I am getting uber frustrated!

[sh00tist]

Take a turkey baster and squirt it on your rocks,if a bunch of stuff comes floating off of them then that is your problem. To me it sounds like you dont have enough flow to keep debris suspended in the water column so it can be romoved. If it builds up on and under your rock and back in the corners it will rot and turn straight into nitrates. When you add another pump and see how much stuff comes floating off you may be quite suprised. I use a sea-squirt to blast some dead spots around my rocks along with blowing all the crap off my zoas which used to be quite a bit until I really added some serious flow. In a 55 right now I have 2 koralia 2s, 1 koralia 1,one maxi 1200 in the front and another maxi 1200 blowing across the back and I finally feel like I have decent flow but now Im upgrading in a couple of weeks so Ill be adding more different pumps. Another thing that works for me is using one piece of filter floss right where my overflow enters my sump. this catches a large percentage of debris that is removed from the tank so it doesnt lay in my sump. I keep this changed out every 3 or 4 days though. Sponges and filter floss are fine to use but you have to keep them VERY clean or within a few days the stuff starts to rot and pollute your water. Another suggestion is add more cleanup,blue legs and nasarius snails are good at cleaning up detritus. Get that water stirring and keep everything neat and tidy and those trates will come down guaranteed. Oh one more suggestion,since you only have one fish I would only feed pellets or tiny bits of frozen,this makes it easier to see that all the food you put in is being eaten,make sure none goes to waste,any that isnt eaten equals nitrates,good luck.

 

[sac10918]

Okay,
Thanks for the suggestions.... I am starting to feel desperate here!
Oh, and Big.... I am a girl, not a boy!

Not that that information is relevant to my nitrate problem!
ShOOtist~
I did the turkey baster test and sure enough, my rocks are pretty dirty...
I think that this could be contributing to my problemo. I am pretty sure that I dont have enough flow, and have been working to improve this... My pre-drilled return pump into the top left corner has A maxijet 900 to power it (I believe). I also have a maxijet 400 that is running across the back of my tank (more for the clown to play in than anythign else). I have also ordered a Koralia nano which I believe pumps like 240 gph... Is this going to be sufficient flow or should I get even more? Also, should I point these pumps at the rockwork?
The only other thing that could possibly be contributing here is my skimmer. I have the Aqua C remora and I have noticed that it has not been collecting much lately. In fact, when I do my weekly cleaning of the collection cup, there is nothing in there at all exept some clearish water. This has been going on for a few weeks now. In the past, it did a great job of collecting lots of nasty green skimmate. I have tried adjusting the height of the collection cup but it hasnt done much to help... I am going to get back in the sump area this weekend and clean out all my pumps and tubings and I will tinker with the skimmer and try to get it working again. I should probably get it going sufficiently before I blow all of the debris off the rocks, yes? Otherwise the debris will just stay in the tank....
Also, would you happen to have a picture of the filter floss you are using and how you set it up? I am not exactly sure what you mean

And finally, I already do feed my clown pellets. I try to only feed what he will eat, but occassionaly he misses some. I always just figured the cleanup crew would take care of it. My crew consists of 1 Nas Snail, a few astrea snails (although some of them keep dying, I am thinking due to the trates) and some hermits. I had put 3 emeralds in back in June, but they are not longer present...

 

[petjunkie]

I have a 12 gallon Aquapod with just a maxi-jet return pump so fairly low flow and no nitrates to speak of, I would clean out those back chambers very well, take out the powerhead and clean it, mine gets clogged up pretty quick so I do this every two weeks. Do water changes when you are blowing off the rocks and suck up all that floating stuff, do you have rock sitting on your sandbed at all, maybe clear that out a bit. I don't believe sandbeds do much of anything in that size tank except for looks, I've always stirred mine up if it starts to look dirty. Maybe take that remora off and give it a good soak in vinegar to clean it out.

 

[big]

Quote from "Sac" the poster as follows..."Oh, and Big.... I am a girl, not a boy! Not that that information is relevant to my nitrate problem" "..........
sorry fixed the post to reflect such

 

[sac10918]

Okay everyone, I have an update for you!
Over the weekend I cleaned out the entire back compartment of my tank! All the pumps, tubings, etc. There was quite a bit of gunk back there.... I also siphoned out the back compartment to try to get as much of the detritus out of the water as possible...
My skimmer pump was really clogged so I unclogged it and it seems to be working better at skimming the water....
I did a nitrate test right away after I added the new water that I needed to bring the water level back up to the top (about 4 gallons) and of course, they were still at 50... I am hoping that this is only because I had literally just completed the change! I will test them again, but I have a sinking feeling they havent budged!
What should I try next?

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by sac10918
Okay everyone, I have an update for you!
Over the weekend I cleaned out the entire back compartment of my tank! All the pumps, tubings, etc. There was quite a bit of gunk back there.... I also siphoned out the back compartment to try to get as much of the detritus out of the water as possible...
My skimmer pump was really clogged so I unclogged it and it seems to be working better at skimming the water....
I did a nitrate test right away after I added the new water that I needed to bring the water level back up to the top (about 4 gallons) and of course, they were still at 50... I am hoping that this is only because I had literally just completed the change! I will test them again, but I have a sinking feeling they havent budged!
What should I try next?
Well, after the cleaning you'll need a few water changes to actually get the nitrates in the water to go away, but once that's happened you shouldn't see it come back now that you've cleaned up.

 

[sac10918]

Okay, I am going to try to do another water change...
Should I do another large water change (10 gallons or so) or a smaller one (3-4 gallons)?
Its a 24 gallon tank...

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by sac10918
Okay, I am going to try to do another water change...
Should I do another large water change (10 gallons or so) or a smaller one (3-4 gallons)?
Its a 24 gallon tank...
Well, I wouldn't do another 10 gallons, maybe 5, as long as it's been 2 or 3 days since your last one, if you have anything living in there. I didn't see if you have inhabitants, but if you do, water changes more frequently than that could stress them out a good deal.

 

[sac10918]

Okay, I will try to do a 5 gallon change in a few days....
I do have some inhabitants, one clownfish and a small clean up crew, and two corals that made it through the disaster back in May

 

[clown316]

Originally Posted by sac10918
Okay
Trying to get my damn nitrates down from around 50. I have a 24 gallon aquapod. On Saturday and Sunday (5 days ago) I did a 3 gallon water change each day. I posted on here and was told I should do a larger water change. I spent the last few days mixing up my water and just performed the change. I changed like 8 or 9 gallons. Once I had removed the water I wanted, the water line was just over half of the tank....
I just tested my nitrate level and it hasnt budged! Not even a little bit! I am sooooo frustrated! I have cut feedings by ALOT, purchased some cheato, done 3 water changes but still nothing!

What am I doing wrong? I don't have any sponges or anything that should be harboring the trates. The only other thing I think I will do (perhaps tommorrow) is to siphon out my back compartment where the pumps and heater go as there is some debris back there......
Please help me....All I want to do is have a nice tank and some bloody inverts and corals and I can't!! ARGH!

I have had some similar problems. im in the same boat. it gets annoying. its hard to start out with a nano because it is a smaller volume of water. soeifkmbdldgmn

 

[fctasha]

was your live rock allowed to cure long enough.

 

[sac10918]

Originally Posted by fctasha
was your live rock allowed to cure long enough.
I believe that my rock was cured for a long enough time. I used the same rock to set up another tank in May 2006. At that time, I let it cure for about 2 months (plus, it was already cured from the store)....When I set up the tank that the rock is currently in, I let it sit in a tub and cure for another 2 months.....

 

[sac10918]

Okay, so after completing the cleaning out of the sump area on Sunday, I did a 5 gallon water change on Wednesday. I also added in my new Koralia pump....Nitrates looked like they were about 25 if I wanted to be optimistic about it...still at 50 if I want to be pessimistic about it....
What shall I do? More partial water changes? Shoudl I add some rubbel to the back compartment of the tank?

 

[hypertek99]

Have you thought about setting up a refugium with chaeto in it. It will soak up all the nitrates

 

[big]

Originally Posted by Hypertek99
Have you thought about setting up a refugium with chaeto in it. It will soak up all the nitrates

Yep that is what worked for me!!

 

[clown316]

you dont even need a refugium. im getting some chaeto for my nitrates.. im just going to add it to the tank.

 

[sac10918]

I have a fistful sized ball of cheato in my display.... I havent noticed it to have done much for my nitrates....It has been in there for about 2 weeks...
I have thought about a refugium, but I really don't have the money or the space for one....Maybe when I get really really desperate!

 

[sh00tist]

You seem like you are starting to catch on,you have the dedication to have a really nice tank. For low nitrates the key for me is keeping everything as clean as possible. Get in a serious routine of cleaning out all those hard to reach and PITA places. Im glad your skimmer is starting to work,when you described it I was certain it was simply dirty. All there pumps and accessories need to be cleaned consistantly some more than others. You will see the signs,lowering water flow,skimmer skimming very little. I think of the debris in terms of pennys,1 penny=1 nitrate,you may have 2 cents in this corner and 3 cents under that rock with 12 cents in your overflow and before you know it you have .50 nitrates for no apparent reason. The same goes for removing them,the chaeto may remove 6 cents,the fully funtioning skimmer 11 cents while the new pump may eventually remove 10 more cents,eventually your tank will be broke of nitrates. The filter floss is that white and blue poly pad,Im not sure how your overflow is setup but you should be able to wedge a piece in there somehow so all the water(or most)is forced through it removing all the excess matter. Be advised though you MUST keep the filter changed every three or four days or just use it for a day or two every now and then if you cant change it religously. Leaving it in there for any extended period of time could make your problems dramatically worse. Keep doing what you are doing I really think you are getting ready to see some improvement.

 

[rebelprettyboy]

On my experience with Nitrates I read that you use INSTANT OCEAN salt. In my 55 gal i couldnt get rid of trates for about a month. And people on here suggested that I switched salts cuz they had the sme problem with trates and using INSTANT OCEAN.
I didnt read the whole thread but if you're still mixing your salt water with that try to change salts and see if that will help I now use CORALIFE salt and havent had a problem with trates in none of my other tanks

 

[rebelprettyboy]

Also I dont know if you already did get another test kit a dif brand and use both of them next time you test for trates, maybe your test kit is bad...