Nitrate issue.

garcia64 · Jul 24, 2016

I have recently discovered a nitrate issue of around 80ppm about a week ago so I did a large water change and started to dose NO3 PO4 X from red sea, I am still having a nitrate issue of between 25-50ppm and I still don't know what to do. My tank is a 65g display with a 15 gallon sump I have macro algae and run a REEF OCTOPUS CLASSIC 150INT 6” INTERNAL PROTEIN SKIMMER that for some reason always need fine tuning but I always pull out some sort of gunk so it seems to work but not at its full potential. My stock includes a scopas tank a firefish and two clowns. and a small file fish that I haven't seen in a while. I unfortunately had to pull a deceased sail-fin that I attribute to the nitrate problem (was the reason why I tested in the first place). I used a sera test kit. Please help me chemistry gods in fixing my problem, I wish to add sps to my tank of mainly zoas and acans and need this issue fixed first.

Edit: I forgot to add that before this I would do a weekly 5 gallon water change.

garcia64 · Jul 25, 2016

anyone?

domination2580 · Jul 25, 2016

Wc are your best bet. Some gfo will help take out nitrate

garcia64 · Jul 25, 2016

domination2580 said:
Wc are your best bet. Some gfo will help take out nitrate

I thought GFO was only for phosphate and the red sea NO3 PO4 said not to use a phosphate remover.

domination2580 · Jul 25, 2016

There are certain ones

CJBuckeyes · Jul 25, 2016

GFO won't lower nitrates. Organic carbon dosing, as your doing with the NO4 PO4 X, is a great way to lower nitrates. Three things to keep in mind:
1. Go slowly. Don't try to remove all nitrates overnight. Lowering too much/ too quickly can cause more problems than having high nitrates, in my experience.
2. Make sure that you have some phosphate in your tank. The carbon dosing will use much more NO3 than PO4, but you've got a lot of NO3.
3. Make sure that your skimmer is functioning well. This is a key part of removing the bacteria/nutrients that the carbon dosing is feeding.

domination2580 · Jul 25, 2016

CJBuckeyes said:
GFO won't lower nitrates. Organic carbon dosing, as your doing with the NO4 PO4 X, is a great way to lower nitrates. Three things to keep in mind:
1. Go slowly. Don't try to remove all nitrates overnight. Lowering too much/ too quickly can cause more problems than having high nitrates, in my experience.
2. Make sure that you have some phosphate in your tank. The carbon dosing will use much more NO3 than PO4, but you've got a lot of NO3.
3. Make sure that your skimmer is functioning well. This is a key part of removing the bacteria/nutrients that the carbon dosing is feeding.

I appologize for my misconception. Dr tims active pearls will take phosphate and nitrate out which was what i was getting at but thats not really a gfo. Its a different way to remove exces nutrients. That is what i meant. Gfo was a poor choice of words on my part.

AcanSkywalker · Jul 25, 2016

I've found the best and easiest way to deal with nitrates & phosphates is The Incomparable Poly-Filter. In my opinion every aquarist, whether you're a fresh or saltwater enthusiast should use them. They go to work right away, won't leach anything back into your system, and even change color according to what's been absorbed. They're especially good at removing medication, it's best to pull it out while dosing meds. Poly-Filters also let you know when it's time to change it out. It does this through color change also. Claims have even been made Poly-Filter eliminate the need for a protein skimmer. I won't argue with that though I choose to use both. I use them in my sump along with the skimmer & Marinepure Biofilter spheres. My nitrates stay at 0.2 ppm, & phosphates are undetectable. I use it between the protein skimmer and the Marinepure. This allows the skimmer to remove the larger organic material in-turn enhancing the filters turn around time. You'll find them in 4x8 & 12x12 single or multi paks. You can use them right out of the package or cut them up to fit your needs.

pga7602 · Jul 25, 2016

Your best solution is more frequent water changes.

Knapp870 · Jul 25, 2016

Water changes for sure. GFO or some purigen but like others mentioned go slow. That is however a bandaid if there is another problem such as overfeeding, etc. but I would imagine your deceased fish was the issue.

jsker · Jul 25, 2016

Water changes are a temporary quick fix. Finding the source of the high nitrates will fix the high nitrates. I my case I feed heavy on purpose so I have high nitrates. @CJBuckeyes has some great points to be followed. I dose bio pellets of the nitrates and phosphate minus for the phosphates.

There are several other carbon dosing methods such as vodka, vinegar, and a surfer reactor. I also vacuum the sand bed when I do my 10% water change.

Reefer4Ever · Jul 25, 2016

domination2580 said:
Wc are your best bet. Some gfo will help take out nitrate

Gfo helps with phosphate very little help with nitrates.

Reefer4Ever · Jul 25, 2016

Fix the root problem or it will be you spending lots of money for bandaid fixes. Excess nutrients is the cause so now is it your water RODI? What, how much and how often you feed? General husbandry of the tank. Find it, fix it and get back to enjoying the tank.

garcia64 · Jul 25, 2016

I use fresh water from the lfs and I used to feed a lot but with the nitrates I have cut back to once a week

danielh · Jul 26, 2016

You are feeding once a week now?

rvlcf · Jul 26, 2016

Get a biopellet reactor for nitrates and a gfo reactor for phosphates. Not the cheapest solution, but, if you plan on keeping sps those 2 will go a long way towards being successful.