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Chiefmcfuz

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Nitrates are caused most commonly by the decomposing of organics in the tank.
 
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THEDLO

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hmm this is killing me now lol i have good flow and all no dead spots really. so u figure id get taken care of in the sump.
 

KathyC

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nope....guess i should?

Yup, a turkey baster is your best friend for removing them from the sump :)
Best to turn off the flow to the sump when you are doing this-- DON'T forget to turn it back on though!!

Try it today, then do a regular water change, test again tomorrow and see what your numbers look like ;)
 
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THEDLO

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lol can some one come over and look at my setup and make new recommendations...pah-lezzz
 

KathyC

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lol can some one come over and look at my setup and make new recommendations...pah-lezzz

nobody wants to come to your house to vacuum the crud out of your sump! That's the owners job! ;)


Seriously, try it, it makes a huge difference.

Did you tell us what you are using to test your phosphates yet?
 
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THEDLO

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nobody wants to come to your house to vacuum the crud out of your sump! That's the owners job! ;)


Seriously, try it, it makes a huge difference.

Did you tell us what you are using to test your phosphates yet?

salifert. wes said its worthless. lol and i did mean for someone to vacuum my sump i meant for some one to evaluate what i have.
 

ECFENCING

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What skimmer are you running? I have 2 tangs in a 100gallon tank, 3 anthias, 4 clowns, and 3 chromis and my nitrates are approximately 5ppm on a salifert test kit. I also run an oversized skimmer rated for 3 x my water volume

Could you elaborate on what your nitrate levels are and what you deem high?
 
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THEDLO

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aqua medic t1000, supposedly rated for 280g
 
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beerfish

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aqua medic t1000, supposedly rated for 280g

There's your problem.

Any skimmer that advertises "State of the art skimmer for marine aquariums 25 to 250 gal" is most likely good for about a 20g tank.

With that bioload, on that sized tank, I'd go with a MUCH better skimmer. I run an ASM G3 on my 75g (rated for 250g), which is a much better skimmer than yours, and I still want to go bigger! Can't fit any bigger below my tank...:irked:
 
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THEDLO

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There's your problem.

Any skimmer that advertises "State of the art skimmer for marine aquariums 25 to 250 gal" is most likely good for about a 20g tank.

With that bioload, on that sized tank, I'd go with a MUCH better skimmer. I run an ASM G3 on my 75g (rated for 250g), which is a much better skimmer than yours, and I still want to go bigger! Can't fit any bigger below my tank...:irked:


hmm guess im going into back into the skimmer market :( the skimate looks amazing too thick and black and very smelly.
 
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THEDLO

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ok so i took my water to be tested at the LFS and it wasn't nearly as high as my test came out. less then 10 but greater then 5ppm....which isnt great but not as bad as the salifert was reading.......100 ppm! i kinda knew this was impossible cause everything would be dead if this was so. tomorrow im going to another lfs and having it tested again to see how they compare with the tonights results. i guess test kits come in bad batches, ya think salifert will replace the chemicals?
 

KathyC

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Actually that is not true, everything would not be dead with a reading of 100ppm as it was probably a gradual event in the tank to get to that point. Some creatures like dirty water :)

Also means you do not want to suddenly drop it back to 5 or 0..do water changes every couple of days and get it back to where it belongs gradually, replace the skimmer and do clean the crud out of the sump :)
 
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THEDLO

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yea? i have some sensitive things that are still alive tho like my nem, several sps, acan.
 

KathyC

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yea? i have some sensitive things that are still alive tho like my nem, several sps, acan.
yeah, really lol

It's not that you would want to start any corals or fish off in water with nitrates that high (100), and yes long term they would probably die (the corals, not the fish), and you DO want to correct this, but making major sudden moves in water parameters is worse for the tank (excluding ammonia or nitrates, as those should be addressed immediately).
A rollercoaster ride with your parameters is a poor idea.

Do it slowly & keep it where it belongs ;)
 

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