Help on Nitrate

[tang lover]

Hi I've been in the hobbie for a about a year and a couple months. And I've alaways had trouble with my NITRATE. I don't run a protien skimmer. And my nitrate is at 80ppm. I'm thinking about not feeding my fish for about a couple of days. Everything else is good. pH 8.2 NITRITE 0ppm, and AMMONIA 0ppm. Thanks for the help.

 

[lion_crazz]

How often do you do water changes and how often do you feed? How much live rock do you have?
A skimmer would greatly help as well.

 

[tang lover]

I do water changes every 2-3 weeks. I lost count on my LR but I know it's enough.

 

[corally]

Do you use tap water?

 

[lion_crazz]

How often do you feed, how many gallons is your tank, and how many fish do you have?

 

[27mtaylor]

What kind of substrate do you have? If it is CC, vacuum it really good while you are doing your water changes. You might also increase your frequency of water changes. A protien skimmer would definately be a plus since it will remove waste before they have a chance to go through the cycle. Is your tank overpopulated? This and the things mentioned above may help you to bring those Nitrates down. Good luck!

 

[tang lover]

I have an 80 gallon tank, I have 6 fish, I have that premium keys live sand, and I also vaccum my sand bed. And I feed them every day.

 

[coachklm]

dont vacuum your sand bed.... your stirring up those nitrates .... your sand is the biological filter also

 

[hagfish]

Don't vacuum the sand. Just get a skimmer, it will help a ton.
What kind of fish are those 6? Feeding less will always help as long as it's not so little that the fish suffer.

 

[tang lover]

I mean I have 7 fish. I have:

1Blue Tang
1 Yellow Tang
1 Red Sea Sailfin
1 Green Chromis
1 Zebra Bar Goby
1 True Percula
1 Black Percula
And I know what you guys are thinking that my 80 gallon tank is to small these three tangs but they seem to be happier than at the LFS.

 

[hagfish]

Originally Posted by Tang Lover
I mean I have 7 fish. I have:

1Blue Tang
1 Yellow Tang
1 Red Sea Sailfin
1 Green Chromis
1 Zebra Bar Goby
1 True Percula
1 Black Percula
And I know what you guys are thinking that my 80 gallon tank is to small these three tangs but they seem to be happier than at the LFS.
That may be true, but that is part of your nitrate problem. Tangs are big and they are pretty heavy on the bio-load. I would get rid of the blue and sailfin and just keep the yellow.

 

[ophiura]

How often do you do a water change?
How big of a change do you do?
What kind of filtration do you have?

 

[tang lover]

I do 15 gallons. I have a sump and I use a filter sock. I'm am also thinkin :thinking: of a putting some miracle mud and calupra in my sump.

 

[ophiura]

Do you have bioballs in the sump?
How often do you rinse the filter sock?
How often do you do your water change?
IMO, don't spend the money on miracle mud. There are cheaper and, IMO, equally effective means of setting up a refugium system. People like miracle mud for sure...but I would also say that there is only so much that these can do. If there is a deeper root to the nitrate issue in your system, adding a refugium will help but may not cure the problem.

 

[tang lover]

No I don't have any bioballs. And I rinse my filter sock every 2-3 when I do a water change.

 

[ophiura]

2-3? Days, weeks?
I am assuming weeks...if this is the case, that filter sock needs to be rinsed more frequently. The job is for that sock to catch excess food and waste...if not rinsed very frequently, that stuff just rots there.

 

[tang lover]

I meant to put 2-3 WEEKS

. How much more frequently do you think I should rinse out my filter sock.

 

[ophiura]

I would aim for 2-3 times a week. On systems I used filter socks on, this is what I would do. Wouldn't even hurt to have a second one so that even if you can't clean it right away, it still gets changed. I used to take those things and put them on the ground and take a garden hose at high pressure to clean them out! Its amazing the gunk that gets trapped.

 

[ppm411]

What kind of Nitrat test kit do you use? It seems like you take real good care of your tank. Maybe have your LFS test the water just in case. I think you would see the effect of 80ppm on your fish.

 

[tang lover]

I wash mine in the washer just with water. And I have an extra filter sock so I will try to wash it 2-3 times a week .
Thanks alot OPHIURA and everyone else