Nitrate help!!!!

clutch75 · Aug 5, 2016

Hello, I have been having trouble getting my nitrates down. My tank setup is a 60 gal.
- medium porcupine puffer
- Clarki clown
- algae blenny
150 protein skimmer
2 hob filters with carbon, and nitrate reducer in it.
Media reactor
I also have 70lbs live rock and a 2in live sand
I also use ro/di water and this past week alone I have done two 50% water changes. And I have turkey based my rocks. Still no luck any help would be greatly appreciated

Untamedrose · Aug 5, 2016

Well how bad is it? What are your water chems?

4FordFamily · Aug 5, 2016

Have you tried the largest water change you can handle? That's what I do.

I've found that when water changes don't impact nitrates it's because the test you're using does not register as high as they truly are - so if it goes up to 80 ppm and you're at 400 ppm you won't notice anything until you're below 80 again.

blacktippr · Aug 6, 2016

4FordFamily said:
Tried the largest water change you can handle? That's what I do.

I've found that when water changes don't impact nitrates it's because the test you're using does not register as high as they truly are - so if it goes up to 80 ppm and you're at 400 ppm you won't notice anything until you're below 80 again.

Agree.

saltyfilmfolks · Aug 6, 2016

How old is the tank and do you vaccume the sand.

genoks · Aug 6, 2016

had the samme problem, what i did was i started changing media filters more often, vacuumed sand bed, and what helped a lot was major cutdown on feeding. from 100ppm to 20/5ppm

clutch75 · Aug 6, 2016

I do vacuum the sand bed. My Api test says my nitrates are between 40-80 my salifert test kit says its 100. I've lost a few fish however my corals seem to be doing really well. The tank is about a year and a half old

saltyfilmfolks · Aug 6, 2016

I'm not one to chase numberes. I like to take into account the health too. Id get a second opinion on the tests from a friend or the LFS. +1 to all the above.
There's no other place that may be a "nitrate factory"? Pads sump fuge? etc.
I did have one of the fabled and never proven "Bad rocks" Expensive beautiful old covered in nice pink Palys. And thick purple corraline. Leaching Po and as it turned out no. Pulled it and the levels went down pretty quick. Took a few months to figure out tested it in a bucket finally and had to toss it in the trash. I hope it's not the case for you.

And oh yea. I cut it to bits and kept the Palys. They are living happily in both tanks now.