Help with test kit readings--nitrates still high

A

AngieW

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Oct 2, 2006
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On Sunday, I did just over a 10% water change (9 gallons for a 75 gallon tank). The nitrates still read high and the cleaner shrimp died during drip acclimation yesterday, so I did a 13% water change last night (12 gallons). But for whatever reason my nitrates are NOT coming down.

My bioload in the reef aquarium:
1 yellow tang
1 clownfish
2 yellowtail damsel
1 bigger undetermined damsel
1 goby

Inverts:
sea cucumber
serpent starfish
about 10 small snails (just added)
12-13 hermit crabs (10 of them just added)
5 peppermint shrimp (just added)
3 crabs (2 just added)

I also have a variety of corals, polyps and 3 anemones, all in a 75 gallon tank running a protein skimmer/sump via the refugium (from which I removed the sponges after a recommendation from here). Don't ask me about lighting because I'll give you a blank stare.

I tested the distilled water I've been using for water changes, and it tests out perfectly. But I'm having this ongoing nitrate problem--having added no fish or anything except the cleanup crew yesterday/today. And I also now have what seems to be some sort of brown algae covering my live rock. Not slimy, though.

I tested my water this morning and here's what I got:
Nitrate 80+
Nitrite 0
pH 8.0 --this has been running low at 8.0. I'm still using Instant Ocean as the Reef Crystal hasn't arrived yet. I do have buffer I can add if recommended

Ammonia 0
Alkaline around 1.5/1.6
Calcium 300-- this is the first time I've tested this as the test just arrived yesterday.
Salinity- 1.023
Magnesium I'll have to retest because I mucked up the test the first time

So as you can see, I have a few things going on. High Nitrate that's not resolving with water changes, low pH, low calcium and probably low Alkaline. And now some nasty brown stuff covering my rocks. Help?
 
Hi AngieW,

It does sound as if you have a problem. Remember though, that only BAD things happen quickly in a marine tank - anything good (such as reducing your nitrates), will take much longer :)

So, lets see...

Firstly: are you sure of the test result? What test kit are you using, and how old is it? Have you checked it's "best before" date? Many years ago when I started with marines I bought some Red Sea test kits already way passed their expiry date, and I nearly went crazy trying to "correct" a tank which did not really need correction, thanks to some false readings from those old kits.

Secondly: please give us a full rundown of your filtration. I recall from your previous post that you have a protein skimmer - how much skimmate do you remove per day? How often do you clean the skimmer? How much live rock do you have in the tank? When did you add it to the tank, and was it fully cured at the time (did it have a pleasant sea smell, or did it stink?) You do have a sand bed - how deep is the sand bed, and is there any life in the sand (worms, copepods, etc).

I recall that you got this tank from a previous owner (hope I remember correct). Was the tank emptied for transport? Could the rock and/or sand have dried out during the move? Was the sand washed or disturbed during the move? Do you know if the previous owner (or yourself) have used any medication on the tank (it could, for instance, affect the filtration bacteria)

Thirdly: In my humble opinion you have a very heavy bio-load for a recently moved tank. I realize that you inherited the fish and corals with the tank, and that you're now "stuck" with them - if possible, I would try to have some (or all) your livestock temporarily "stored" with another reefer (any volunteers, people) - I live too far away (South Africa) or I would have offered to board them for you. If that is not possible, I would suggest that you keep on doing 10% - 20% saltwater changes every 2-3 days until your nitrates start to reduce (and this might only start in another week or two, once the anaerobic nitrate reducing bacteria have recovered from the move).

Fourthly: Don't be concerned about calcium and magnesium levels at this point in time. Low levels won't harm your corals in the short term, and you don't want to make too many changes at the same time. I would try to increase the alkalinity some, but do it very slowly (use perhaps half the recommended dose, if you're using a commercial buffer). This should increase the pH a bit (although 8.0 is not bad...), and will help to lessen the growth of slime algae and diatoms (gold-brown algae) if you're lucky.

Lastly, be patient - things WILL improve as your tank stabilize and mature.

Hennie
 
New Reefer said:
So, lets see...

Firstly: are you sure of the test result? What test kit are you using, and how old is it? Have you checked it's "best before" date? Many years ago when I started with marines I bought some Red Sea test kits already way passed their expiry date, and I nearly went crazy trying to "correct" a tank which did not really need correction, thanks to some false readings from those old kits.
Click to expand...

It's a brand new Reef Masters kit that I got last week online.

Secondly: please give us a full rundown of your filtration. I recall from your previous post that you have a protein skimmer - how much skimmate do you remove per day? How often do you clean the skimmer? How much live rock do you have in the tank? When did you add it to the tank, and was it fully cured at the time (did it have a pleasant sea smell, or did it stink?) You do have a sand bed - how deep is the sand bed, and is there any life in the sand (worms, copepods, etc).
Click to expand...

Protein Skimmer in the refugium. No in-tank filter/skimmer. We only have to empty a cup or so once/twice a week.
Live rock is around 60lbs, I think. I don't know anything about when the rock was added since the previous owner did all that when he started the tank several years ago.
Sand bed is not particularly deep, a couple inches. I haven't noticed any life in the sand such as worms, but I did add copepods to the refugium yesterday. But it's possible I wouldn't notice them since I'm still not always sure what I'm looking at!

I recall that you got this tank from a previous owner (hope I remember correct). Was the tank emptied for transport? Could the rock and/or sand have dried out during the move? Was the sand washed or disturbed during the move? Do you know if the previous owner (or yourself) have used any medication on the tank (it could, for instance, affect the filtration bacteria)
Click to expand...

The rock, sand, etc was all transported in the tank water. It was only a short move across town and moved in a few hours. The sand was, of course, disturbed because of the jostling during the move and then when adding the rock and water back in. I don't believe any medications were added to the tank recently (definitly not in the month I've owned it).

Thirdly: In my humble opinion you have a very heavy bio-load for a recently moved tank. I realize that you inherited the fish and corals with the tank, and that you're now "stuck" with them - if possible, I would try to have some (or all) your livestock temporarily "stored" with another reefer (any volunteers, people) - I live too far away (South Africa) or I would have offered to board them for you. If that is not possible, I would suggest that you keep on doing 10% - 20% saltwater changes every 2-3 days until your nitrates start to reduce (and this might only start in another week or two, once the anaerobic nitrate reducing bacteria have recovered from the move).
Click to expand...

I don't know anyone else in the area who has a saltwater tank :( I wondered about continuing the frequent water changes and have no issue with this as long as it won't stress the fish.

Fourthly: Don't be concerned about calcium and magnesium levels at this point in time. Low levels won't harm your corals in the short term, and you don't want to make too many changes at the same time. I would try to increase the alkalinity some, but do it very slowly (use perhaps half the recommended dose, if you're using a commercial buffer). This should increase the pH a bit (although 8.0 is not bad...), and will help to lessen the growth of slime algae and diatoms (gold-brown algae) if you're lucky.

Lastly, be patient - things WILL improve as your tank stabilize and mature.

Hennie
Click to expand...

Thank you, I'll look at the buffers and see what I can work out. And thank you for your advice!
 
I have. I use distilled water and it tests at 0 for nitrates. I was hoping that was it, it would have been an easier fix.
 
If everything else is checking out fine my educated guess would say your over feeding the tank. try cutting back on feedings for a while and see if that helps.
 
This tank is still relatively new to you, right?

I'd say the bacteria probably got messed up in transit (swishing around, sand bed disturbed, whatever) and you probably just need to keep doing those water changes until it starts coming down.

How do your corals look? Happy? Unhappy? That's usually a really good sign of what's going on inside the tank.
 
I feed twice a day: flakes in the morning and brine shrimp/prime reef in the evening, plus a piece of shrimp direct to the anemones once every third day or so. Is that too much? I've been trying to watch to make sure the flakes are eaten, to figure out the correct amount they need.

Yes, the tank is only about a month old (meaning it's only been at my house about a month). The corals actually look fine, I've been watching them and they *seem* healthy, though I'm not entirely sure I'd know if they weren't.

I did a 20% water change last night and am crossing my fingers that the tank doesn't totally deteriorate while I'm away. It's the first thing I'll be checking when I walk in the door Sunday!
 
Germanman said:
distilled water isnt good to use in general...not because of nitrates but that it is almost to pure. lacks anything and everything. ro, ro/di, di or even filtered tap is better to use...

...maybe even macro algae to suck up that extra nitrates...
Click to expand...

With all due respect, this "distilled water is to pure" is another "old wifes tale". Think about it logically, only PURE water evaporates, so adding only PURE water would be best, as it would not increase any "trace elements", be they good or bad. As for making new salt water, reputable modern salts contain ALL the elements found in real sea water, mostly in greater quantities than required (or even wanted...) So, why would it be "bad" to not add any more copper, arcenic, cadmium, or any of the other "over abundant" elements?

The one possible bad thing with using so-called distilled water is that this water might NOT be pure enough - especially if it was made by single stage distilling, and even worse if the distiller's boiler and tubing is made of copper or brass (used very often in industrial distillers).

Adding macro algae to the sump (or tank) is a good idea, as long as the refugium or tank has enough light. I would suggest, though, to monitor the algae carefully, as an algae die-off could be disastrous at this point in time.

AngieW:

May I suggest that you have your water tested just once at a reputable LFS - just to confirm if your test kits are reading correctly. Apart from that, just be patient, keep up with the partial water changes, and let nature do it's bit - in another month or two you will have a very nice, stable & healthy tank.

Hennie
 
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