excessive nitrate levels

[Claude1]

for months my nitrate reading has been 200ppm. for 2 months i did a 10 percent weekly water change. Still 200 ppm. i drained the tank, hosed off all the live rock, washed the sand, did a 10 percent water change. nitrate 200 ppm, nitrite 0 ppm. any ideas what to do next?

 

[Will C1]

its not cycling properly. what kind of equipment is running this tank and what do you have in it? also size of tank and things of that sort.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry, but if it's a tank with the most basic of filtration, then it is cycled properly.

A 20% water change will do very little to change high nitrates. With them being so high, I strongly recommend you test the change water before it goes into the tank. I also recommend that you are sure to be using a good quality test kit, like SeaChem or Salifert.

If you don't use a protein skimmer, please get on. AquaC Remora and CPR BakPak are two popular brands, also do a search here http://www.reefs.org/library and here http://www.wetwebmedia.com

Also, if the problem isn't with the new water either, you clearly have nutrient export problems, ultimately with the nitrates. This is where a refugium and/or a deep sand bed (DSB) can work wonders. These two methodologies culture the anaerobic bacteria that break nitrogenous wastes (specifically your nitrates) down into more basic components.

First, do a couple of 50% water changes, and assuming that the new water doesn't reintroduce nitrates and you're using a good test kit, you should see a small drop in levels, maybe from 200ppm to around 150ppm, if you're lucky even 100ppm (though don't expect that much of a drop).