Help!!!! Nitrate trouble!!!

klbertin

New Member
What kind of substrate do you have and how thick is it, most people tend to put in way to much substrate because it looks nice but this is a harboring ground for decay and is mostlikly the cause of high Nitrates.
I only say this because i to had a very high Nitrate problem until i got rid of my substrate, i now have very little on the bottom of my tank and my Nitrate problem has all but gone away.
 
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3269860

Corals and inverts can stand Nitrate levels as long as they stay under 40...fish into the hundreds, one guy had a nitrate level steady at 800 for years and his fish were just fine with no sign of stress at all.
I have read that Xenia loves nitrates...but now you are talking coral and that takes lots of light. More than fish only lights. I think you are worried over nothing
I hope I AM worried over nothing! I am getting some MH lights in the mail today or tomorrow! Very excited about that!
 
Originally Posted by klbertin
http:///forum/post/3269869
What kind of substrate do you have and how thick is it, most people tend to put in way to much substrate because it looks nice but this is a harboring ground for decay and is mostlikly the cause of high Nitrates.
I only say this because i to had a very high Nitrate problem until i got rid of my substrate, i now have very little on the bottom of my tank and mt Nitrate problem has all but gone away.
I have 1-2" LS as a substrate, and around 60-70lbs LR
 

klbertin

New Member
Originally Posted by FishyScientist
http:///forum/post/3269873
I have 1-2" LS as a substrate, and around 60-70lbs LR
This is not bad although i have less than an inch, it is very important to have good water flow in the tank also to help keep the live rock healthy and to keep the detritus from accumilating on both the LR and LS.
 

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by FishyScientist
http:///forum/post/3269831
How long does it take for the nitrates to go down with macro algae? I put cheato in my in tank fuge about 1.5 weeks ago, and actually, the nitrates went up from 10ppm to 20ppm. So, I did a big water change yesterday, and the nitrates only went down to 10ppm. I am not going to feed as often, and I did clean my protein skimmer and HOB filter, but is there some way to get the algae to consume the nitrates already in the tank?
I have had nitrates drop at the rate of 10's of ppm /day. It all depends upon the system and how the macros are doing.
the good news is that once they start dropping it does happen very fast. And after droping to unmeasureable levels they stay there.
the bad news is that a few weeks later you can get cyano.
my .02
 
Originally Posted by klbertin
http:///forum/post/3269874
This is not bad although i have less than an inch, it is very important to have good water flow in the tank also to help keep the live rock healthy and to keep the detritus from accumilating on both the LR and LS.
I have right now 3 maxijets, 1 400, 1 900, and 1 1200. This isn't enough to keep coral, so I have 2 koralia #2's coming in the mail some time this week.
 

samfishes

New Member
Update!! :) the new skimmer appears to be helping alot and with another water change nitrate have come down to about 20ppm (the tests are a bit ambiguous!!) but mush improved :) :) Fishes look happy anyway! :)
 
Originally Posted by beaslbob
http:///forum/post/3269875
I have had nitrates drop at the rate of 10's of ppm /day. It all depends upon the system and how the macros are doing.
the good news is that once they start dropping it does happen very fast. And after droping to unmeasureable levels they stay there.
the bad news is that a few weeks later you can get cyano.
my .02
When you say...depends on how the macros are doing...is there any way of making them grow faster? I haven't noticed a huge difference in growth in my chaeto. I did add new MH lights several days ago, though. Will this help?
 

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by FishyScientist
http:///forum/post/3272467
When you say...depends on how the macros are doing...is there any way of making them grow faster? I haven't noticed a huge difference in growth in my chaeto. I did add new MH lights several days ago, though. Will this help?
Good waterflow + Nutrients + light = algae growth.
 
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/3272487
Good waterflow + Nutrients + light = algae growth.
Ok, so what type of nutrients are neccessary to get chaeto to grow? I think flow has been an issue for sure. The powerhead that the in tank fuge came with was really weak. I put a maxijet 400 in there as a replacement, but when I get my koralia #2's in, I will put a maxijet 900 on there and see if that helps!
 
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