High Nitrates, could be substrate?

[swigg-it]

So ive noticed my nitrates are through the roof in my 55 gal salt tank. And when i say through the roof i mean the are litereally off the chart. Over 100ppm. needless to say my amonia low, LOL. Anywho, the brown algae is pissing me off now. The nitrates are feeding it like a new born on a teet. I remember reading somewhere that crushed coral can cause high nitrates. Well, i have just plain ole blue gravel in it now. I would like to go to sand but dont really know how to change out the substrate without causinga big problem with the tank. Its no tthe getiing the old gravel out and the new sand in, its the question of if it will shock the living crap out of my fish and coral(no pun intended). So, is this gravel possibly causing this high nitrate level and is it possible to switch it out with sand with out killing all my lil friends?

 

[lion_crazz]

In order to solve the nitrate problem, we need more info about your tank such as what is in the tank, how often do you feed it, how often are you doing water changes, and what kind of filter and skimmer do you have?

 

[swigg-it]

Large Yellow Tang, Large Tomato Clown, COuple lil blue damsels, around a dozen sanils and hermits. Lil bit of coral with some shrooms on it.
55 gal drilled, with bio sump, 96 watt 36 inch Aqualite metal halide(on about 10 hrs every day) and i only feed them maybe every other day at the most and only what they can eat right away.

 

[swigg-it]

oh i i do maybe 20 % water change every 3-4 weeks

 

[lion_crazz]

You didn't mention how often you did water changes and what kind of skimmer you have, but everything sounds good so far.

 

[lion_crazz]

The water chnage frequency could definitely be the problem.

 

[swigg-it]

so how often would be good?

 

[lion_crazz]

In order to get the nitrates down, do one large water change (30-40%) and then continue doing weekly 20% water change until they come down.
Sorry I didn't reply. I was waiting on you to reply with what type of skimmer you have on the tank. Also, is there live rock in the tank?

 

[swigg-it]

No live rock, well just the lil bit that my mushroom polyps are on myabe couple pounds. Man, that seems like a lot of work doing all those water changes. I'm kinda of a lazy guy. Can i just pay you to come take care of it every week, LOL. Thanks for the help, ill get it straightened out with a large change then keep up with the maintenance. Thanks.

 

[lion_crazz]

No, once you have the nitrates down, it won't be hard work. Once you have them down to a reasonable level (20-40ppm), you can switch back to 10% changes every week to two weeks.
Your hard work now will pay off.
I'm still wondering what type of protein skimmer do you have? Do you have one at all? If not, buying one of these will drastically help you keep the nitrates down, once you manually get them down with water changes.

 

[swigg-it]

Dunno what you mean my tank has seperate compartment in the back left corner the the overflow drains into then goes down into the bio filter(maybe 4-5 gallons) where it is then pumped back up by the sump through the same compartment it overflowed into through a tube and jetted back in the tank. Do i need some sort of other skimmer? Hard to explain, but ther is actually a seperate glassed off section in the corner of the tank that is dry accept the water overflowing into it. Dont exactly what that type of setup is called.

 

[lion_crazz]

Yes, there is something called a protein skimmer which is a device exclusively to saltwater aquariums that helps keep tanks healthy by removing wastes from the water before they turn into nitrates. They are a vital part of saltwater aquariums and is definitely a part of the reason why your nitrates are so high (besides for the frequency of water changes).

 

[swigg-it]

well whats that big ole thing under my tank with all that biological media like bio balls and shredded plastic strings for?

 

[lion_crazz]

That is your filter and serves three very important purposes. It holds the biological life of the tank, it moves the water around in the tank, and it sucks up and removes free floating particles and such.
A protein skimmer takes the organics out of the water that turn into nitrates.

 

[swigg-it]

hmmm, LOL well my fish dont seem to mind, they benn living in their own crap for over a year now then. :notsure:
so any suggestion on a good one for a 55 gallon then.

 

[lion_crazz]

A good skimmer for a 55 would be a Remora or a CPR BakPak.

 

[swigg-it]

cool ty, ill look at getting an under the tank one since everything else is down there.

 

[lion_crazz]

Well, in that case, I gave you the wrong information. Those two are hang on skimmers. If you want an in-sump skimmer, I would shop around and do price checks and ask about them on here. Two very good choices are ETSS Reef Devils and Euro Reefs. These are more of the expensive, better ones. ($230 for a Reef Devil and 250-300 for a Euro Reef). However, there are cheaper ones, like the CPR but just keep in mind, you get what you pay for (CPR's may run for about $100). You may find skimmers to be a little on the costly side, but you will find they are definitly worth it. For a 55, they can range from 100-250 depending on which you choose.

 

[weeder]

just my 2 cents but i've been running for over a year with no protien skimmer. i do have about 65 lbs of live rock, and about 3 in of sand. my nitrates only get above 20ppm when i don't change the water for about a month. and that has only happened once. now they don't get above 10ppm with two weeks between water changes. i'm still debating whether a skimmer is needed.

 

[lion_crazz]

It may not be needed in your case, weeder, but it definitely is in swigg-it's. He has nothing denitrying the organics in his tank. You have over 1 lb. per gallon of rock, a moderatly deep sand bed, and probably a lightly stocked tank.