help bringing nitrates down

BadRoma1

BadRoma1

AC Members
Nov 29, 2005
1,208
0
0
i have big problem with nitrates. first of all i didn't understand why some of my corals didn't feel good, so i was doing wter changes for few months almost every day. but the corals got worse. finally, i found the problem. the problem was that i have so much nitrate in my water that even ro/di unit coldn't handle it and let lots of it pass through. the cartriges in the unit went bad very fast, so i changed them, which did nothing. so i bought some water from the store, just did, and did two big water changes so far, but still nothing, the nitrates are still there. all other perimeters are good, with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites. i also recharged the bacteria. what else can i do? i've been using nitrate removing sponges or whatever they call, but the nitrates are still up high. i need to get nitrates out of the water as fast as possible or two of my coral will die. :help:
 
i`ve heard/read from some where that R.O. water is so pure that a test kit comes back with wrong results try a different test kit and also try testing the R.O. water before it enters the tank
 
it reads 10ppm right after the cleaning. it reads alot more few days after it enters the tank
 
You should get to the root of the problem. Whats actually causing the nitrates? treating the problem is good but temperary.
see if you have any dead spots in the tank where food and wastes might be accumulating, or if you use bio-balls that be the problem...
 
i use bioballs. what does t mean? i don't know if i have dead spots with all the stars and bristle worms moving around and going into the sand
 
how big is your tank in liters are gallons & how many power heads do you have and what is the turn over rate of them&your filter each?
 
Bio-balls are the next best filtration to LR, but they can hold scum, wastes, etc. If you shake them around to get a large particles away that could help, or rinse them with treated water... but do that over time so you won't shock your fish b/c there is beneficial bacteria in btheer too.
as far as the dead spots, answer sap25's questions.
 
i have two powerheads; one is at the top going across over the tank, and one pointing down from one side to another, giving opposit flow. the whole tank is 40 gallons. i trully don't know the overturn on anything. the power heads that connected to the filter are 600 and 800.
 
if the 800&600 power head is all you have for water movements then your only turning the volume of your tank seven times an hour & really you need ten but ideal would be twelve with you having corals etc

so do you have a filter?

whats the turn over rate on that? needs to be at least a 550 to turn your tank over ten times so in a way this could be the cause of your problem but if not this problem will only cause other problems in the long run algae etc
 
the 800 and 600 are two powerheads that un my filter. the other two powerheads are unknown to me of how much water the overturn, but i have them so that i doesn't blow my corals around too much, but just so there would be nice movement
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom