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04-28-2002, 07:47 PM
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#1
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Plankton
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: El Paso
Posts: 18
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Nitrates
 Can somebody please help!!!!! I can't lower my nitrates, I have replaced all the filter media, done 2 water changes 20%, vacuumed out the substrate, I thought that having a larger tank was going to help against this type of thing? I have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and my ph is 8.3. This is so frustrating!!!
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04-28-2002, 08:05 PM
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#2
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: University Place, Washington
Posts: 207
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Re: Nitrates
Quote:
Originally posted by carlos chavez
Can somebody please help!!!!! I can't lower my nitrates, I have replaced all the filter media, done 2 water changes 20%, vacuumed out the substrate, I thought that having a larger tank was going to help against this type of thing? I have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and my ph is 8.3. This is so frustrating!!!
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What is your nitrate level?
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04-28-2002, 08:15 PM
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#3
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Administrator
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 8,450
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Also need more information on your system. LR, LS? what kind of filtration. etc....
__________________
-Greg 
Want to see thousands of reef tank and diving pictures? Visit my website at www.SaltyZoo.com
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04-28-2002, 11:11 PM
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#4
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Plankton
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: El Paso
Posts: 18
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my spec's are posted but roughly this is what i have, 125 gal, 200 lbs of liverock, 4" dsb, my nitrates are coming in a between 70-80 ppm.
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04-28-2002, 11:27 PM
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#5
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Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Southern Oregon, Way West of Dimples ;)
Posts: 22,087
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Carlos, all I can find is specs on 29g tank
__________________
When considering courage in battle, one should remember that there are 2 sides to every conflict.
The heroism of the losing side rarely gets remembered
but we were all husbands and fathers, sons and bros
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04-29-2002, 09:08 AM
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#6
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Plankton
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Georgia
Posts: 39
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Do you have a protein skimmer? |
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04-29-2002, 09:14 AM
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#7
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Administrator
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 8,450
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Quote:
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vacuumed out the substrate
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How long have you had the 4" sandbed?
You should not vacuum a DSB as without near anaerobic areas it will not be able to deal with the nitrates. If you disturb a DSB it can't process nitrates, and therefore is nothing but a nutrient sink.
__________________
-Greg
Want to see thousands of reef tank and diving pictures? Visit my website at www.SaltyZoo.com
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04-29-2002, 12:20 PM
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#8
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Klingon
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Forest Grove, OR
Posts: 1,808
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Hi,
I would suspect something died and is rotting. Thats pretty high nitrates. If you can't find anything, you could increase your circulation that should help with nitrate removal. If your using filter material, either replace it or clean it well, everyday. If you have a refugium, you might want to leave the lights on 24x7. As others have said water changes will also help.
__________________
40g 3' BB tank * 2 Seio 820's * 250w 14kk light * 190w actinic/10kk * DIY recirc skimmer.
~If I could only remember half of what I've learned~
~Jimbo~
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04-29-2002, 10:21 PM
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#9
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Plankton
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Georgia
Posts: 39
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Thats interesting, I didn't know more circulation would help get rid of nitrates. But that makes sense though. So I just added another powerhead to my tank. My nitrates have been at 100 ppm lately. I've done a 20% water change every week for a month now to no avail. And I only have 3 fish I have no clue what to do either. |
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04-29-2002, 10:41 PM
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#10
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squid
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: West Des Moines, IA
Posts: 6
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People having problems with Nitrates.....by any chance are you using tap water or well water in your tanks? A lot of fertilizer is going into the ground nowadays and is showing up in the water. You might want to test the water you are putting into your tank. Also, if using grocery store 'drinking water', do a test on that.....maybe they need to change the filters on it or something. Just a thought.
Ben
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04-29-2002, 10:43 PM
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#11
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Cleveland, OH
Posts: 110
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Nitrates can be removed by a couple of different common ways in a tank.
1) Deep Sand Bed
2) Farming Caulerpa
3) Water changes
A dsb creates an anaerobic zone for anaerobic bacteria to form and breakdown the nitrate into free nitrogen. You can read up on dsb in other threads.
A refugium with caulerpa will remove nitrates by the caulerpa consuming the nitrates and then you harvest the caulerpa. when you harvest the caulerpa you also export the nitrate.
Water changes export nitrate and dilute the rest of the nitrate in the system, therefore reducing the amount of nitrate. Be sure to use RO/DI water.
Hope this Helps - It is just a brief overview of what i have learned.
-James |
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04-29-2002, 11:45 PM
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#12
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Plankton
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: El Paso
Posts: 18
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I will try a series of water changes, I am currently using a red sea protein skimmer. I tested again today, and I am showing 60 ppm. I don't have any fish in there so i am not feeding anything. I would like to start adding a few fish, however, not until I get this nitrate thing under control. Is there anything I can add, ie bacteria to help lower it?
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04-30-2002, 01:16 AM
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#13
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Stress Monger
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 3,186
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Carlos, how long has the tank been set up? Sounds like you just set it up and it's running it's nitrite/nitrate cycle. What test are you using to test the nitrates with? I've had "Nitrate problems" or at least I thought I did. I just got my new test kits from Hach and my Nitrates tested at 10ppm versus the usual 40 - 80 that the cheapo tests have been reading.
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04-30-2002, 10:28 AM
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#14
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Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Southern Oregon, Way West of Dimples ;)
Posts: 22,087
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Even on a newly cycled tank that was really messy 100 nitrate is awfully high
Skim it well and do water changes, test day old salt mix to see if you have trates in source water
If the test kit reading that aint a Hach or Salifert I would be real skeptical
__________________
When considering courage in battle, one should remember that there are 2 sides to every conflict.
The heroism of the losing side rarely gets remembered
but we were all husbands and fathers, sons and bros
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