Filter media and nitrates.
- Thread starter sagxman
- Start date
geoj
Active Member
I did do the rock rinsing. They always say don't siphon the sand but I have no livestock so I would do it if I have to. Anyone else agree with sand siphoning? I'm hoping more water changes and proper buffering will help. I just got brand new test kits. I tested the samples they came with and they seem to read accurately.
Eh, you're right, it is a contradiction. Forget I ever said that. I think the problem is mainly letting things get out of hand in the first place. Now I just need to correct things. I don't know what has all happened to the tank, but what I read makes me think a tank crash has happened that is where waste ammonia and nitrate has killed off all life I.E. stagnation. A fix would be to break the decomp cycle by cleaning out as much waste as you can...
sagxman
Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///t/390913/filter-media-and-nitrates/20#post_3465569
Did nitrate drop after the cleaning and water changes you have done?
Just did a 50% or so water change using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt. I was using the old batch of Instant Ocean.
Took some initial readings. pH seems to be coming up closer to where it should be. I haven't done a proper nitrate test with the Seachem test because that scale is very low and it was reading off the chart. I did stick in a test strip and noticed the nitrates seem to be coming down. This is the first time I've noticed this happen. I think I'm starting to get somewhere. Very slowly, of course.
I think you're right about the tank being in stagnation. My first instinct is to add some life at some point to get things cycling properly. Assuming my ammonia and nitrite are at 0 should I put in a clean up crew? Should I be doing any ghost feedings before that? I'm not really sure what my next step is.
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///t/390913/filter-media-and-nitrates/20#post_3465569
Did nitrate drop after the cleaning and water changes you have done?
Just did a 50% or so water change using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt. I was using the old batch of Instant Ocean.
Took some initial readings. pH seems to be coming up closer to where it should be. I haven't done a proper nitrate test with the Seachem test because that scale is very low and it was reading off the chart. I did stick in a test strip and noticed the nitrates seem to be coming down. This is the first time I've noticed this happen. I think I'm starting to get somewhere. Very slowly, of course.
I think you're right about the tank being in stagnation. My first instinct is to add some life at some point to get things cycling properly. Assuming my ammonia and nitrite are at 0 should I put in a clean up crew? Should I be doing any ghost feedings before that? I'm not really sure what my next step is.
geoj
Active Member
Just did a 50% or so water change using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt. I was using the old batch of Instant Ocean.
Took some initial readings. pH seems to be coming up closer to where it should be. I haven't done a proper nitrate test with the Seachem test because that scale is very low and it was reading off the chart. I did stick in a test strip and noticed the nitrates seem to be coming down. This is the first time I've noticed this happen. I think I'm starting to get somewhere. Very slowly, of course.
I think you're right about the tank being in stagnation. My first instinct is to add some life at some point to get things cycling properly. Assuming my ammonia and nitrite are at 0 should I put in a clean up crew? Should I be doing any ghost feedings before that? I'm not really sure what my next step is.
I would not ghost feed, I feel that you have a lot of waste in the tank and adding to it is the wrong thing to do. I would test nitrate with the best kit you own and see if it keeps to fall or if it goes back up. If it goes up siphon the sand. If it continues to go down then you should keep testing every day till it is below 1 and the tank is cycled. If you are off the chart then use the test strip at lest you will see if it is better or worse.
sagxman
Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///t/390913/filter-media-and-nitrates/20#post_3465623
I would not ghost feed, I feel that you have a lot of waste in the tank and adding to it is the wrong thing to do. I would test nitrate with the best kit you own and see if it keeps to fall or if it goes back up. If it goes up siphon the sand. If it continues to go down then you should keep testing every day till it is below 1 and the tank is cycled.
And I'm assuming continue doing water changes regularly during this testing cycle? I just used the Seachem nitrate test. It's slightly hard to read. I'm guessing my trates are somewhere between 20 and 40 probably on the high end. Maybe higher, but not less. As it goes down I should be able to read the results better.
Do you think my rock and sand could still be "live"? I still see areas of coraline on the rocks even though I haven't been using lighting in quite some time. Should I add a piece of new live rock? Die off might cause a little ammonia spike I guess but the life in the rock might help my biological filtration and seed everything else.
I appreciate your suggestions.
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///t/390913/filter-media-and-nitrates/20#post_3465623
I would not ghost feed, I feel that you have a lot of waste in the tank and adding to it is the wrong thing to do. I would test nitrate with the best kit you own and see if it keeps to fall or if it goes back up. If it goes up siphon the sand. If it continues to go down then you should keep testing every day till it is below 1 and the tank is cycled.
And I'm assuming continue doing water changes regularly during this testing cycle? I just used the Seachem nitrate test. It's slightly hard to read. I'm guessing my trates are somewhere between 20 and 40 probably on the high end. Maybe higher, but not less. As it goes down I should be able to read the results better.
Do you think my rock and sand could still be "live"? I still see areas of coraline on the rocks even though I haven't been using lighting in quite some time. Should I add a piece of new live rock? Die off might cause a little ammonia spike I guess but the life in the rock might help my biological filtration and seed everything else.
I appreciate your suggestions.
geoj
Active Member
And I'm assuming continue doing water changes regularly during this testing cycle? I just used the Seachem nitrate test. It's slightly hard to read. I'm guessing my trates are somewhere between 20 and 40 probably on the high end. Maybe higher, but not less. As it goes down I should be able to read the results better.
Do you think my rock and sand could still be "live"? I still see areas of coraline on the rocks even though I haven't been using lighting in quite some time. Should I add a piece of new live rock? Die off might cause a little ammonia spike I guess but the life in the rock might help my biological filtration and seed everything else.
I appreciate your suggestions.
The bio-filter is still working and the rock is still live. Do you see other little shrimps and worms running around? If no then adding a good piece of live rock may add them and would not be bad at all.
I would test with the seachem kit tomorrow and see if you go up or down if up I would siphon the sand, down you should be good to go no need to do water change if your getting better numbers.
40 nitrate is not that bad you don't want it at 40 but that should fall if the sand and rock are clean.
reefkprz
Active Member
I'm not a bnig fan of siphoning the sand bed as it can remove a lot of beneficial microfauna but in this situation it may be a good idea, excessive mulm build up in the sand can lead to nitrates, especially if you dont have anaerobic activity to denitrify. if you are trying to make your tank recover I think it may help to do a serious sand bed siphoning. (sorry I came in a little late on this part of the conversation some how I missed almost a pages worth of posts.)
I wouldn't be shocked if you actually see no change or a spike in trates after siphoning the sand because you are going to kick a lot of stuff loose when you siphon the sand bed. you may see a temporary reduction followed by a spike or a slow rise back to the levels you had.
but the good thing is you may see some settling after wards of mulm on the surface of the sand which you can then spot siphon out.
I wouldn't be shocked if you actually see no change or a spike in trates after siphoning the sand because you are going to kick a lot of stuff loose when you siphon the sand bed. you may see a temporary reduction followed by a spike or a slow rise back to the levels you had.
but the good thing is you may see some settling after wards of mulm on the surface of the sand which you can then spot siphon out.
reefkprz
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///t/390913/filter-media-and-nitrates/20#post_3465628
The bio-filter is still working and the rock is still live. Do you see other little shrimps and worms running around? If no then adding a good piece of live rock may add them and would not be bad at all. agreed
I would test with the seachem kit tomorrow and see if you go up or down if up I would siphon the sand, down you should be good to go no need to do water change if your getting better numbers. at this point i woudl sipho n the sand anyway and reduce some mulm build up
40 nitrate is not that bad you don't want it at 40 but that should fall if the sand and rock are clean. again agreed
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///t/390913/filter-media-and-nitrates/20#post_3465628
The bio-filter is still working and the rock is still live. Do you see other little shrimps and worms running around? If no then adding a good piece of live rock may add them and would not be bad at all. agreed
I would test with the seachem kit tomorrow and see if you go up or down if up I would siphon the sand, down you should be good to go no need to do water change if your getting better numbers. at this point i woudl sipho n the sand anyway and reduce some mulm build up
40 nitrate is not that bad you don't want it at 40 but that should fall if the sand and rock are clean. again agreed