High Nitrates, Need Advice

[xbethx]

Tank is 125 gallon with 40 gallon sump/fuge
Little over a year old
Up until about a month ago i was running skimmerless, but now have a reef octopus NW-150 skimmer
Also started dosing vodka about 3 weeks ago
For several weeks i was doing about a 20% water change once a week but for the past couple months its slacked off to about once a month. I wasnt see any change at all with them once a week.
Water Params:
Nitrates - 150-200
salinity - 1.024
calcium - 460
mag. - 1330
alk - 10 dkh
ph - 8
Dont have a lot of corals but what i do have and all fish are doing fine.
I am having a pretty bad green bubble algae outbreak tho
And an aiptasia invasion that id like to get rid of via Berghia which i cant get until i get nitrates under control
So is there anything else i can do to lower nitrates.
I know the skimmer is new and i just started vodka dosing. Do i just need to wait it out? Up the water changes? Do bigger water changes?
Thanks,
Beth

 

[geridoc]

You are on the right track. You might consider reducing your feeding and adding a nutrient export tool, maybe chaeto in your sump or an algae turf scrubber. Keep doing water changes regularly. Your nitrates are very high for inverts, and those levels will eventually cause fish problems too.

 

[xbethx]

I do have chaeto in the fuge

 

[sweatervest13]

IDK if that reading on nitrates is accurate. You would see the inverts dying if they were that high for an extended period. What test kit are you using?? How old are the test kits?? API Nitrates tend to be not that good. A member here (Flower) has a good API nitrate test kit story, where her's were reading over 100ppm and she did all types of things to lower them. But it ended up being a bunk test kit... Her nitrates were more like 0-10ppm.
I could be wrong, but I just thought I would mention. It could save you some time. Maybe bring in a water sample to a LFS and have them test it real quick. They should do it at no charge.

 

[mr. limpid]

If you alleady have micro alage and are doing water changes. There are three thing s you can do: one like sweatervest said re test with different test kit, two use seachem denitrate ;
three add a aquapure filter.

 

[beffers]

Ive used a couple test kits.. Salifert and api and get high readings on both.
For a long time before adding the skimmer i was using an api test kit and getting 0 nitrates so i wasnt doing alot of water changes thinking that everything was ok and found out that that was a bad reading after seeing signs of coral stress
Have since bought a new api kit and salifert kit and get high readings on both

 

[sweatervest13]

How much live rock do you have? Do you blow out all the crevasses with a turkey baster or power head before you do a water change ( highly suggested)??
I would do a series of decent size water changes. Like 30-40% every day or two. Blow off all your rocks before and try to suck up as much stuff from the rocks as you can. Test right after and before you do each WC.
Do you have macro algae in your fuge?

 

[snakeblitz33]

There are many, many ways to reduce nitrates in a saltwater aquarium, and most of the people here have given some pretty good ideas. Make sure your skimmer is pulling adequate amounts of gunk out of your system. With that skimmer, you should be pulling about a cup full of gunk out every two days.
Use a macroalgae that does pretty well in refugiums. I don't know why chaeto is so recommended... I highly recommend Caulerpa mexicana or C. racemosa as a good macroalgae that has holdfasts which prevent it from being sucked into your return pump.
Something that you might want to look at is to see how much detritus is in your sump. Old greyish/brown gunk that is sitting in your sump, deep in your live rocks and in all the nooks and crannies where it can hide are notorious for increasing the amount of available nitrate and phosphate in the system. Take a powerhead and blow it all out as much as you can. Wait for the filter to catch it, and then replace your filter. After a few water changes removing as much detritus as possible, your total nitrate and phosphate will decrease.
Adding chemical removers will only mask the problem - because they only polish the water and don't deal with the problem of having excess waste in the live rock and everywhere else. I would suggest starting at the root of the problem and going from there.
Also, check the TDS reading of your RO/DI top off water. If it is more than 2-5, you should change your filters.

 

[beffers]

I have probably 100-150 lbs of live rock. I have not been blowing them off every water change, ill start doing that.
Also i have tested right before and after a water change and the nitrate levels dont seem to move at all. I was mainly using a salifert test kit which ive heard isnt good for high range nitrate so i switched to an api that i know is over a year old and im still getting high readings that arnt moving on that. Should i get a new kit?
I just did a complete overhaul of the sump about a month ago when i added the skimmer, had to switch to a new tank so i know there cant be much accumulated in there.
And im emptying the skimmer cup about once a week and theres usually about an inch of nasty brown liquid in it, should it be more?
TDS is good.
I will look into getting new macroalgae

 

[beaslbob]

Hopefully the macro algae will help.
FWIW with sufficient algae (even corraline) or other plant life (like in photosynthetic corals and clams) it is very possible to have high nitrates as the plant life is consumeing ammonia directly foregoing nitrates for nitrogen. Then as bacteria get the ammonia, the various plant life will consume nitrates.
So sometimes high nitrates may just mean the ammonia is being consumed and the nitrates will drop down later.
So add the macros, and keep doing whatever you're doing especially if otherwise things seem fine. After awhile nitrates will just all the sudden drop down in a few days.
my .02

 

[beffers]

Its been this way for months tho and im afraid to add anymore corals or anything to the tank with them being this high

 

[siptang]

orca bio pellets are working wonders for me.

 

[tthemadd1]

What kind of water are you using for water changes?
How about your phosphates, have you tested? Are you using RO/store/tap water? Have you changed lighting?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatervest13 http:///t/395584/high-nitrates-need-advice#post_3522303
IDK if that reading on nitrates is accurate. You would see the inverts dying if they were that high for an extended period. What test kit are you using?? How old are the test kits?? API Nitrates tend to be not that good. A member here (Flower) has a good API nitrate test kit story, where her's were reading over 100ppm and she did all types of things to lower them. But it ended up being a bunk test kit... Her nitrates were more like 0-10ppm.
I could be wrong, but I just thought I would mention. It could save you some time. Maybe bring in a water sample to a LFS and have them test it real quick. They should do it at no charge.
LOL...Yep...First question I always ask anyone who thinks their nitrates are off the roof high...Are you using API test kits? I also had 0 readings with API test kits, then one day it read off the roof at over 80, the highest the test could read, but darker then what was on the comparison card...I would do a 50% water change and it would read 10, then by next morning 80 again. I had another new API kit on hand, and they both read the same. Then I checked the expiration...all the API kits I had were outdated. I got a brand new API kit, not outdated, and it read the same.
A member, BLTReef, if I recall her name right, told me to get a different kit, not API. I didn't listen. I switched from canister to sump (another awesome story) ...anyway even with the sump my nitrates were off the roof. All the while, my shrimp was fine, and I know that over 40 NO3... shrimp are supposed to die.
I got an Aquaripure nitrate filter, and did daily 5g water changes, and then finally gave in and purchased a Seachem multi kit. Seachem kits come with a regent to double check the readings...my nitrates were 1 not 80+ My best guess is that as long as your nitrates were 0, the API read 0, but as soon as you had any nitrates, the kits reads super high no matter what the real number is.
LOL...so that's my condensed story. If you want the full book, do a search for "Flower's sump fuge build" It's complete with hero's and villains...
Oh and by the way...my LFS used API test kits, that's why I purchased an API master kit to start with. Then years later, a friend gave me three API master kits when I was first disabled, to help me keep my tank going, along with about 4 boxes of sea salt mix...There sure are a lot of really great people on this site! Telling my little story reminded me again of that, with warm fuzzy feelings.

 

[vdtank]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/395584/high-nitrates-need-advice#post_3522632
LOL...Yep...First question I always ask anyone who thinks their nitrates are off the roof high...Are you using API test kits? I also had 0 readings with API test kits, then one day it read off the roof at over 80, the highest the test could read, but darker then what was on the comparison card...I would do a 50% water change and it would read 10, then by next morning 80 again. I had another new API kit on hand, and they both read the same. Then I checked the expiration...all the API kits I had were outdated. I got a brand new API kit, not outdated, and it read the same.
A member, BLTReef, if I recall her name right, told me to get a different kit, not API. I didn't listen. I switched from canister to sump (another awesome story) ...anyway even with the sump my nitrates were off the roof. All the while, my shrimp was fine, and I know that over 40 NO3... shrimp are supposed to die.
I got an Aquaripure nitrate filter, and did daily 5g water changes, and then finally gave in and purchased a Seachem multi kit. Seachem kits come with a regent to double check the readings...my nitrates were 1 not 80+ My best guess is that as long as your nitrates were 0, the API read 0, but as soon as you had any nitrates, the kits reads super high no matter what the real number is.
LOL...so that's my condensed story. If you want the full book, do a search for "Flower's sump fuge build" It's complete with hero's and villains...
Oh and by the way...my LFS used API test kits, that's why I purchased an API master kit to start with. Then years later, a friend gave me three API master kits when I was first disabled, to help me keep my tank going, along with about 4 boxes of sea salt mix...There sure are a lot of really great people on this site! Telling my little story reminded me again of that, with warm fuzzy feelings.
Yeah I'm getting the same thing with my tank reading. I also have a API test kit...True as soon as i got some Nitrates reading it wouldn't change no matter what you do(Dark Orange look)... I have done many water change and am still getting a reading of 20 to 40ppm....Now with this info. I'm looking into getting some self a Seachem Kit...Now thanks

 

[beffers]

Ive tested with both salifert and api tho and get really high readings, the highest on the color chart on both.
But i also have a cleaner shrimp in the tank who is doing fine.
Should i get a different test kit?

 

[siptang]

salifert is very accurate usually. Can you check the expiration date on your test kit to make sure that you are using the fresh kit? shrimp will molt to survive then eventually succumb to it.

 

[beffers]

The salifert is a pretty new test kit ive only had it a couple months. I got it when i started having high readings with the api

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by beffers http:///t/395584/high-nitrates-need-advice#post_3522777
Ive tested with both salifert and api tho and get really high readings, the highest on the color chart on both.
But i also have a cleaner shrimp in the tank who is doing fine.
Should i get a different test kit?
I haven't heard anything bad about the Salifert tests...what is the expiration date on it? I ounce purchased a kit brand new from ***** and it was already expired...they had 5 on the shelf, and every one of them had the same date. Just like medicine, one year is usually when they expire.
From everything I've read about them, there is simply no way a shrimp could survive 80+ nitrates.

 

[siptang]

I, too think that you got a bad test results. Check the expiration date.