nitrates that just wont go down

[Bigdaddy]

I am pulling my hair out atm i been having nitrate probems for a while and cant get them below 10 . my readings are normaly around 25 using 3 different test kits my po4 is .03 -.1 .i also run carbon and gfo . I have a 180 gallon tank with a 100 gallon stock tank as a sump about 200 lbs of lr total . only have 13 fish i run my skimmer wet and it takes out some real nasty stuff i have a 40 breader fed by my overflow i have cheato in i also have an ats that has been up for 5 weeks i have done 40 gallon waterchanges every day for a week and had no change in my nitrate level also checked my water from my ro/di unit i get 0 tds and 0 nitrates . i tried dosing with vodka and mb7 but after 3 weeks some of my corals started to loose color and it made me worry , i also have a problem with a brown rusty algae on my sand that wont go away either . the tank has been up since dec using a mix of some dry rock from brs and about 100lbs of rock from my existing tank when i swapped over to the 180 . any suggestions or ideas on what i can do would be appreciated . i tried to include as much info as i can think of and i have searched the forums for high nitrate problems and read alot but i am still having this hopeless feeling that ill never get it under control
thank you
Jason

 

[revsgirl]

:bump:

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

How long has your tank been running.

 

[_sludgefactory]

How long has your tank been running.

"the tank has been up since December..."

What kind of skimmer?


Tank thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81000

LG P999 EaglesBlood 2.8, Trinity ELPmax

 

[MBG75]

Is your cheato growing enough that you trim regularly?

Do you have a good amount of flow in the tank?

 

[_sludgefactory]

That's a good point. My chaeto was dying back real bad to the point i couldn't even save it. Replaced the old bulb and got some new chaeto and it's growing like crazy. I was having all kinds of algae issues in my display too until i replaced the bulb. It was a 6700k cfl flood from Lowes but it was like 2 years old. I replaced it with a new 6700k clf and I'm back to normal.



Tank thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81000

LG P999 EaglesBlood 2.8, Trinity ELPmax

 

[Bigdaddy]

my cheato is growing and still growing i have it in a 40 breader all by its self so alot of room for it as for my skimmer im not sure what brand it is the lid for the cup says swc and it is fairly large i got it used from a friend who used it as his fish store untill he upgraded i will post a pic of it as soon as i can also the bulb for the cheato and ats are brand new . as for flow i have 2Hydor Koralia Evolution 1400 gph and the flow from my return pump and the pump is a reeflo hammerhead hybrid 6000/4590 gph with about 12 ft of head preassure
Thank you for the Bump and the replies i even considered starting a dsb in a 5 gallon pale

[h=2][/h][h=1][/h]

 

[Bigdaddy]

wont be able to post a pic of skimmer till wife gets home

 

[aslmx]

May need to try a big water change. 40 gallons doesn't seem like alot to make a huge difference.

 

[jcharrsn]

I had pretty good luck with the purigen nitrate media made by seachem when my nitrates got out of control. I think you can buy granules and put in a reactor or I just bought the filter bag ready to go and threw it in my filter sock. The stuff is rechargeable as well once it turns brownish you treat it with bleach then fresh water + prime and you can use the stuff over again.

 

[KSzegi]

Are your corals doing fine? Is everything looking happy and healthy? If so, I personally wouldn't let yourself get too worked up about a nitrate level of 10 - or even in that 20 range. With a lot of new rock and sand and a tank only up since December ...... if you can keep doing what you're doing - water changes, watching feeding with 13 fish!, good skimmer, carbon, chaeto, etc - then as the tank matures it will also drop down more on it's own.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me but my opinion is that if your tank is doing well ...... don't chase that number! I mean I would still watch it and not let up on the good managment and maintenance ..... just not let it drive you nuts trying to bring it down to zero.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

Your thank is good for softies right now because they like a little nitrate and phosphate. In time it will find a equallibrium. If your try to get color out of sps then you might want to lower them. Like KSzegi said no need to chase numbers when in time it will fix itself. If you really need them down for what ever reason then think about putting a biopellet reactor on. IMO

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

How often are you doing water changes?

 

[Bigdaddy]

i do a water change ever 2 weeks normaly . but it got real expensive doing wc everyday and no results so i am back to every 2 weeks . all the corals look ok i have mostly lps but would like to add some sps like some monti and easier stuff