Nitrates still high after 50% water change

[sparky727]

So what do you recommend is my best course of action? Keep doing water changes? I meant leaching nitrate as in it was live rock from an established tank who knows what could have died off and that is releasing nitrates.

 

[Lasse]

What do you use in order to detect NO2 - nitrite?

If I understand right - you do not have any animals in the tank? The tank is 4 weeks old?

Sincerely Lasse

 

[sparky727]

I use my salifert test kit to check nitrite. I saw my levels spike up a little in my first week and they’ve been down to 0 for some time. Only animals in tank are about 10-15 blue leg hermits

 

[sparky727]

I just tested my water again this morning after yesterday’s WC. Nitrates seem to be staying at 50 ppm going to take water to a friend to confirm reading after I’m off of work.

 

[Lasse]

If all measurements is real - it means that your start level (before the WC) must have been over 500 ppm. How are your hermits look like - do they seems ok?

Suppose your value of 50 ppm is true and that your hermits are doing well - I would not do any WC for a week but monitoring the level and the hermits closely. If the hermits seems to be effected - do a WC. After a week or two I would try to take the NO3 level down slowly - 10 - 15 % WC a week

Sincerely Lasse

 

[sparky727]

My hermits have been in for 2 weeks and have been completely fine. Walking all over rocks eating algae all day. That’s insane my nitrate was over 500 ppm if it was I don’t get it. Maybe the rock I got from this guy just had a bunch of dead stuff and detritus on it? And okay. Will monitor levels and hermits for next week and do what you said. Thanks! Appreciate all the help sir.

 

[Lasse]

The health of your livestock is always the best test equipment you can have. I always use to say - if your measurements hit the roof but your livestock seems healthy - do not show them the figures If your figures is out of range and it do not seems to affect your livestock - take them down to in-range slowly. Panic adjustments will make more damage many times. Use the panic button when your livestock seems affected.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[sparky727]

10-4. Thank you sir will gradually bring down till nitrates are stable

 

[Blizzahjh]

Only a guess here but I have a feeling all your nitrates are coming from that sand. If its from an established system and you didnt thoroughly clean it before you moved it that could explain why you are getting huge spikes, everytime you water change you are probably stirring that dirty sand again.

Just a thought.

 

[sparky727]

I stirred up my sand a lot with water change yesterday trying to get as much as I can out.

 

[sparky727]

Should I just keep stirring it with water changes? Or is there something else I can do

 

[Blizzahjh]

could test to see if its the sand if you wanted to know for sure then you can make a plan to deal with the problem if it exists. Take a bit of the sand without stirring it too much and put it into a small container of fresh salt and stir it, then test it after and see what you find. If you see the nitrates go up then at least you know whats causing you the issues.

 

[sparky727]

Ok got it. Thank you and if it is the sand?

 

[Blizzahjh]

Either toss it or take out as much as you can get out then give it a nice bath. Ive seen people successfully reuse sand/substrate but they cleaned the snot out of it. Anytime ive torn down my tanks to move or upgrade ive always just started with a fresh batch of substrate, wasnt worth the hassle for me.

What did the tank look like that your liverock and livesand came from anyways?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Bear in mind that with some nitrate kits, 1 ppm nitrite can read as 100 ppm nitrate. Have you measured nitrite recently?

 

[sparky727]

I just tested my nitrate again and with two different test kits one read between 80-160 and other read the higher end of 50-100 but not quite 100. So my nitrates are going back up. I don’t know if it’s my rock or my sand. I just tested my nitrites. Reading 0 still. It has to be my rock or sand. This sucks, it’s been a month. I think I got screwed on one or the other.

 

[sparky727]

Either toss it or take out as much as you can get out then give it a nice bath. Ive seen people successfully reuse sand/substrate but they cleaned the snot out of it. Anytime ive torn down my tanks to move or upgrade ive always just started with a fresh batch of substrate, wasnt worth the hassle for me.

What did the tank look like that your liverock and livesand came from anyways?

From the pictures I saw it looked nice. I don’t understand what could have happened that’s causing me such high nitrates. Has to be a huge die off of stuff on rock or in sand...idk. Thinking about just emptying and starting with new dry rock and sand :/. Missed this hobby lol

 

[Lasse]

Have you started your skimmer? Start it - run it with max air and no skimmer cup. It will take care of some NH3 - if there is any - before it is converted to NO3.

NO3 can't be stored (and hence released) in sand or rocks. The only way it can be present in the watercoloumn is if it is added or throu nitrification (NH3/NH4 converted into NO3). I doubt that you in a 4 weeks old system can have a load of organic matter or breakdown bacteria that can produce enough NH3/NH4 in order to cause such high NO3 levels throu nitrification.

Do you add anything?

Which NO2 test do you use. Can you test NO2 with another test?

There is other ions than NO2 that can cause false readings in your water.

Sometimes - the act of disturbing ions (other than NO2) are not linear. If you dilute your tank water with RO water you can test this. If you take 1 ml tank water and 9 ml RODI water. Mix very well and take your sample from this water - what do you read? Multiple this read with 10.

You can use my table from one of my first post and use RODI water instead.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[sparky727]

My problem has to be in my sand or rocks I got used. I’m thinking my sand. I don’t know but no reason my nitrates should be that high I think I got bad sand or rock. I’m going to buy new dry rock and buy Carib sea live sand and just start over. No point to keep fighting this.

 

[sparky727]

Ok did a major water change and took all my sand out and put in new live sand. Nitrates down to 10 now. I haven’t put my rock in so I will let it settle test again. Put my rocks in then test. Then I can narrow it down to sand or rocks. I’m thinking it was my sand.