Nitrates will not go down 3M tank

cpalminteri · Apr 11, 2022

ReefGeezer said:
Good to raise it to 1.025. Don't raise it with the big water changes. Top off with salt water for a while until the salinity is where you want it before doing the water changes.

Kk will do. I wanted to change it as quickly as possible because I think my corals are suffering with the low salinity but makes sense!

cpalminteri · Apr 14, 2022

Sigh, did a 50% water change last night and my Nitrates still haven't gone down I'm at a loss

Idech · Apr 14, 2022

cpalminteri said:
Sigh, did a 50% water change last night and my Nitrates still haven't gone down I'm at a loss

Get a Hanna checker. If they haven’t gone down, it might be because they’re off the cart and 50% is not enough to show a difference on the test.

Or, it means the test is just not correct.

You say you have a lot of fish. They’re can’t be that many in an Evo 13.5 What do you have ?

And how much and what do you feed per day ?

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Apr 14, 2022

Have you tried another test kit? Maybe your results aren't accurate?

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Apr 14, 2022

ReefGeezer said:
Don't be in a hurry to start dumping chemicals into your tank

^^^^ THIS 100%!!

cpalminteri · Apr 14, 2022

Idech said:
Get a Hanna checker. If they haven’t gone down, it might be because they’re off the cart and 50% is not enough to show a difference on the test.

Or, it means the test is just not correct.

You say you have a lot of fish. They’re can’t be that many in an Evo 13.5 What do you have ?

And how much and what do you feed per day ?

I have 2 juvenile clown fish & a Yasha Goby in there (haven't seen him in days though). I do have 3 shrimp though so that might be a bit much but honestly the Pistol hides with the Yasha and I never see him and I recently got a sexy shrimp and he's tiny as hell. Fire shrimp is my only active one that's fun to watch but yea this tank is fairly new so I probably stocked it much too quickly

cpalminteri · Apr 14, 2022

Erin1971Texas said:
Have you tried another test kit? Maybe your results aren't accurate?

I have an API kit which I stopped using and used Redsea but yeah I'll try the API today to see.

cpalminteri · Apr 14, 2022

Erin1971Texas said:
^^^^ THIS 100%!!

Yeah I haven't dosed anything nor do I really want to but the high Nitrates have me worried. Fish seem fine but my soft corals aren't opening up fully atm I think they're upset. Unless if they like high nitrates? not sure.

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Apr 14, 2022

cpalminteri said:
Yeah I haven't dosed anything nor do I really want to but the high Nitrates have me worried. Fish seem fine but my soft corals aren't opening up fully atm I think they're upset. Unless if they like high nitrates? not sure.

In general, soft corals and LPS like dirtier water than SPS. That being said, as was already mentioned, if the Red Sea test only goes to 50, you don't really know how high your nitrates are. I have seen tanks run successfully with nitrates much higher than 50, but they are usually older (more established) and a lot larger than yours.

FWIW, I don't think the 3 small fish and 3 shrimp are too much, but I would not try to add anything else for a while (if at all... the clowns will get bigger, lol).

I don't recall if you mentioned your mechanical filtration, but if you haven't rinsed it out/replaced it recently, I'd do so. Trapped food, etc can be a nitrate factory.

Adding the pods is a great idea; if you can, try to feed them phytoplankton for a while to help them get established. I strongly recommend tisbe pods over the other varieties; I've had great luck with them reproducing while other types don't (some, like Tigger pods, are cold water specie and really don't thrive in tropical temps)

Good luck, and keep posting updates. Pics are great too

cpalminteri · Apr 14, 2022

Erin1971Texas said:
In general, soft corals and LPS like dirtier water than SPS. That being said, as was already mentioned, if the Red Sea test only goes to 50, you don't really know how high your nitrates are. I have seen tanks run successfully with nitrates much higher than 50, but they are usually older (more established) and a lot larger than yours.

FWIW, I don't think the 3 small fish and 3 shrimp are too much, but I would not try to add anything else for a while (if at all... the clowns will get bigger, lol).

I don't recall if you mentioned your mechanical filtration, but if you haven't rinsed it out/replaced it recently, I'd do so. Trapped food, etc can be a nitrate factory.

Adding the pods is a great idea; if you can, try to feed them phytoplankton for a while to help them get established. I strongly recommend tisbe pods over the other varieties; I've had great luck with them reproducing while other types don't (some, like Tigger pods, are cold water specie and really don't thrive in tropical temps)

Good luck, and keep posting updates. Pics are great too

Looks like I’ll be investing in a Hanna tester. I have the copper one for QT and it’s great. Where can I get Tisbe pods? I’ve only seen tigger in my LFS. Also….. I won’t tell you what’s in my QT but let’s just say I’m def getting a bigger tank in the very near future or will have two tanks

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Apr 14, 2022

cpalminteri said:
Looks like I’ll be investing in a Hanna tester. I have the copper one for QT and it’s great. Where can I get Tisbe pods? I’ve only seen tigger in my LFS. Also….. I won’t tell you what’s in my QT but let’s just say I’m def getting a bigger tank in the very near future or will have two tanks

Lol, I understand!
I just meant that since you're having the nitrate issue, adding more fish now might not be the best idea. Small tank = harder to stabilize, so taking it slow is helpful.
You can order pods online. I know Algaebarn carries several types. There are other sellers too that folks have recommended but I can't recall the names of the top of my head. You can ask your LFS if they can order tisbes...
I really feel that Tiggers are good for immediate feeding if fish, like a fun snack, but don't do anything long term for most tanks.
Final thought, have the lfs test your nitrates... At least it will be a third data point (along with API and RS)

cpalminteri · Apr 14, 2022

Erin1971Texas said:
Lol, I understand!
I just meant that since you're having the nitrate issue, adding more fish now might not be the best idea. Small tank = harder to stabilize, so taking it slow is helpful.
You can order pods online. I know Algaebarn carries several types. There are other sellers too that folks have recommended but I can't recall the names of the top of my head. You can ask your LFS if they can order tisbes...
I really feel that Tiggers are good for immediate feeding if fish, like a fun snack, but don't do anything long term for most tanks.
Final thought, have the lfs test your nitrates... At least it will be a third data point (along with API and RS)

All very good points, thanks Erin!