Does cleaning the tank cause a nitrate spike?
- Thread starter AngieW
- Start date
germanman... i also has somethink to ask... i want to remove my bio balls slowly too... but then i can't find any life rock rubber...
what i have done now i just change my died rock become life rock 1/4 of my aqua.. and then i also made a refugium for my macro algae... and it's work for my nitrate...
next action is change 1/4 of my dead rock again become life rock... and then i start to remove my bio balls...
the question is... is it safe for my aqua... i just worried if it will increase my ammonia and nitrite
Uh, if I may disagree on a technicallity... In a marine aquarium the filters should be cleaned in good old tap water. The reason for this is simple - you want to clean away the detritus AND kill the nitrate producing bacteria, and the chlorine in the tap water will do that just fine (unlike in a fresh water tank, where the sponges are part of the aerobic filter, and one would want to keep the bacteria alive).
Obviously your tank should have an adequate amount of denitrifying live rock (large pieces of rock work better than small pieces of "rubble") and/or a deep (live) sand bed. Lacking this, the nitrate producing aerobic bacteria will "out perform" the nitrate "eating" anoxic/anaerobic bacteria, and a nitrate build-up will be inevitable.
Also, when you cleaned the tank, did you disturb (stirred, or "vacuumed") the sand at all? If so, you've upset / killed the nitrate reducing bacteria in the sand, and this would result in a nitrate spike.
How long has the tank been set up, and what is the current bio-load (fish and corals)?
With all due respect I have never seen it recommended to clean them in tap water. I would also never intentionally clean a sponge in any sort of liquid with chlorine in it knowing it's about to go back in my tank.
The sponges in marine aquariums also carry the "good bacteria." Some people have very little or no live rock at all (for example, one of my buddies). Some people do use mechanical and chemical filtration. Rinsing sponges off in tap water can rid them of this bacteria. Rinsing them in old tank water that'll not go back in your tank is recommended.
Here are some sites/people that recommend the same thing- rinsing in old tank water.
The second Q&A
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/spngfltfaqs.htm
See title: Excess nitrae
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/no3probfaq4.htm
See titles: Filter help... canister... filter media... maint... 3/3/07
Canister filter inserts and Nitrate 5/16/05
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mcanfltmaint.htm
Nitrate Problems and New Beginnings - 11/14/2005
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/no3probfaq10.htm
http://faq.thekrib.com/filters.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Discussion:Clean-a-Fish-Tank
http://www.jonahsaquarium.com/aquabasics.htm
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/mb/mb127.html
I can try to find more or "better" sites if you're seeking more information. If you have more info on rinsing in tap water, please share. I always enjoy learning new things and I'm sure others could benefit as well.
I can only respectfully disagree aswell....This is one thing that was always drummed into when i first got into marine keeping and it is widely documented fact, especially by Bob Fenner whom i widely respect and take his words to be true. So, i shall be standing by my statement on this....Its no use me popualting this post with links, as 5XEVY has already got the point over...
Niko
Nope, didn't dust the sand up, just cleaned the sides.
The tank is a well-established tank, around 3 years old at least, but it just came into my possession which is why I don't know anything about it!
The tank itself is 75 gallons with a clown, a yellow tang, two yellowtail damsel and a larger damsel--five fish total. Inverts include a serpent seastar, sea cucumber and a very few hermit crabs plus some unidentified crab that I rarely see. But I ordered some peppermint shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, and a few hermit crabs, hoping to get a more efficient cleanup crew in the tank.
Sounds like a solid plan to me..It can only benifit the system more...
Any chance of some photos of the different inhabitants of the system?
Niko
I'm amazed... it must be very old documentation - do they also recommend using under gravel- and trickle filters? Please contact Bob, and clarify if what you read was meant in this context (I doubt it).
May I suggest that you think the following over logically, and it you're not convinced, then let's just agree to disagree :dance2:
Why is it not a good idea to have bio-balls or a trickle filter in a reef tank (remember, these were items highly recommended by the experts not so long ago...). Obviously because they are very good aerobic filters, and their use causes an increase in nitrates (they are not called "nitrate factories" for nothing...). The same goes for the sponge in AngieW's sump. It will trap detritus, AND act as an aerobic filter, as the water flowing through it will keep it well oxygenated. Thus, even if it is kept clean, as long as a healthy aerobic baterial population is growing in the sponge, it WILL produce nitrates.
Now, if this sponge was the only "filter" in the system, it would obviously be advantageous to keep it's bacterial population healthy, because it would be converting highly toxic ammonia into much less toxic nitrate. However, the tank under discussion has an established sand bed, AND live rock, both of which not only converts ammonia into nitrate through aerobic reaction (as would the sponge), but ALSO converts the nitrate into harmless nitrogen through the use of anaerobic (actually only anoxic...) bacteria in the oxygen poor regions deep within the live rock and deep sand bed. So, if it's a valid argument not to have a trickle filter or bioballs in a reef tank with live rock and/or deep sand bed, it is also valid not to encourage other aerobic only filtration areas, such as the sponge in question.
Hennie
...Here are some sites/people that recommend the same thing- rinsing in old tank water.
The second Q&A
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/spngfltfaqs.htm
See title: Excess nitrae
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/no3probfaq4.htm
See titles: Filter help... canister... filter media... maint... 3/3/07
Canister filter inserts and Nitrate 5/16/05
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mcanfltmaint.htm
I can try to find more or "better" sites if you're seeking more information. If you have more info on rinsing in tap water, please share. I always enjoy learning new things and I'm sure others could benefit as well.
OK, I've had a look at the first three sites. The first one is a recommendation for FRESH water aquaria - In most fresh water aquaria there is NO live rock or deep live sand beds, and most filtration is done using aerobic filters (UGF's, cannisters, etc.) In these filters, one obviously need the aerobic bacteria in the sponges, as they are the main filtration media in use!
The second and third links are about cannister filters in marine aquaria. Again, in the "bad old days" we relied on aerobic action cannister filters to do all the filtration, and ended up with rising nitrate levels, coil denitration filters, and large water changes - and even with these we could not keep many of the easier corals or more delicate fish alive for very long.
Of course, everyone is free to use "old technology" filtration in their tanks, but seeing that this is a Forum for beginners, I would suggest that we rather recommend the more modern methods, don't you think...
Hennie
