Aquapod Help

[prohopper]

Ok here goes. I have a 24 gallon aquapod that has been up for over a year. I bought the tank and kept an undulated trigger in there for a year (i know). Anyways now my problem is my nitrates. After i got rid of the trigger, I let the tank sit for about 3 weeks and now have just 4 small snails and 2 small hermit crabs. My AM and Trites are reading 0 but I can not seem to get my Trates down after many many water changes. Is there anything I should do differently? I have siphoned out my substrate and have cleaned the blue filter elements. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[coraljunky]

Try test with another kit to ensure accurate readings. It may be your test kit.

 

[prohopper]

My test kit showed 0 for all three. I have brought a water sample into 3 local stores and all three stores tested my trates to be high. The exp. date on my kit was in 2006 so im sure that my kit is bad.

 

[sac10918]

I also have a 24 gallon aquapod and am having trouble getting the nitrates down.... My understanding is that you can do a few different things....
1) Water changes (like 8 gallons for the 24 gallon model)
2) Lower feedings
3) Try adding some cheato to the tank....this can be a problem if you don't have a sump...I usually just put it in my display...
Also, have you cleaned out the back compartments of the aquapod...?
Also, I removed the blue filter that came with the aquapod....I believe that I have read that it can harbor nitrates (doesn't create nitrates, just can harbor them).

 

[mimic]

more water changes, clean your filtering media, dont feed as much or as frequent, vacuum sand bed? might have some left over food creating this nitrate build up, invest is some macro algae.

 

[prohopper]

I have been doing about a 7 gallon water change every week now for the past 2 months and have been vacuuming the crushed coral every time i do a water change. Also I have hardly put any food in the tank at all since I got rid of the trigger. I am going to keep up with the water changes and do some major cleaning in the back "sump" area of the aquapod. Is it a good idea to remove the bio balls and the blue sponges and replace them with a filter pad and some small live rock chunks?

 

[coraljunky]

Crushed coral may be the source of the problem

 

[prohopper]

What do you recommend I do?

 

[chellie4u2]

I also have a 24g aquapod, I removed the blue spongs from the back and replaced them with filter floss that I also change about every two weeks or so.. I also removed the bio balls as I had a high nitrate problem.. I don't have any live rock in the back but I did buy two different types of bagged media one is carbon and I don't recall the second.. I also replaced the stock pump with one much bigger 382gph which really helps keep my water filtered..

 

[poop_head]

ya if you have the bioballs and sponge things you may want to clean or take them out. Running carbon or things like Chemipure may help clean the water some.

 

[new2salt1]

I guarantee the bioballs are your problem, no doubt, 100%.
I would take them out. Some people say take them out over the course of a week, but I dont see quickly plummeting nitrates as a bad thing. Especially since your bioload is so small now that you have no fish.
When you remove the balls, siphon out the entire back compartment. The balls are holding a lot of gunk that you dont in your DT.
Replace balls with live rock and chaeto and a small light. A small cluster of battery-powered LED's, or one of those "As Seen on TV" push lights with adhesive on one side. They work well too.
Good luck

 

[gharner]

i think i know the source of your problems. first take the bio balls and ceramic rings as well as blue sponge out of the back filter compartments. you are better off to fill the back filter area with l/r instead. get rid of the crushed coral (this tends to trap detrius and cause high nitrates), and replace it with live sand. then after that, do some more water changes and your trates should start to lower.

 

[gharner]

ok so everything i said was already mentioned.....i didnt bother to read the responses hahahahahaha

 

[prohopper]

Thanks for all your input everyone I am in the process of making a sump for this tank so that I can keep the original hood. I may start a new thread with pictures of my progress.