Nitrate Problem

[Victorio]

i cant seem to lover my nitrates and was wondering if the problem could be my sump. I have a built in sort of filter which includes bio balls, carbon and filter wool.

The water from the tank flows through this and into the sump where the protein skimmer is and back into the tank. I was wondering if the filter wool could be a possible nitrate problem? Thanks in advance for the help.

Specs: Tank 100g
Protein skimmer
Nitrate tests come at around 15

 

[fsn77]

Yes, filter wool / floss and bio-balls can both be potential problems related to nitrates. Frequent cleaning or changing of the floss to remove the detritus it has collected can help prevent it from being a problem. As for bio-balls, some choose to remove them slowly over time, others rinse a portion of them every so often to remove any excess build-up on them.

 

[newrossman]

Dont shoot down

Vodka 1 ml early morning for a week and test, or half teaspoon of sugar (normal)

Had a major issue with nitrate and water change did'nt fix it, above got me out of hole until i worked out it was my Live Rock.

Over a week went from 50 to 0 (not sure on your tester).

But gave me time to work out what was up with my system, in the end i test my liverock and some were producing massive amounts of NO3.

Removed them and life went back to normal.

Ohh tested LV by leaving over night in small tank tested water before and after, went from 10 to 50 over night with one big lump, not sure what was up with it but in the end had to cook it and that seemed to resolve issue.