need help with bad nitrate problem

[ac106]

Heya all,

I have up a 90g tank (non-RR) it started out its life as a high-end brackish tank for monos/scats that I brought to full marine with live rock etc. About 18 ago, I got switched over to marine fish. So in total the tank has been running for close to 3 years.

Anyway, i have had ongoing problems with nitrates. At times I seem to get them under control but then they spike again. Currently this is the eq list

90G with PC lighting
1x AquaC Remora pro (largest one)
1x AquaC Remora (middle one)
2x Hydor Koralia

I have alternately had a hang on fuge and a canister running but took them offline thinking they were the case of the nitrates. I have the fuge running but its empty as I consider my options. The canister has been retired.

I have treat Cheato in the fuge but it never seemed to grow that well. I have some algae but not as much as you would think given the stats.

Stats:

Amm: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate... 100 (!) maybe more. the test isn’t clear when its this high.
Ph 8.2
SG 1.026
phospates are < 1

Livestock: 3 misc damsels, 1 velvet neon damsel, 2 maroon clowns, 1 Green Spotted Puffer (legacy from the brackish tank) 3 anemones

I do not overfeed; I have a very low sandbed and 100lbs of live rock.

I am planning on picking up and overflow box and sump and again trying chaeto and adding some rock.

what could possibly be causing this? I could do a 100% water change I suppose but that will be pointless if I do not know the underlying cause.

 

[Doherty]

How old is your nitrate test kit?
What kind of lighting do you have in your fuge?
What kind of substrate?
What do you feed/ how much / how often

Don't do a 100% WC, way too much stress on the livestock, you would want to do multiple partial water changes.

 

[ReeferMedic]

I'd first make sure the kit isn't way over the exp date. Is there anything(fish, inverts) that have gone "missing" that might be decaying some where you can't see? How does your live stock look? If everything looks good, don't do anything drastic. Is there a friend nearby that you can borrow their kit to compare your numbers to?

I also would not do a 100% water change. You could try a few weekly 50% changes if your kit isn't old. Although important, high nitrates are not nearly as bad as high phosphates. Have you checked your phosphate level?

 

[maxxattk]

If your chaeto isn't growing, you could always run the light cycle on your fuge a little longer. I know that some hobbyists have gone 24/7 for a while.

+1 on the missing fish
+1 on "what kind of substrate"

 

[stingythingy45]

"If everything looks good, don't do anything drastic."

Man,this should be the creed of everybody in the hobby.
I think with some water changes and hooking up a fuge/sump will definitely help.And as others are saying your lighting may not have been sufficient for the chaeto.Also I'm a firm believer in deep sand beds(DSB).So maybe a remote DSB would do the trick.Or you might even have to replace your sand bed.
But first things first,make sure that test kit is correct.

 

[RayD]

I won't even mention how high my nitrates are!

Been that way for two years. :/

+++ on don't do anything drastic. If all your livestock looks good take it nice and slow.

 

[dcforester1]

I know someone whose nitrate were thru the roof, they couldnt get them under control, they tried everything, except one.......a good test kit. Check your test kit, it could be the root of all evil.

 

[ac106]

hey guys.

thanks for all the quick responses.

1) The sand bed is very thin layer of pink fiji.

2) Phospates were <1 when i tested like a week ago

3) No missing livestock. I did have 2 deaths a few months ago but got them out right away

4) I am looking for a overflow/sump right now, if anyone has one for sale

5) I was not going to do the 100% water change at one time. I was suggesting a 100% turn over...

6)I have heard a deep sand bed can help but not sure how to set it up. any links?

7) good call on the test kit. i will bring a sample to skiptons to double check

any more input welcome!

 

[stingythingy45]

"I have heard a deep sand bed can help but not sure how to set it up. any links?"


Here's a link.
You can also use the search feature on this site to look for"remote DSB".

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-06/rs/feature/index.php

 

[cems70]

My nitrates got better as my tank got older, but they never got as high as 100.

 

[stingythingy45]

The highest mine has ever gotten is 20ppm.
I run a dsb in the DT and in the refugium.
I even thought my test kit was bad(API),until I checked water in the QT after having a fish in there a while.

 

[jtma508]

I have a 90gal reef that's just over a year old. My nitrates tend to run at about 25-35ppm. I do 15-20% water changes every 7-10days, have a DSB and a refugium with chaeto on a 24/7 light cycle. I feed live phyto once a week (which I centrifuge so no culture water goes into the tank). My nitrates used to b somewhat higher but over time they've settled where they are. I've used Prodibio and other products in an effort to acheive the magical 0ppm but it ain't happening. Eveything in my tank is thriving and happy. No one is stressed and I've never lost a fish to disease. Given that I guess there's no worries.

 

[jgiannini]

For the longest time, my nitrates were continually hovering around 10....couldn't get them down at all. But once I added a HOB fuge with a deep sand bed, that did the trick and now they are always at 0 when I test.

 

[ReeferMedic]

"2) Phospates were <1 when i tested like a week ago"

Unfortunately, <1 is a very broad number for phosphates. IIRC, 0.05 is acceptable with an upper limit of 0.1 being on the high end. The only real way for us to get a fairly accurate reading is with a photometer. FWIW, the club has water testing at every meeting, which includes phosphate testing via photometer for $5. Bring a water sample to the next meeting if you don't have access to one.

 

[JohnK]

One other thing on the test kit question....

Some nitrate kits test for "high" and "low" ranges. If by chance you confused which instructions to follow, your results could be high by 10X. (double check, it's an easy thing to rule out )