What would you do to fix this

[ReefingWoonkie]

Need some advice. What would you do to fix this. Not my tank. Helping a friend. Run media or large frequent water changes. Thanks. 400 gallon tank also. Trying to get a refugium going as well

 

[AdamNC]

5% water changes a day until it’s in proper levels and then determine what is making it so high.

 

[Backreefing]

Screw 5% that will take forever, if it has an affect at all .
Big water change and fast . 25-50% then address what is going on , cycle, feeding , protein skimmer not working, what ever . Good luck

 

[vetteguy53081]

Water change and addition of carbon, reduce amounts being fed and also get a second opinion with water sample to a trusted LFS to assure your readings are accurate

 

[AdamNC]

Screw 5% that will take forever, if it has an affect at all .
Big water change and fast . 25-50% then address what is going on , cycle, feeding , protein skimmer not working, what ever . Good luck

Big water changes will shock the system. If it works for you great but I just personally do not ever recommend drastic changes in any water chemistry.

 

[jurgenph]

is there an immediate emergency with the livestock in the tank that you're trying to fix?

if not, don't sweat it, and just up your water change schedule and quantity.


J.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

I’m shocked that they have a 400 gallon system with nitrates that crazy high. Just do larger, more frequent water changes and feed less. Nothing crazy to do

 

[csb123]

If it is fish only system, no big deal.
If it is a reef we need to know how did we get here?

 

[ReefingWoonkie]

Been doing 30-50 gallon changes every 2 days for a week. Now that the nitrates are out of the red I’m going back to 40-50 gallons a week. It’s a reef tank. No idea how this happened except big fish. No nutrient export of any kind. No matrix media, no marine pure. Purple shape rock and sand only. A skimmer for a 75 gallon tank and not consistent on water changes.

 

[ReefingWoonkie]

is there an immediate emergency with the livestock in the tank that you're trying to fix?

if not, don't sweat it, and just up your water change schedule and quantity.


J.

Corals dying

 

[Cassian]

Maybe get a bigger skimmer??? How stocked is the tank? Could it be overstocked/overfeeding?

 

[Backreefing]

The sand should be enough for a nitrogen cycle. I would suspect generous feeding. Maybe the guy just threw everything in very quickly? As much as I hate to say it maybe useing bio pellets. But that stuff has a love hate reputation. A refuge maybe safer but..... it’s got to be sizable for a 400 . You are there seeing it . Your friend has some decisions to make. good luck.

 

[BigRedReefer MT]

Sounds like you need to up your skimmer at least. A skimmer rated for 75 gallons on a 400 g allon tank seems like throwing an ice cube on a forest fire. Without a large refugium to help convert nutrients that can then be removed this set up seems like an algae jungle in the making. ( I say this from experience, an overstocked 75, 8 months of biweekly water changes, carbon dosing, purigen and phosguard, scrubbing, cuc upgrades, hair pulling, etc. etc., etc.)

 

[ReefingWoonkie]

Big water changes will shock the system. If it works for you great but I just personally do not ever recommend drastic changes in any water chemistry.

I agree 10-20%max every 48 hours is usually what I do when there is a situation

 

[jurgenph]

Corals dying

how old is the tank?
what's the stocking list look like? both fish, inverts and corals?
what about light?
flow?
which corals are doing bad? how long were they in the tank.
tank husbandry?

you left out so many unknowns.

there are plenty of successful reef tanks that thrive on high nutrients, this alone won't kill your corals.


J.