needing help with nitrates

[05grandprix]

Ok folks my levels when I test them are as follows

Ph- 8.2
Ammonia- 0.0ppm
Nitirite - 0.0ppm
Nitrate - fluctuate between 20 and 40

These are typical findings I test every 3 days before water change and few hours after water change. I change 35 gallons in a 66 gallon red sea max 250L. I'm dosing vodka to lower nitrates but see no difference. Skimmate is dark very dark, running gfo and purigen in a dual reactor. Also have algone pouches in tank that I change weekly. Clean the filters every other day and feed sparingly every other day.

Corals look good and are growing slowley. Live stock are fox face, 4 black clowns, coral beauty, and dorey. I know it's overstocked and that's the only thing I can figure that is causing the nitrates.

 

[shornik]

How old is the tank? How are you testing?


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[05grandprix]

The tank had been set up 1.5 yrs. What do you mean how am I testing. The test kit I have is API master test kit

 

[shornik]

I have API also. I find the longer I let the nitrates sit in the test vial the darker it gets. So it can go from 10 to 20 to 40. I've been setting a time at 2 minutes and than checking to determine my nitrates. I hope this helps.


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[fishroomlady]

may I ask why you change such a large percentage of water?

 

[05grandprix]

I do such a large water change to try and keep nitrates down and cause I have such a high bio load

 

[Reefing Madness]

If you just started vodka dosing you will not see that help for a long time, as it takes quite a long period to get the correct MLS in order for it to take affect. How many MLS are you at now?
If you were to do 50% water changes 3 days in a row you would cut your nitrates down considerably, being as each day you would cutthem in half, but by doing it weekly your not doing enough.

 

[05grandprix]

I'm dosing 3 ml a day so it is ok for stability to change 3 days in a row or do I need to wait between changes

 

[Reefing Madness]

Yea, you can change it 3 days in a row of 50% without issues. Vodka Dosing your going to be up around 15mls a day or so, then you will see your Nitrates start to come down that way.

 

[bknapp]

Tangs are nitrate factories, I've never seen a fish drop a load quite like blue hippo tangs.

Where do you source your water? Use your own RO/DI or store brought? Have you tested the source water?

I personally don't put much faith in API test kits. Have you tested with other kits?

The best way in my opinion to lower your nitrates is more water changes or lowering your bioload.

 

[rayn]

Water changes are a great way to lower nitrates. Vodka dosing works wonders as well. Once you get the dosing right it works really well. Just need to be patient and build up the levels. Good skimmer is a must though.

 

[.AcroKiller.]

Tangs are nitrate factories, I've never seen a fish drop a load quite like blue hippo tangs.

Where do you source your water? Use your own RO/DI or store brought? Have you tested the source water?

I personally don't put much faith in API test kits. Have you tested with other kits?

The best way in my opinion to lower your nitrates is more water changes or lowering your bioload.

Lol yea hippos are popps machines.

 

[.AcroKiller.]

Poop ^

 

[05grandprix]

I am using my own ro/di system, no not had it tested but a friend comes and gets saltwater and ro from me and don't have any issues with nitrates but he only has 2 fish in a bio cube. I can be patient on the vodka dosing I figured it was going to be a higher amount of Ml before I noticed any change. After the tang passes will be no more. I will attempt the 3 days and 35 gallons a day to see how much drop I get. The skimmer I believe is the biggest I can fit for the foot print area for it to fit in center of my red sea max tank. It is esshops rated for 100 gallon. It's a very wet skim and it's good and black have to empty the cup daily ( it's at 3/4 cup full at this time)

 

[05grandprix]

How would a bio pellet reactor do and how long does it take for it to start working

 

[bknapp]

How would a bio pellet reactor do and how long does it take for it to start working

Pellets take 6-8 weeks to become colonized with bacteria. If you're already doing vodka I would continue down that path and start upping the dosage according to the plans. I'm a big advocate of pellets but, with your tank bring an AIO and being limited by space for a larger skimmer I think continuing vodka would be the best course of action. Still need to find a way to lower your bioload.

 

[Bad Company]

Install a waterfall algae scrubber. I have 7 fish (BSJ, 2 clowns, two dwarf angels, a yellowtail damsel, and a longnose hawkfish) in a 63 gallon cube.. I use TAP water (add to it seachem Prime and a PH buffer to 8.2). I have had the tank for year and I have just used up my first bucket (200 gallons equivalent) of instant ocean. My nitrates consistently read zero. My tank looks great too, although I allow film algae to grow on one pane of the glass for my CUC. My scrubber is a 9"X9" sheet of plastic canvas with CFL and grow lamp lighting:

 

[bknapp]

Algae scrubber would work great but highly doubt there is room for one in an AIO tank. Love the blue spot Bad Company.

 

[shornik]

Algae scrubber would work great but highly doubt there is room for one in an AIO tank. Love the blue spot Bad Company.

Maybe use a refugium, I have one in my Innovative Marine 60 gal AIO, using their Aqua Gadet. Its only been a few weeks that I've had it running and its relatively small, I calculate about 1.14 gallons of volume, but should still help in removing Nitrates, etc.

 

[05grandprix]

Brandon I'm going by the dosage and upping the dose per instructions today increased to 3.5Ml. I wondering if my mangroves could be the culprit being that they are not in sand they are just in a compartment in the back also found a upgraded skimmer for the tank wonder if it's any better than eshopps.

What's the thought on this skimmer
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=221529386357&alt=web


Also was doing some reading last night and found that nitrates are not bad if around 10-20 any thoughts