Nitrates

kromar · Dec 1, 2015

Just recently got my neglected 90 gal back on course. New led lighting and my soft corals are responding quite well. After changing about 60 gallons of water over a week and a half I can't get my nitrates below 60 ppm. Only have two percula clowns and five corals. Then I got a brain storm. Not having a sump would chaeto work in a CPR backpac skimmer in the chamber where the bio bale goes. I presently don't have bio bale in there and I'm using a marine land 400 bio wheel. Your thoughts. Thanks

Dtackett · Dec 1, 2015

yeah you can turn pretty much any HOB filter into a HOB fuge simply with a light and a plastic screen in front of the outflow to prevent the macro from getting into your tank. but, I would be doing my best to figure out where the nitrates are coming from. I would do a single large water change and test immediately after to get your baseline, then test again the next day. if they skyrocket overnight, then there is probably something rotting somewhere or there is a buildup in your rockwork. I would do as big of a water change as you can, just make sure your water temp and salinity matches the tank before the swap. a 30 gallon brute can would be useful for this. you can also pull out your rocks and shake the detritus off the rocks in a bucket of saltwater (can just use the water from a water change) this will remove any buildup you have.

kromar · Dec 1, 2015

I had a lot of detritus on my rocks and have been siphoning it out while doing changes. I also replaced my rodi filters. Outgoing water is reading 000. I know there's nothing dead in the tank. Would dumping some more live sand in the tank help with nitrates. My corals and mushrooms are looking great. Thanks

Dtackett · Dec 1, 2015

no, dumping live sand wont do much but cloud your tank. I don't know if it would make sense (I don't know your tank) but if you have a lot of detritus, youre not going to get most of it off by siphoning. I would pull the rocks and shake them off in some saltwater.

that's the thing, a lot of corals do great in neglected tanks so long as the light is good lol I had a buddy who let his tank go for 2 years while he was in collage, outside of his parents feeding the tank for him, topping it off, and him doing a water change every few months there was nothing done to the tank. looked like hell when he finally got back and was able to start caring for it again. the coral looked amazing though. but once he got it back on track a lot of the coral suffered for a few months because they were so used to a dirty tank. but when they bounced back they exploded!

kromar · Dec 1, 2015

I guess I'll give that a try thanks again

Dtackett · Dec 1, 2015

yup. just be careful as youre pulling the rocks in and out not to shake them off in the tank. youll be amazed at how much stuff comes off of it.

kromar · Dec 1, 2015

Yea I can imagine

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 1, 2015

There are lots of ways to reduce nitrate,a nd I use several at the same time (organic carbon dosing, growing macroalgae, lots of live rock, skimming, etc.) I discuss the pros and cons of most of them here:

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION
https://www.reef2reef.com/blog/nitrate-in-the-reef-aquarium

kromar · Dec 1, 2015

Thanks. Great read.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 1, 2015

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.

Dtackett · Dec 3, 2015

did you get a chance to do anything? hows the nitrates looking after a few days?

kromar · Dec 3, 2015

Found my test kit was way expired. Did a test with the new one. 30 ppm. Going to try a few more water changes first. Put another power head in the tank for more circulation. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for checking. If that doesn't work I might try the vodka dosing before I mess with the rock