Nitrates :(

[MatthewScars]

my nitrates are hovering around 60. I blame not really ever checking for them.

Anyway, ive followed all the normal recommended steps and nothing is lowering them. I have doing:

-Wet Skimming
-15-20g a day water changes (Turkey blast the tank 20 minutes before water change to stir crap up)
-Tested RODI no3 (zero)
-Rinsed out chaeto, and foam on skimmer output
-Feed once every other day (mysis, brine) nori for tangs one a day
-I have a little less than a football sized chaeto AND red macro algae from dom.

Any ideas? Ive lost one paly colony and my lazybonez palys are starting to die. everything else in the system is good. I have red, green, neon green, algae blooms starting everywhere.

 

[Dre]

What nitrate test kit are you using make larger water change.30%-40%A week may put a dent in it than 15% a day.What size is your tank?

 

[MatthewScars]

Make larger water changes.

i cant. i drain the water from my sump to do water changes. I never drain from the main tank. got too much stuff up high.

 

[prattreef]

While 60 ppm is too high, I'm not sure it is the sole culprit here. Have you tested PO4 with a reliable test kit? It is the combination of Phosphate and Nitrate that leads to the most problems. How big is this tank? Regardless, you can easily do a 50% or even larger WC to get the levels down.

 

[MatthewScars]

While 60 ppm is too high, I'm not sure it is the sole culprit here. Have you tested PO4 with a reliable test kit? It is the combination of Phosphate and Nitrate that leads to the most problems. How big is this tank? Regardless, you can easily do a 50% or even larger WC to get the levels down.

100g total volume
all salifert kits
phos: 0
alk 9
cal 440
mag 1250
ph 8.4-8.1

 

[prattreef]

i cant. i drain the water from my sump to do water changes. I never drain from the main tank. got too much stuff up high.

your corals can be out of water long enough for you to perform a WC. If you feel like they need it, just splash water on them.

 

[prattreef]

Salifert PO4 is pretty useless, so lets assume there is some PO4 too. Seriously, I'd do a 40-50g. WC. have all your water made and ready to go. Siphon it out, and pump it back in. should take no more than 5-10 mins. When you pump it back in, splash the exposed animals. Your reef will thank you

 

[MatthewScars]

Will this help to fix the underlining issue or just a temp fix?

 

[prattreef]

It is just a temp fix of course, but then you can begin to adjust your husbandry accordingly and figure out what is going on.

 

[Dre]

+1

it is just a temp fix of course, but then you can begin to adjust your husbandry accordingly and figure out what is going on.

Test for nitrite and ammonia as well.

 

[SnakeEyes27]

You can always bag your corals during the water change.

I'm just starting out but two independent LFS said i should look into vodka dosing to keep nitrates and phosphates in check. That might be an acceptable long term solution but id defer to others.

 

[MatthewScars]

I just start buffered Vit C dosing. does about the same thing.

i feed one cube of frozen food a day for:

sixline
lyreetail anthia
1x female clown (male jumped)
royal gamma
yellow tang
hippo tang
cardnial

im pretty sure they eat all the food. I thraw it in a cup then dump it in a little at a time so they have a chance to get it all.

so im definately not overfeeding

 

[Avi]

I tried everything and I mean everything to get the nitrates in my 120-gallon reef down but all I could ever get done was to temporarily lower it from 50 down to about 25. I neve had any apparaent consequences but it irke the heck out of me. I bought a sulfur dentrifier to address the nitrates and they've been at zero ever since.

 

[1UCKY]

Try throwing in a couple of Mangroves in your sump; I always have 0 Nitrates in my FOWLR ever since I threw them in.....

 

[MatthewScars]

I found something tonight, i think i found the cause:

I had a TLF carbon reactor set up for about 3 week running. I turned it off a month ago but did NOT remove it or the in/out take of it from the sump.

Im thinking that water was slowly syphoning through the reactor over the past month (or maybe longer i think) and leaking captured nitrates back into the tank.

I though of this after i took the reactor out and smelled the powerhead. oh man, it was bad.

thoughts?

 

[Aquatic Life Direct]

I just start buffered Vit C dosing. does about the same thing.

i feed one cube of frozen food a day for:

sixline
lyreetail anthia
1x female clown (male jumped)
royal gamma
yellow tang
hippo tang
cardnial

im pretty sure they eat all the food. I thraw it in a cup then dump it in a little at a time so they have a chance to get it all.

so im definately not overfeeding

Are you rinsing the food? I hope your not thawing the food and throwing the juice in your tank. Also a large water change around 40-50% will probably cut the nitrates in half if not more.... do the water changes weekly and probably in 2-3 weeks they should be gone...

 

[NYreefNoob]

vit c isnt the same as vodka, and yes stagnet water sitting in a reactor could have been the problem, how big of a tank ? how many fish ? what type of fish ? what type of skimmer ?

 

[MatthewScars]

i think i posted this already:

100g total volume.

4-5in hippo
4in yellow tang
six line
royal gamma
1x female clown (male jumped)
cardnal

I feed one block of Krill a day (ran out of mysis, brine)

skimmer is a octo nw150. i have it on a wetter skimming setting now. I just ordered a seachem AND API no3 kit. so ill have 3 no3 kits to test. but im feeling good about the carbon discovery.