Is this "Old Tank Syndrome"?

[Nickca]

This is a Coralife Biocube 29, equipped with bioballs, OEM filter w/activated carbon + filter floss (I'm also currently alternating between nitrate and phosphate filter pads), and Coralife protein skimmer. I also upgraded the lights to the Coralife canopy with the LED setup and the lights run 12hr on / 12hr off

I've had this tank for 5 years, but I recently had a major life event that prevented me from properly maintaining it for about 8 months. Now I'm back at it, but the damage has been done. I have extremely high nitrates and phosphates. I have done 5 water changes in the last 2 weeks and no sign of nitrates and phosphates going down. I do 5 gallon changes with distilled water and Reef Crystals. From my research on "old tank syndrome", high nitrates and phosphates are also accompanied by a drop in PH, but my PH seems fine. Also, there is no ammonia which contradicts some of my research too.

About a week ago I did a big cleaning of my tank. Cleaned the glass, cleaned algae from the rocks, rinsed the bioballs in clean saltwater (i read that bioballs can be a nitrate factory), cleaned my return pump and replaced its hose, and did a water change where I siphoned water from chamber #2 to remove all of the sediment that might be causing my nitrate problem. I also cut the feeding in half, just to be certain that I'm not over feeding. Still no changes in nitrate and phosphate.

My current parameters are: Specific Gravity 1.023 / PH 8.2 / Ammonia 0 / Nitrite 0 / Nitrate 160ppm (the highest that my test kit reads), Phosphate 10.0 (the highest that my test kit reads) / Calcium 440ppm / Carbonate Hardness 196.9ppm..... The only change that I've seen from my water changes is that the carbonate hardness is dropping steadily. It was at 233ppm before all of the water changes.

Live Stock: 2 Clownfish, 1 Flame Angel, 1 Blue Spotted Goby, 1 Cleaner Shrimp, 1 Sand Sifting Starfish, 1 Turbo Snail. These have all been in my tank for a couple years minimum.

I am at a loss here. No matter how much research I do, I can't seem to find a definitive answer as to what I'm dealing with and how to proceed from here. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[beaslbob]

Add a refugium with macro algae. That will consume the nitrates/phosphates and if something goes bump in the night, any ammonia that results. Plus carbon dioxide while returning oxygen.
The refugium can be just a simple egg crate partition with side lighting to keep the macros thriving.

 

[brandon429]

Let’s see full tank shot, to see if sandbed was cleaned along with the rest

 

[Quietman]

It's probably more neglected tank syndrome than old tank syndrome. Relax a bit...it took 8 months to get where it is, you're not going to fix it in two weeks.

Tried and true...keep doing water changes...20-25% weekly. Keep cleaning - 1/4 sand bed each week. If there's algae, pull it out. Get the toothbrush out and work those rocks a little bit each week. I wouldn't add anything significant or any quick fixes until the basics are back in line.

You may lose some stuff...happens. Go slow on getting it back to premium levels of care.

 

[Zan's Aquatica]

I thought you're never supposed to wash bio balls because you will knock out the beneficial bacteria colony? Especially after 5 years... maybe dose with new bacteria?

if nothing is dying then i would slowly bring it back to balance... you have time to figure out what it is instead of attempting drastic measures and possibly swinging the balance off further or creating stress.

 

[Sailfin11]

To be honest, I have never tested for nitrates, nitrites, or phosphate. I did have an Seachem ammonia sensor on a QT tank but it eventually fell out of use. I believe that most of the test kits out there are inaccurate and hard to read. Some are better, but you certainly pay for it. I would stop testing as your tank is mature enough to not develop lethal nutrient levels. Personally, I would do a large 75% to get back to normal, continue with reduced feedings, and most importantly don't mess with the tank for a few weeks. Your tank will restabilize once again. If you're not having algae problems and you're not keeping coral, I would not worry about running with higher nutrients

 

[brandon429]

120 gallon rip clean

Hey is that lysmata still kickin He was hiding probably starting to molt. I dripped some fish food in and he is still happy. My tank hasn’t been this clean or happy in years!!

www.reef2reef.com

=the cure to any tank syndrome

take a job that would normally take months, and do it in four hours. no need to concern about stability after the work, track his outcome. he knew the outcome before he ran it, he already knew it would work as others have posted post rip cleaning updates. + on reefing confidence

 

[Nickca]

I will get pictures up when I get home. I did not clean the sand bed, but I do have a cleanup crew that deals with the sand.

I will admit, I was definitely over-zealous about cleaning the tank, which I regret. I freaked out a bit when I realized exactly how bad it has gotten, especially since I have never seen these chemicals at levels this high before. I usually take great care of my tank, so this is the first time that I've faced anything like this. The only reason it got like this in the first place, is a series of surgeries that had me bedridden.

I'm not expecting an instant fix. I just wanted to make sure that my tank isn't on the verge of a total crash. I did think that it was concerning to not see any variation in nitrate and phosphate levels after several water changes. I figured that they would've dropped even just a little bit, after changing 20 gallons from a 29 gallon tank. I'll just continue with the water changes and hope that everything will eventually balance out again.

I have also read that I may need to change out my sand and rock. Again, I'm not doing this anytime soon, especially with how much I have cleaned the tank already. But I am considering this as a possibility if the next few months of water changes does not pan out.

 

[brandon429]

also recall that any source of clouding, if we reach in and grab sand and drop it = mass cloud or if we grab a rock and twist it mid water and castings come off, all of that cloud is bad, a source of imbalance and could be removed anytime you like. no need to change out sand and rock, but just clean them right. all of that stuff degrades into excess nutrient stores when its compounded, and partial cleans tend to upwell those stores and make the system look challenged vs laser clear, as above. thorough vs partial clean is all the difference night and day.

its a hidden difference: being thorough but leaving cloud stores causes distress. being thorough but removing all cloud stores all at once produces those crisp results, its such a strange phenomena.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I thought you're never supposed to wash bio balls because you will knock out the beneficial bacteria colony? Especially after 5 years... maybe dose with new bacteria?

I wouldn't think this would be the case unless you're washing them with something that kills bacteria. Otherwise, as long as the bioballs stay wet, the bacteria should remain viable.

 

[Nickca]

I thought you're never supposed to wash bio balls because you will knock out the beneficial bacteria colony? Especially after 5 years... maybe dose with new bacteria?

if nothing is dying then i would slowly bring it back to balance... you have time to figure out what it is instead of attempting drastic measures and possibly swinging the balance off further or creating stress.

It has been my understanding that bioballs do actually require occasional maintenance when they visibly get build-up on them because they can cause nitrate issues. I just gently swished them around in clean saltwater to get the gunk off and then put them back in the tank. I could be wrong though. I hope I have been getting good info for all of these years.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

I thought you're never supposed to wash bio balls because you will knock out the beneficial bacteria colony? Especially after 5 years... maybe dose with new bacteria?

she washed them in salt water.

 

[Zan's Aquatica]

she washed them in salt water.

yes, i thought no rinsing because it removes the bacteria... but she said it just washed off the build up so i think that should be fine

 

[brandon429]

zoos and large aquarium exhibits always do something called backflushing, which is running a massive canister filter or sand filter they'd use for a shark display in reverse occasionally to flood out all the crud ( and its directed away from DT water to a waste drain) it is absolutely required to remove floc, detritus, buildup on any biosystem where surface area is critical.

not only is rinsing handy for bioballs, if you dont rinse them they work less by having less surface area.

I like this way of looking at reef tank surface area:


W <----that letter is a representation of convoluted live rock surface area. in between the valleys of the letter is flat zones bioslicks housing filter bac form. The thinner the layer, the more efficient filtration will be (turnover of ammonia into nitrate)

as soon as those peaks and valleys in the letter are caked with mud, you've lost all your surface area.

This is why i like to rant that bacteria do NOT build up to levels that match a bioload in a reef tank. They build up to the degree you allow surface area and water to coexist. and, if you keep those surfaces clean whether in backflush, full disassembly rip cleaning, its all the same ends. We want to keep the pore spaces open. bioballs are mainly just flat plane surface area its not as critical as it would be a sponge filter. harsh rinsing of filter systems, any form of surface area, is beneficial these are the great reefing ironies that put us at odds with oldschool reef handling rules but aquaculture and marine exhibits have been flushing since inception.

rip cleaning is like backflushing an entire reef, its all surface area. Old tank syndrome is the exact analog of an old non backflushed zoo filter.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

yes, i thought no rinsing because it removes the bacteria... but she said it just washed off the build up so i think that should be fine

No rinsing in freshwater in particular. Saltwater wouldn't negatively affect bacteria that lives in saltwater.