High Nitrates

[chappy]

Please I need Help. No matter what I do I can't keep my nitrates level low.
general Info. I had a 29 gal tank set up for over 2 years We had a new damsels and other small stuff in and out.
I purchased a new 37 gal with an elcipse system. For those that have not read my other post the live rock was reused, and the sand sifted, also an additional 20lb of LS was added.
The tank did not cycle per say ( set up over 2 weeks,and like you said you did not expect it too with the LR &LS being cured)
In the tank is one small goby, 6 sm blue legs, 2 feather dusters. one pepermint shrimp, about 50 bristle worms. and a few live plants.
I am testing the water daily and the results are the same
ammonia 0
nitrites .2-.4
ph 7.8
SG 1.024
Nitrates 80
Per Joe i did a 50 % water change, this dropped the nitrates down to 40 I thought we were going the right way. Every 2-3 days the nitrates spike back up to the 80 range while everthing else stays constent. ( i have tried different test kits with the same results) i am now doing water change every other day.
i thought maybe the problem was with the bio wheel, but the replies you gave me to that thread said no.
I am at wits end please help
Thank You and God Bless
PS. I need to fire my typist

 

[meowzer]

What are you feeding the tank? and what media do you use for filtration?

 

[teresaq]

sounds like you have a lot of build up in your rocks and sand since they are from an old tank. What filteration do you have on this tank. Not sure what an eclips system is, but it may not be enough for horses. they are really messy lol.
you might do a search on cooking your rock, (no it has nothing to do with the stove)
T

 

[chappy]

The elcipse system is set us where the filter is built into your hood. the water is pumped up and spread out over a carbon replacable filter pad, and then overflows over a biowheel back into your tank on the water surface. As far as feeding the tank i am just using a lil ( very small pinch) of pellet food to keep the goby alive, once a day. The plants are new about a week old the other tank did not have plants before. Everything in the tank looks good it is clean and I have even changed the filter weekly even though it is not dirty. It pumps 250 gpm so it is turning the tank over aprox every 6 minutes. The biowheel is just starting to get a lil buildup and turns free. ( actually spins to fast lol)
Cooking my rocks, have to think about that one
Hope you can help
God bless

 

[teresaq]

Here in that thread on cooking - https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/forum/thread/330445/cooking-live-rock
I have a feeling that you may need to add some additional filteration once you add horses, or some type of skimmer.

 

[chappy]

Cooking rocks

prefer using a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees.
Lightly salt and pepper the rock and place it on a cookie sheet in the oven. Bake for 1 hour.
For extra flavor a lemon-saltwater glaze can be used to baste it every 15 minutes.
Tastes just like mom used to make!

 

[chappy]

Sorry about the joking. I did read about it and not sure i can take the rock out and be with out it for 4-6 weeks. Before i did that i would get all new rock. I was hoping it would not require such extreme measures to get the nitrates down.
AS far as additional filtration i do have a canister filter i can install and use as well. not sure if the SH wanted that much flow. I can hook it uo and run it as needed, but til i put a couple of horses in the tank, it is looking really clean the the filters i am changing out still look almost new

 

[teresaq]

lol belevie me- horses can take a lot more flow then you think. if the only flow you have right now is your lid, then you will need more.
Now you dont want a strong jet like flow, but more of an overall flow. Spray bars are great for this. My tank in a 58 gal - I run a sump, 2 maxi-jet powerheads with spray bars and a small powerhead with two outletsalong with a canister filter attached to my chiller. As long as your horses have a quite place if they want, flow will not be a problem. I have horses that sit on the spraybars with water blowing in thier faces.
As for your rock, you could do half at a time, and only for a couple of weeks each. I am getting ready to tear my tank apart. I am sick of the flat worms I have. I lost several horses and fish about 6 mo ago trying to get rid of them, and I am declairing war on them lol
T

 

[chappy]

As I mentioned the rock came from a 29gal; so there is room in this tank to add more. Rather than rying to cook this rock I am going to add more that will help take the strain off the exsisting rock. I am thinking I can easily add another 10-15 lbs. with no problem. Flow is something I can adjust. I have powerheads and other type filters. The first thing I want to fix is the nitrate problem,
Once I get that problem taken care of, I can think about flow issues. BTW turning your tank over 5-6 times per hour is what I have been told is the best for the SHs, now you are saying that info is wrong too.
I Have decieded to get rid of the biowheel, and replace that with a sponge. let me see what kind of problems that creates (lol)
i will keep you posted after I add the rock and do more water changes.
Thanks anf God bless
chappy

 

[teresaq]

Water changes and getting rid of any gunk in your rock and sand will help. You may also need to run some chemi pure in a canister filter to help reduce it. do not use chemi pure elite only regular chemi pure. A lot of horse people use this product because horses are so messy. lol
Good steady gental flow, and dont forget an open air line for oxygen exchange.
I did a pole once on a popular horse site, and most every horse keeper uses them. No air stones, just an open line. I attach mine to a ridgid piece of air pipe.
There isnt any one strict way to do saltwater, or seahorses. Everyone has to find what works for them. I have had them for yrs, even raised a couple small batches of fry. I think people tend to worry more about them, then they do other saltwater fish. Yes they have special needs, but they arent as delicate as most think. As long as you buy captive breed horses, keep temps below 77 degrees and keep thier diets good, you will be suprised.

 

[tangs rule]

Quote:
Originally Posted by chappy http:///forum/thread/386764/high-nitrates#post_3398911
Please I need Help. No matter what I do I can't keep my nitrates level low.
general Info. I had a 29 gal tank set up for over 2 years We had a new damsels and other small stuff in and out.
I purchased a new 37 gal with an elcipse system. For those that have not read my other post the live rock was reused, and the sand sifted, also an additional 20lb of LS was added.
The tank did not cycle per say ( set up over 2 weeks,and like you said you did not expect it too with the LR &LS being cured)
In the tank is one small goby, 6 sm blue legs, 2 feather dusters. one pepermint shrimp, about 50 bristle worms. and a few live plants.
I am testing the water daily and the results are the same
ammonia 0
nitrites .2-.4
ph 7.8
SG 1.024
Nitrates 80
Per Joe i did a 50 % water change, this dropped the nitrates down to 40 I thought we were going the right way. Every 2-3 days the nitrates spike back up to the 80 range while everthing else stays constent. ( i have tried different test kits with the same results) i am now doing water change every other day.
i thought maybe the problem was with the bio wheel, but the replies you gave me to that thread said no.
I am at wits end please help
Thank You and God Bless
PS. I need to fire my typist
FYI - I have had issues with Nitrate readings from the API test kit - with ANY NO3 in the water causing very high readings. When checking water with known (assumed) zero like fresh made sw - it will read "0" but even tiny nitrate readings send the API kit into the 60-80 range. My tanks would register 60+ using the API, but using the same tank water, the Seachem test kit or my digital unit (that both agree very close) read less than 2ppm.

 

[chappy]

Thanks all for the information and your help. I guess I came up with a plan (right or wrong) This weekend it is a 50 mile drive to the nearest FS that has live rock. ( not complaining I can go to cracker barrel for lunch). I am going to add another 15-20 lbs of rock. I took out the bio wheel (only because I needed something tangible to take my fustration out on). I am going to do everything I can before I have to resort to cooking my rock, Another brain fart I had is now that I have an empty place in the system ( where the biowheel set) is to take a nice net bag and fill it with nitrate sponge and add that to the system, and yes the most inportant a large water change.
If none of these item work, our LFS is having a sale on damels and the kids will have a new toy

thanks for all your help
be safe and God bless.

 

[teresaq]

Patience. All good things come to those who wait. lol
Nitrates come from waist. You have to have some sort of waist in your system that is causing this problem. If you didnt have fish, I would suggest stirring your sand bed just to see how much waist is in the sand. If I had seen this from the beginning, I would have suggested using new sand only. Vacuming the sand may help some but you would have to be sure to do a good water change after and test your water. Be sure your nitrate media does not contain ferric Iron oxide. this can be harmful to horses. I know that regular Chemi pure is fine to use.

 

[java1]

 

[chappy]

Update time. I drove the 50 ( one way) miles yesterday ad purchased another 15lbs of rock. also 4 more peppermint shrimp and a product called " Natural Nitrate Reducer.". I had a new bunch of water mixing while I left so i would be ready for a water change.
So I came home drained out aprox 25% of my water, added the new rock, the shrimp, and followed the dosing instruction on the bottle of "reducer" I added the new water and even took the time to hook up a canister filter. I used all new charcoal in the filter and let in run all night as well am hood filter.
I woke up this morning to a tank that looked crystal clear. Excited I got out my trusty test equipment and behold. now not only are the nitrates high but now I have high nitrates also.
Gold fish are looking better everyday

so the saga continues
Thanks for reading
be safe abd God bless.

 

[teresaq]

ok, was the rock fully cured and did you keep in in water. Still sounds like you have some kind of waste that is causing high readings. Something in the in your sand or rock. Give it some time to settle.
do me a favor- I know you have fish in there so dont do a lot, but just stir your sand in the front a little, all the way to the bottom of the tank- how much gunk comes out?? Nitrates are caused by waist. there has to be a source of waist in your tank to cause high readings. did you take a sample of your water to your lfs. I would have them test it or try a differant brand of test kit.
T

 

[chappy]

Yes the new LR was fully cured and it was transported in wrapped wet newspaper, put in plastic bags we also transported in a cooler because of the temp here being so high. I sifted my old sand through a small strainer before adding it to this this tank as well as adding 25lbs of new LS from my local chain FS. ( the new sand is sandwiched between the old)
I did not have the LFS test my water but i am using 2 diif test method, I have an instant ocean test kit as well as test strips.

 

[teresaq]

sifting thru a strainer will not get rid of waist, only big stuff. I suspect your old sand as the culprit. lol. I have changed tanks several times, and always find the sand to be the dirtiest thing in the tank. always full of nasty gunk. I have always rinsed it several times before reusing it.

 

[teresaq]

I use a saltwater master kit for my water - those strips are not good at all, not sure about the instant ocean one.

 

[chappy]

Hind sight is always 20/20. I guess I should have rinsed the sand. but too late now. i guess i can only hope my 2000 bristle worms will clean it up lol
like i said gold fish looking better all the time lol