How do I get the nitrates down??

[journey0820]

My nitrates will not get DOWN and it is holding up my fish purchases. HELP!? I've been waiting patiently but am beginning to wonder if I should be taking more steps.

I started my tank in late March/early April. I cycled the Tampa Bay Salt Water Way (see this thread for questions about that: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149899 and scroll to: My personal experience with starting up the TBS way has been this)

Currently:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 40-80
PH: 8.4

I haven't found anyone dead in there, hardly feed at all (maybe twice a week at most with marine snow and maybe a 1/4 cube of frozen brine a week), and now am getting some green growth on my glass. What's the deal?

Equipment:
TAAM Rio Nano Skimmer

Aquaclear 50 Filter Ultra

Hydro Koralia Nano Pump Powerhead 260 GPH

Maxi-Jet 600 Powerhead

Pro-Heat Titanium IC Heater 150

SunDial T5 HO Lighting System 24''

 

[alpha123]

I think it is because your tank was so "loaded" from the get go, it will take longer (6 months?) to stabilize. I would get another HOB skimmer to help the process. (I just got a used bak pak from local club for $50! )

 

[journey0820]

I think it is because your tank was so "loaded" from the get go, it will take longer (6 months?) to stabilize. I would get another HOB skimmer to help the process. (I just got a used bak pak from local club for $50! )

Dang...six months? I hope not! How low do the 'trates need to be to be coral/fish safe?

I wonder too if my sand bed may have something to do with it? I have a larger grain (gravel size) sand bed that was taken from the ocean floor where the LR came from. It looks like crushed coral but I think it is called Bahamian sand or something like that.

 

[Blossom112]

Water changes ,water changes, and more waterchanges !
Do you have LR ?
i have 90gl with around 120 to 150 maybe more LR ,sump is loaded with LR too.
we have 25 to 30 various corals ,2 clowns and 2 gobys + our cleaning crew .
always hav a 0ppm nitrates.
maybe cure some more LR and water changes everyday , should see a change in a few days .
good luck

 

[TropicalNorth]

I agree with alpha, there's a fair amount of life in your tank and its a pretty new tank. Most new marine tanks go through difficult stages, usually in the first 3 to 6 months, especially if there is a lot of life in the tank from the start. In my experience it takes around a year for a tank to be fully settled and stable. The green algae on the glass is normal.

Just my opinion.
I would stop, or decrease further, dosing marine snow. Lots of those fine particulate feeds can contribute to high nitrates and phosphates because much of it just settles as detritus and breaks down to nitrates. Nitrates can only really come from one main thing, food ie animals eating food. The older the tank the better it is at utilising food added to the tank.

Removing as much detritus as you can, through syphoning off or regularly stirring it up so it goes into the skimmer/filter, will help. Any sponges, filter floss etc should be rinsed regularly because they trap detritus and allow it to break down into nitrates.

 

[fsn77]

If you don't have a functioning deep sand bed or aren't growing macroalgae for the purpose of nutrient export, there's very little (if anything) in your tank consuming nitrates. That means water changes will be the only way to help lower your nitrates.

Are you using RO/DI water for your tank? If not, that's a likely cause for your problem. If you are, you may want to test the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels in your product water to verify your RO/DI unit is functioning properly.

Generally, nitrates should be < 20 ppm (10 ppm or less is better) for corals and inverts. Most fish can tolerate nitrate levels > 20 ppm.

 

[salty420]

i agree that the nitrate levels in your tank aren't so much a concern for fish but for your corals and inverts. to get the trates down you need to do one or more of the following - get a skimmer, get a refugium, get some macroalgae, cut down on feedings, do some big water changes.

 

[Reefscape]

I would agree with the above, water changes are your new best friend here...Not that much else you can do in this scenario...

 

[kcress]

My Nitrates are unmeasurably high. Perhaps 400ppm. So I doubt you have to worry a bunch about your fish. You will be fighting a major algae battle though.

 

[mcsassy]

Try some nitrate remover rocks. You put some in a sack and put it in your filter media where the water flow is...like the sump. Works pretty well actually. I haven't done a water change in the 6 months I have had my tank and I only had a nitrate problem once somewhere along the way for a few days. The best thing is to have a good natural cleaning crew too. Such as a tiger tail cucumber (which eats only poop), crabs, shrimps...hell even my fish eat each other's poop! They are all a bunch of nuts! Ya and I have about a 2-3 inch sand bed as well and a sand sifting sea star too which cleans up stuff...nature has the tools...you just have to find a way to put them together.