I need help!!!!

[Reef lover24]

Hey MR,


I am having a problem with my nitrates in my main DT... I have tried pretty much everything to lower them and they just keep going higher. Just did another reading they are at about 40ppm. I have noticed my corals are not looking as great as they originally were. RBTA, Mushrooms, and Favia are doing just fine. Zoas/acans not so much. What can I possibly do? I use RODI water (tropical marrin salt), and am also running a skimmer. I do daily water changes as advised, cheato does not seem to be growing. What do I do at this point? I have noticed cleaner shrimp have not been able to survive but my snails, hermits, and starfish have been fine. This is really starting to fluster me and I don't know what to do at this point..
Help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Arnaldo24]

I had the same problem a few months back in my 200gl system and i started doing 40gl eater change on wednesday and another 40gl on saturday.
Took me a few weeks but now the r 0
U said u doing daily water changes but what is ur system?? How many gallons?? And how many gallons water change are u doing daily?

 

[Reef lover24]

It's a 57g tank with a 20g sump. I vary with water changes. I do a 14g water change, then a 7g water change and then a 14g water change again and vice Versa. It's a small system.. Just I don't get why the nitrates are crazy like that.

 

[Djbetterly]

Have you cleaned out sump and any other areas that could trap food or detritus?

I would also make notes on here about your feeding regimen and any broadcast feeding you might do.

 

[Reef lover24]

I clean out the filter socks and filter sponge daily.. Have not actually cleaned the sump though due to the refuge. I feed once a day, every daily varies between flakes, pellets, freeze-dried shrimp and etc. I only feed as much as the fish can eat.

 

[Djbetterly]

I don't give a ton of advice on the forum, mostly because I'm still learning as well. But one of the best pieces of advice I received when I had nitrate problems was to clean out my sump.

I also dose special blend which I do believe helps. Its smells like sasquatch feet but its amazing stuff.

 

[Reef lover24]

Appreciate the info man. Just how do you go about cleaning the sump?

 

[Djbetterly]

Not sure about your setup, so it all depends. I built my fuge as an insert into my sump so I can clean everything and not effect the fuge. But what I ended up doing, in both my fuge and my sump was temporarily pulled the rocks out, pulled the skimmer out and siphoned out any detritus in there. I usually do this during a water change so I have a bucket full of water to put the pieces of live rock in. Then clean the pumps and the skimmer, put it all back together and you're good to go!

I don't have a filter sponge, so I'm not sure what that's all about. I learned fast to keep anything that can hold nitrates that isn't necessary out of the sump. I actually question filter socks to be honest, but they do catch a lot of stuff. I just know that I was out of town for a week, and to be safe I removed the filter sock to prevent any issues. When I came back my nitrates were lower than when I left. I do feed light though.

 

[Reef lover24]

I have the three chamber pro aqueon sump. I do notice some build up underneath the filter socks actually not sure what that is. But I can always take them out and siphon it up. Everyone has different views on them but the water goes through the socks first and they catch a ton of ****. I clean them daily with hot water and I replace them every 30 days so not really worried about them. But I guess I'll clean out the sump next water change I do. Thanks man

 

[Reef lover24]

Between the chambers there is a sponge but I clean that as well and replace it when I replace the filter socks

 

[canitolindo]

+1 on having sump detritus cleaned out plus occasionally turkey basting rocks helps while doing a water changes

 

[Djbetterly]

One last thing, and correct me if I'm wrong. I noticed you said this

I clean them daily with hot water and I replace them every 30 days so

This seems good, but what I don't know is if the socks retain nitrates even though they have been rinsed. I replace mine with a fresh sock every three-four days. I have a stack of about 12 filter socks that rotate. To clean mine I soak them in a 1:8 bleach to water over night, rinse, then soak again in microbe-lift Xtreme again over night - rinse then dry. Thats my routine.

Food for thought!

 

[Reef lover24]

I honestly don't know that's a good point now that you brought that up. I thought cleaning them daily like that would be ok... I have been thinking about eliminating the socks completely but they do a good job of catching some junk. I am new to this so I am always open to options. The nitrates do not seem to be affecting anything at this point but its always on my mind that they are high so finding a way to control them would be ideal. Thanks for the info.

 

[homegrowncichlid]

I got a denitrifier from aquaripure, works very well and the small size would be good for you. or you can start carbon dosing, some people swear by it, but it didn't work for me because it was skimmer dependent, and mine is not reliable.

 

[edd]

what test kit are you using? try another kit, maybe you have a bad kit.

 

[Bikeboss11]

what test kit are you using? try another kit, maybe you have a bad kit.

I was jus about to say d same thing.... How long have u been doing daily water changes?

 

[Moneymaks24]

Lose all the sponges. Cleaning them doesn't help unless you change them out almost daily. Lose the filter sock ( only use it before doing a WC to catch the detritus that you should be blowing off rocks ) and don't forget to vacuum the sand bed small portions every WC. Keep it simple, you should be fine.

 

[Reef lover24]

Thanks for the info guys. I have been doing daily water changes since the tank has been running for about 3 months now. And I am using the API kit which most likely is inaccurate to begin with. Need to invest in a better kit. I am thinking about carbon dosing, more specifically the vodka dose I hear it works.

 

[Djbetterly]

Get a good Elos kit! I was close to carbon dosing as well, but after some advice from a chemist I met who's also in reefing he suggested I give the tank more time. After cleaning and dosing special blend my nitrates are less than 1.

 

[Reef lover24]

Ive been more then patient lol. I am going to clean the sump when I do a water change this week and I probably will carbon dose anyway just to be safe.