Hi there, I'm new to the community! So thanks in advance for any advice. I have a 29 gal Cardiff mixed reef aquarium. I moved my aquarium from my second floor to the bottom floor about 3 months ago. Since then my nitrates have been really high, between 60 80. I tried nitrate sponge or pellots, and now have been using brightwell bio fuel. Still no luck! I know done nitrates are good but I think 60 to 80 is to high. All other parameters are where they should be. Any advice?
Lowering nitrates
- Thread starter mikenroe
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Bad Company
Well-Known Member
I run a waterfall algae srubber on my 70 gal cube, and I have 9 fish and feed lots daily. I have to scrape the algae of the scrubber into the sink once a week. Upon cycling the tank, my nitrates peaked at about 40ppm, but they went down to 0 and hold between 0 and 5 now that the tank is done cycling with live rock. You can make an algae scrubber with a 5 gallon bucket, some #7 mesh from hobby lobby, two 100W equivalent CFLs, some pvc and a pump. Best way ever to control nitrates. Google "waterfall algae scrubber sizing".
howaboutme
Active Member
Water changes, more often. How often are you doing that?
Do you have any place that traps detritus? Do you (now and before the move) clean your tank of detritus, blow rocks, siphon sandbed? The NO3 is there because you have things that are breaking down. Your tank is a sink w/o a drain. So you have to use yourself as a drain.
Do you have any place that traps detritus? Do you (now and before the move) clean your tank of detritus, blow rocks, siphon sandbed? The NO3 is there because you have things that are breaking down. Your tank is a sink w/o a drain. So you have to use yourself as a drain.
Melevsreef.com - Dosing Vodka to Lower Nitrate & Phosphate
You can knock them off by doing 50% water changes every 3 days until they are where you want them or you can start carbon dosing, aka Vodka Dosing.
You can knock them off by doing 50% water changes every 3 days until they are where you want them or you can start carbon dosing, aka Vodka Dosing.
howaboutme
Active Member
I don't know the experience level of the OP but I would caution against suggesting messing w/ chemistry until the reefer understands how the tank works. If someone is asking how to lower NO3 and using commercial products only, I would advise tackling this in baby steps. First, to understand why there is NO3 in your tank. Then to understand how to lower it w/o adding additional complications. If that doesn't work (and it takes months given the OPs NO3 level), then consider carbon. Actually...knowing if a skimmer is being used helps too. Tank crashes happen when we mess w/ chemistry.
Howaboutme thank you for your advice. To answer your questions I do a 5 gal water change once a week with store bought red coral sea pro salt mixed to 1.025. When I noticed my NO3 getting high. I performed a few 10 gal water changes, meaning 3 water changes, I would wait until the next day after the water change to tast and NO3 was about the same. I do use a protein skimmer, however I don't think it's very efficient, as it was the stock skimmer that came with the Cardiff aquarium. When I moved the tank I did not replace the sand bed and kept about 3 gal of the old water. I have recently cleaned out the back of the aquarium where the over flow flows. There was a lot of waste back there. I replaced a sponge and rinsed the crushed live rock I keep in the middle chamber to get any other waste of in the siphoned out old water. I have not done a gravel vac as I was told that by doing that will get rid of all the good stuff living in the sand. I use brightwell bio fuel and add 2.5 ml everyday, which is a commercial form of carbon dosing. I have not done a water change though in two weeks, thinking that maybe how often I was doing them was getting rid of the good bacteria. Hope that helps. About me: I was once in the hobby about 13 years ago, then got out of it. I've recently come back into it and know a lot has changed. Should I do a vac and start back with water changes?
Reefing Madness I use brightwell's bio fuel which is a commercial product that does carbon dosing! Thnx for the suggestions. I put 2.5 ml on once daily and have not seen any change in my levels and started this about a week ago.
jesterisdead
Community Member
Stupid question here bit you are using RO water correct?
Is your tank getting contamination from something in your downstairs (litter boxes, kitchen). Is there a vent or register near your tank blowing heat or other air?
Got any dead snails (turbo are horrible and will rot for ever) or fish somewhere in tank?
Are you getting sunlight in the tank?
Is your tank getting contamination from something in your downstairs (litter boxes, kitchen). Is there a vent or register near your tank blowing heat or other air?
Got any dead snails (turbo are horrible and will rot for ever) or fish somewhere in tank?
Are you getting sunlight in the tank?
beaslbob
2500 Club Member
So you moved the aquarium (tore down and setup again) and now you got nitrates?
Under the assumption that everything else is doing fine, my first advice would be to do nothing.
You tank could be very well recycling with the tank (live rock algae, macros, etc etc) consuming the increased ammonia. And in the process ignoring the nitrates.
If that is the case that is simply a planted "silent" cycle and the tank is healing itself.
And after a few weeks nitrates will drop down.
IMHO anything you might do could very well interfer with that process which would be a very bad thing.
After a few weeks if nitrates are still high I would feed a little less, add macro and other algaes, and nitrates will eventually drop down.
my .02
Under the assumption that everything else is doing fine, my first advice would be to do nothing.
You tank could be very well recycling with the tank (live rock algae, macros, etc etc) consuming the increased ammonia. And in the process ignoring the nitrates.
If that is the case that is simply a planted "silent" cycle and the tank is healing itself.
And after a few weeks nitrates will drop down.
IMHO anything you might do could very well interfer with that process which would be a very bad thing.
After a few weeks if nitrates are still high I would feed a little less, add macro and other algaes, and nitrates will eventually drop down.
my .02
If you are dosing, then its not enough, you could up the dosage to get better results. If you've been running it for a week or 2, then they should have started to come down some already.
If your tank went into a mini cycle, you would have seen Ammonia and Nitrites go up just slightly to make the Nitrates go up also.
Zero Nitrates
I love chalices
You might try testing the saltwater water before you add it to your tank.
howaboutme
Active Member
thanks for the info, very helpful. it looks like you already know what you need to do when you say you've cleaned out a lot of the junk in your chamber.
how old is your tank? how deep is your sandbed? when you do maintenance, do you clean your sand at all?
alot of good questions and suggestions here so far. have you tried to verify your test w/ another one? what test are you using?
Wow love this app and thnx everyone for the advice.
I do not gravel vac my sand! I heard for a reef that was not good to do, plus I have a diamond goby that does a great job of sifting the sand along with a sand sifting star fish.
I do have some turbos and maybe I need to remove any snails that have died. I didn't realize that they rot forever.
I do not gravel vac my sand! I heard for a reef that was not good to do, plus I have a diamond goby that does a great job of sifting the sand along with a sand sifting star fish.
I do have some turbos and maybe I need to remove any snails that have died. I didn't realize that they rot forever.
My tank is about 2 years old, and I perform weekly water changes at 5 gal. I don't gravel vac and I usely clean the back of the chamber every other month.
I use chem put elite in the back as well.
I don't have any macro in the back, would that be benificial?
I use chem put elite in the back as well.
I don't have any macro in the back, would that be benificial?
beaslbob
2500 Club Member
The macro will help, but not the extent that it will rid the tank of your problem, as your can't stuff enough of it in that little space for it to be of a big help.
howaboutme
Active Member
Clean the chamber of the gunk weekly instead of every month.
I've noticed on the back side of some of the live rock. I have what looks like a white or clear clear film on the rock. It does seem to blow with the current but does not blow off the rock. Could this be causing high nitrates? and has anyone seen this before? I've heard of a thing called either ghost fungus or goes algae and that that can cause high nutrients. Any suggestions?
I am also getting a hang on the back bubble Magness protein skimmer tomorrow, hope this will be more efficient in getting rid of the bad stuff out of my water, than the stock protein skimmer that came with the tank
The fungus growing on the rock is not the cause of the nitrate issue, it because of that problem that its growing. That BM should help loads.
