Nitrates too high

[chavezychavez]

I've had my tank for a few years and nothing has ever really gone wrong until now. I used to only do water changes about every three months so I think that's where it went wrong. I never used to even test for nitrates. Anyway, the guys at the fish store all tell me different things to do to bring the nitrates back down. What is the fastest, safest way to bring them down? I have been doing about 10 gallons once a week for a few weeks now and this hasn't even made a difference. Any advice would be helpful.

Oh, I have a 55 gallon tank with about six fish and only live rock, no coral. My fish are doing great. The nitrates don't even seem to bother them.

Thanks!!

[beach bum]

Originally posted by chavezychavez
nothing has ever really gone wrong until now. .

Oh, I have a 55 gallon tank with about six fish and only live rock, no coral. My fish are doing great. The nitrates don't even seem to bother them.

Thanks!!

What exactly is going wrong now? What is your nitrate level?

10 gallon water changes probably equal close to 25% of the total water volume, so I would stay with that for the time being. Also you can throw on a protein skimmer, clean out any filter media more frequently, or cultivate some macro-algae.

fwiw, chris

[reefcam]

Definately water changes will bring down the nitrate level. I am going through the same issues as your are on my 50 gallon clown tank. My bio load is very low 4 fish only. The largest being 3-1/2" long.

But don't think of ways to bring down the level too fast. It'll just stress your organisms more. Unless your level is in Code Red area, then I would do 10 gal. changes every other day.

I also have a breeder tank where the nitrate level is moderate. But since the baby bangaii are not affect too much, I'm going to set up a macro algae tank to see how well it'll bring down the nitrate level.

The 50 gallon clown tank is basically going through water changes and filter media changes until the level is less than 10 ppm. It around 20 right now.

Good luck.

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by chavezychavez
...I have a 55 gallon tank with about six fish and only live rock, no coral...

• Which fish do you have, and how large are they?
• Do you keep a sump?
• What is your feeding regimen?
• What type of filtration do you use?
• How did you begin to suspect that you had a problem?
• What brand of test kit and whether they were new or old,
• How high were your nitrates (what values)?
• What are your other water column parameters?
• What is your water source for top off and seawater changes?

[chavezychavez]

I just bought a SeaClone protein skimmer a few weeks ago, and I just started using RO water. When I began my saltwater tank about four years ago, I used to get all my supplies from Petco. The people there don't seem to know much about saltwater so I didn't really learn much from them. Now I found a new store specializing in saltwater, so this is helping out a lot.

So for about four years now, I have just been using tap water, which I know now is really bad now. I'm sure that just added and added to my nitrates.

My nitrates are at least 100 mg/l, which I think is just about as bad as it gets. The fish are fine though, for now at least.

I have a Naso (upgrading soon), foxface, bicolor angel, picasso trigger, and a small damsel. Does this sound like too many fish for a 55 gallon with only live rock?

I recently bought a Tetra Nitrate tester so I don't think it's expired (doesn't have expiration date). I don't have a sump, just a fluval and skilter along with protein skimmer. I used to have a Sea Storm sand filter (old) but the pump quit and I don't have a replacement yet. Could this be one of the problems since it was the biological filter? The fluval also has bio media in there though.

I feed the fish twice a day: seaweed and/or flakes in morning, frozen meaty foods in afternoon for the trigger. Another thing I've recently noticed is that my trigger has gone partially blind!! He can see a little, but not well. Could this be a result of the nitrates?!? He can still find the food. He just sort of follows the other fish around and eventually finds it (I think by smell).

I found out my nitrates were bad because I was wanting to buy another small fish to clean the sand that I had just put in so I got my tested first and found out that way. Could adding regular sand right on top of the crushed coral that I had in there be a problem too? Would it be okay now to take out the sand that's in there and the crushed coral and replace it with live sand?? Would that help out.

All the other water parameters are fine. I have never had any other problems.

Sorry, this is so long. Thanks for the replies.

[Brooke]

Hi-

The Seaclone skimmer might help, but they are overall pretty hard to get dialed in. If you can return it, do. Try a cpr bakpak or a red sea prizm. Both are inexpensive hang-on types.

Your bioload is waaay too high for a 55. You can have a few more fish in a FO than a reef, but you are probably on the brink of disaster there. The naso is definately too big for a 55.

Using RO water is really going to help. Keep doing your water changes. There's probably nothing wrong with upping the amount to 15g/week. Fish can tolerate higher nitrates, but they are definately going to be more susceptible to disease and stress.

I wouldn't add any fish right now, and don't worry about the sandbed. Just keep doing water changes with your RO water, change your filter pads, and reduce feeding a little bit. The diatoms or algae that are on the sandbed will probably subside when you get your water quality issues worked out.

Let us know if you need any more help-
Brooke