9 week cycling...nitrates still high

[glenn10]

Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 35 same as before the water change
Salinity 1.0237
Alkalinity 7.7
Phosphate 0
Ph 8.11
Calcium 480
I am in my ninth week of cycling. Ammonia and Nitrites have been zero for a week but Nitrates have been in the 35 range for 4 weeks. Yesterday, I did a 20-25% water change.
Could it be the bio balls in the sump. As you can see below, I do have live rock and live sand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[goldrush]

What did you add to tank to start cycle? How high did your ammonia get?

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

Your tank is cycled - your nitrates are not part of the cycle process. High nitrates are a sign of an overachieving biofilter with no anerobic bacteria.
a FOWLR tank can have nitrates as high as 80ppm with no problem - the inverts such as feather dusters cannot survive in this environment but fish can.
So if your tank is a FOWLR your ready for fish. Reef tanks however do not do well with nitrates.
You need to neutralize the nitrates. the only two ways I have researched that work are:
1. Deep Sand Bed
2. Refugium filtration system.
All others are band aid fixes

 

[glenn10]

To answer the questions above, the ammonia spiked at 1.0 in mid January. My sand bed is approx. 2" deep. Should I remove the bio balls and all sand where they were? Thank you for your help.
Right now, there is lots of orange and purple corraline algae, also brown algae that will grow on the glass if I don't clean it every 4-5 days. The live rock has an orange sponge that is slowly dieing since I brought it home with the rock(it was attached).
There are a few feather dusters growing on the LR and I do want it to be a reef system, not only a FOWLR.

 

[neah84]

glen, just curious what size wetdry u got and if u have pics of where u put it, i have a 46 bow and i want to get a wet/dry but dont know how big to get it. im very new to swf so this is all new to me and i dont know too much on what im doing

 

[glenn10]

The wet dry measures 20" x8" X16" and it is too small to put the heater into. The main concern that I had was that if electricity was turned off and the skimmer kept working, that the sump did not overflow and it has not. In my case, I put the sump directly under the tank in the oak stand.

 

[waterwolf]

I have a similar problem. DSB 5"-6" but I am also using a filtration media that reduced nitrites and nitrates(so it says). Everything tests 0, but the nitrates test 20. Is my chemical filtration slowing down the effects of the DSB? Should I stop using chemical filtration? Approx. how long after adding a DSB and after your tank cycles does it start reducing nitrates?
I am buying a different test kit to confirm this, since there is no algae problems and my polyps and mushrooms seem to be doing great.

 

[richard rendos]

Your tank is cycled - your nitrates are not part of the cycle process
Nitrates are very much a part of the nitrogen cycle...they are the second to last stage. (last stage being free nitrogen gas) If you do a water change and that new water has no nitrates in it, your nitrates should fall in proportion to the amount of water changed. If you have a 100 gallon tank and nitrates of 40ppm, and you change 10 gallons, you should drop nitrates by 4ppm giving you 36ppm left in the tank. If this did not happen, I would try a new test kit or test the water you use for water changes. It is possible for the new water to have nitrates in it too. Refugiums are good nitrate reducers, but in my opinion water changes are still necessary for fish and invert health. They not only reduce nitrates, but also add trace elements necessary for inhabitants well being.

 

[fshhub]

the nitrates are as mentioned part of they cyle process, but not a critical part in most systems, 35 for most inhabitants is not a problem at all. It could be form a number of things
the bioballs could be part
also do you have a dsb?
or a skimmer, they both could help out
but, IMO do another water change and go ahead and get one heartier fish.

 

[cboyfan2020]

most people refer to bioballs as a "nitrate factory". They usually end up taking them out. Take out about 1/4 of them every week and see if that helps.

 

[wamp]

most people refer to bioballs as a "nitrate factory". They usually end up taking them out. Take out about 1/4 of them every week and see if that helps.
People do say that but it is not true... No where near the truth. The fact the nitrates are present is due to: A. Adding them via water changes, Food or supplements B. Not enough anaerobic bacteria to break them down into free nitrogen.
Test your water source, feed less and find some way to get more anaerobic activity in the tank.
DSB, DeNitrator, Refugium.....etc....
35ppm will have no immediate affect on fish. It will over time though.