Drew Palagyi
Member
I just took my weekly readings in my tank and everything is in check except nitrates. They are getting pretty high. 80ppm So how do I get them down?
How do I get the nitrates down?
- Thread starter Drew Palagyi
- Start date
seecrabrun
Active Member
Quick answer- water change. How often do you do them?
What size is your tank and has it finished cycling? There are ways to help keep nitrates down over time, but fastest is a water change and then addressing why they are rising.
What size is your tank and has it finished cycling? There are ways to help keep nitrates down over time, but fastest is a water change and then addressing why they are rising.
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Drew Palagyi
Member
I have a 60 gallon tank and it cycled over two months ago. I do water changes every other week. I am going to do one in the morning. Flower I have been there and don't really know what a good macroalgae to have. I know my wife loves a clean looking tank and anything that looks like a snake is out of the question. It has taken her a month to get used to the feather duster. Thanks for your help.
seecrabrun
Active Member
How much water at a time do you change? I personally prefer a 10% per week.
Drew Palagyi
Member
That is what I change. I just had all my fish in my QT for ich and the water change I did for that was 25%. I ran the test today to see how my parameters were before the fish come home. That's when I noticed the change in nitrates. It could be because the fish were not in to eat all the food and the cleanup crew didn't eat all that I put in. I am using the API test kit and from what I hear it tests high for nitrates.
geridoc
Well-Known Member
The API test kit must be used with their recommended ranges, not those usually posted. The difference is between measuring just the nitrogen in nitrates (most kits), and the total nitrate (which is a larger molecule than just nitrogen, so produces different numerical values, as in the API kit). Eliminating nitrates can be done in 4 different ways. As already suggested, macroalgae, either in a sump or in an algae scrubber, works well. Nitrate is removed in the absence of oxygen, so deep sand beds or nitrate reactors where flow is very slow and oxygen levels are low will also eventually work. There are nitrate-absorbing resins that can be used to lower the levels. And, finally, water changes always work eventually. Of these, I personally favor using macroalgae, but in a scrubber. Macroalgae will remove nitrates, phosphates, heavy metals and almost everything else you don't want in your water (except for the soap your 3 year old son has dumped into the tank), and self regulates. As the nutrient levels rise the algae grows faster to remove it; as nutrient levels fall, the algae grows more slowly. All you have to do is harvest the algae periodically and you water should be fine.
steelgluer
Member
What kind of water you using?
what kind of filtration you have?
How often do you feed?
Is everything being eaten or is it going to the bottom?
What type of food are you feeding?
If its brine shrimp STOP. Its loaded with nitrates. Put a little in some saltwater then check that water you will be amazed.
what kind of filtration you have?
How often do you feed?
Is everything being eaten or is it going to the bottom?
What type of food are you feeding?
If its brine shrimp STOP. Its loaded with nitrates. Put a little in some saltwater then check that water you will be amazed.
RobP
Member
The only problem I have had with macroalgae is when your nitrates and phosphates are under control the macroalgae can die off because of lack of nutrition. My thought is you over feed and your clean up crew didn't get it all which caused all your parameters to spike and you only noticed it towards the end of the cycle.
beaslbob
Well-Known Member
FWIW a 10% water change every 8 days in a tank that is increasing nitrates (or anything else) at 1ppm/day will eventually read 80ppm nitrates just before the water changes. What happens is the nitrates go down to 72 then 8 days later have returned to 80.
To maintain nitrates (or anything else) at 0 (or constant values) you need to insure the tank is not changing.
With nitrates that means more nitrate consumer like macro algae. You can hide if from you wife with a simple partition.
Finally, with algae in the system, an occasional nitrate bumps are actually a good thing. What could be happening is the algae is consuming a sudden ammonia spike for nitrogen and less nitrates. Hence the nitrate bump. then when things settle down, the nitrates drop down. Meanwhile there was no dangerous ammonia spike.
my .02
To maintain nitrates (or anything else) at 0 (or constant values) you need to insure the tank is not changing.
With nitrates that means more nitrate consumer like macro algae. You can hide if from you wife with a simple partition.
Finally, with algae in the system, an occasional nitrate bumps are actually a good thing. What could be happening is the algae is consuming a sudden ammonia spike for nitrogen and less nitrates. Hence the nitrate bump. then when things settle down, the nitrates drop down. Meanwhile there was no dangerous ammonia spike.
my .02
flower
Well-Known Member
Dying off macros is an easy fix, do a test and see if there is enough iron, and supplement that...or LOL...add a little tap water, it has enough junk in it to feed macros that you will ever need..
beaslbob
Well-Known Member
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
you mean with macros you can use tap water.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
And a big LOL
flower
Well-Known Member
My Dear friend,
Did you not see my LOL? Re-read the sentence... I said, and I quote: "or LOL...add a little tap water, it has enough junk in it to feed macros that you will ever need"..
So no, I do NOT recommend, nor agree to fill ones tank with tap water, ever. Even with macros you should still not use tap water, a little as macro food, MAYBE....if it starts dying off, or add some iron AFTER you test first to see if it's needed.... There is stuff in tap water that macros will not feed on, such as fluoride and chlorine for example.
beaslbob
Well-Known Member
Just making a beaslbob point. Didn't mean to get my good friend Flower all upset.
I use iron also.
And had a mixed reef tank for 9 years using tap water.
But then I'm just a wierdo anyway. Didn't even do water changes.
so go figure.
But didn't mean to get Flower upset.
Now Bang Buy I used to upset all the time. We just laugh it off. LOL
flower
Well-Known Member
LOL...
If it weren't for you, I would never have used macros. It was you who taught me about iron. So you are a dear, dear friend, I am not at all upset with you. I just didn't want anyone who was reading our posts to think I advocate using tap water. An established system can handle quite a bit of neglect, LOL...you and I are proof of that. You don't do water changes, and I am so crippled up that I most times I can't do a proper upkeep. But if any of those people reading our posts want a drop dead beautiful reef such as what Siptang has... they can't use tap water, and not do water changes.
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snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
I personally like algae scrubbers to control nitrate/phosphate.
More than likely , as Geridoc pointed out, your API test kit is reading total nitrogen instead of just Nitrate.
You'll get a feel for it as time progresses.
More than likely , as Geridoc pointed out, your API test kit is reading total nitrogen instead of just Nitrate.
You'll get a feel for it as time progresses.
Drew Palagyi
Member
Thank you all.....you're the best!