nitrate nightmare!!

[drblakjak55]

Details to consider


- we have threads of three common top name brand nitrate kits reading 50 ppm differences off the same sample. Your posted nitrate readings need to be cross checked and possibly averaged depending on what else you test with, the levels are currently not accepted as fact this is helpful to know, you could be much higher or much lower.

- clouding and detritus stores in the system are your nitrate stores once the overall bioload and simple export systems are factored, post a full tank picture. Dosing anything to your water, no pox, po4 etc is guess work, if you want to get things under control the tank needs to be cleaned of detritus waste stores. Your nitrate issue is located if you can reach in, grab sand and drop it, and a massive cloud erupts. If you can reach in, grab live rock and swish it in the tank and a huge cloud erupts, we need to reverse both those conditions or you’ll be hooked on making retail purchases for good, the tank needs simple skip cycle cleaning. you are better off managing simple clouding you can see with unaided eye than you are changing params by dosing, as you also want to prepare your upcoming reef to be less likely to have various invasions like cyano and hair algae, clouding causes those issues and needs to be handled early on, it’s why nearly all reefers (not all of them, but the majority) cleans their sandbeds nowadays.

Agree 100%. Recreating the ocean. Gotta turkey blast the rocks and sand beds weekly on maintainance. Daily until less cloud from sand and rocks. Run the power heads at full to keep it suspended into filter

 

[Japtastic]

Completely agree on testing Phosphate. My system stalled as it had bottomed out. Have been testing and dosing since.

 

[Ash321]

The two things that got my nitrate from 60ppm down to as little as 0.5ppm is a fuge with a 150w gro light running caulerpa and chaeto 24 hours a day until it got low enough to cut this down to every 3 days (obvs removing the cauelrpa then) and running a nyos skimmer .

Infact my Nyos skimmer is so effective my nitrate hit 0.5 2 days ago! so i turned the skimmer off took a handful of chaeto out, 2 days later im sitting around 2.5ppm again.

 

[roberthu526]

What skimmer do you run? Carbon dosing requires a good skimmer.

 

[Rolrod39]

Do you have a refugium? I use macro to assist with the removal of nitrates. Also biopellets in my reactor and 2 skimmers.

 

[SmokeyNite]

Ok, finally got to my mom's to do some testing
Nitrates - 30-40 range
Nitrites- 0
Ammonia- 0
SG - 1.023
pH - 8.3

I had bought 2 new kits a while ago because I was worried my kit was no longer good. I tested with those kits and they came out the same.
I forgot to test for phosphates. I'll do that tomorrow.

I don't feed reef roids. Every so often I wetvac the sump and to get all the debris. I rinse any media, bags, sponges. I don't have much sand, but what I do have, my orange diamond goby, sand shifting starfish, and snails keep my bed stirred up. I also flush my live rock often.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Ok, finally got to my mom's to do some testing
Nitrates - 30-40 range
Nitrites- 0
Ammonia- 0
SG - 1.023
pH - 8.3

I had bought 2 new kits a while ago because I was worried my kit was no longer good. I tested with those kits and they came out the same.
I forgot to test for phosphates. I'll do that tomorrow.

I don't feed reef roids. Every so often I wetvac the sump and to get all the debris. I rinse any media, bags, sponges. I don't have much sand, but what I do have, my orange diamond goby, sand shifting starfish, and snails keep my bed stirred up. I also flush my live rock often.

Any update on the phosphates?

I'm curious on your drop from 100ppm to 40ppm nitrates though. Faulty test kit or reading perhaps? Unless you did a massive water change..