

Skimmer is redsea rsk300. Hermits 10 or so snails 2 turbos

 

[ReefGeezer]

Ok so before I decided to battle the gha my nitrates were around 15-20 after monthly water change the spike went over 100 and I ended up doing a 45 gallon water change after that spike and been dosing prime. New lights will be here in 3 weeks and I'm trying to correct the nitrate to ready myself for corals.

I would not dose Prime. It really won't help. 15-20 is not terrible, particularly for soft corals. BUT... If you can't maintain that level steadily without big water changes though, you may be over stocked for the system as it is now. Your skimmer should be fine. Adding a lighted Cheato Refugium will certainly help. Your system is also a prime candidate for carbon dosing. I'd suggest exploring that route.

 

[Tcook]

Skimmer is redsea rsk300. Hermits 10 or so snails 2 turbos

Add some nassarius snails for the sandbed. Nitrate of 100. Sounds like you are feeding a ton and the skimmer can't keep up. How much and what food are you feeding?

 

[CrossXchaos]

Add some nassarius snails for the sandbed. Nitrate of 100. Sounds like you are feeding a ton and the skimmer can't keep up. How much and what food are you feeding?

I believe the nitrate spike was caused by the algea I killed at the time I didn't know they bind nutrients and I didn't do wc after I killed I also didn't scrub rocks in container like the tip I got above but yes 15-20 is kinda high I feed algea pellets and nfs pellets in mourning and frozen or a claim in evenings for the butterfly fish.

 

[Tcook]

I believe the nitrate spike was caused by the algea I killed at the time I didn't know they bind nutrients and I didn't do wc after I killed I also didn't scrub rocks in container like the tip I got above but yes 15-20 is kinda high I feed algea pellets and nfs pellets in mourning and frozen or a claim in evenings for the butterfly fish.

Yes. Overlooked that. 15 isn't bad. Bet you can get that down to 10 with harvesting from you're fuge. I agree with the biweekly water changes. I have a large number of fish in my 120 mixed reef and monthly water changes just wasn't cutting it. So, your tank isn't overstocked imo. I like the look of a lot of swimming movement. Looks great in your tank.