In need of a Nitrate Reducer

[daj0424]

I have had my 55 FOWLR tank set up for a little over 2 years now. I recently moved and all of a sudden I am having nitrate problems. They are consistently reading between 60-80 and I cannot get them to stay down. I have done quite a few water changes and once got them down to 20 but then they just go back up.
I talked to my LFS and they said I should consider a LS substrate. They stated that I could replace my 2 inch deep florida crushed coral with only 1 inch LS and that would help reduce my nitrates since this has been an ongoing problem.
They also stated that I feed too much and that flake food is bad. They recommend that I feed only once every other day with frozen foods. From what I have read on this forum starving fish is not reccomended. Will this starve them.
I thoght it may be the water where I moved but I get RO from the LFS and it tests out at 0 nitrates.
I discussed the possibility of a fuge and the LFS said I should try less feedings and LS before I spend my time and money on a fuge. I am not sure what to do at this point so I am looking for some opinions.
Tank business:
1 clown
1 yellow tang
1 blue tang
1 threadfin
1 valentini puffer
I realize that this is quite the bio load but they are all very small fish (none over 2in) and will soon be upgraded to a 135 gallon tank.
PH. 8.2
Nitrates 80
Nitrites 0
Amm 0
40lbs LR
emperor 400, power head, Bak Pak Protien skimmer, uv sterilzer.
I would appreciate any advise on getting my nitrates down. Fuge? LS? Less Feeding? All of the above? Anything else I can try.

 

[matty0h_52]

first thing i would do is VACUME you CC. I thing you might have dead spots. Basically its wear a huge nitrate build up has occured. You need to buy a vacume and get it all out and while youre doing that you can do a good 10g water change.

 

[matty0h_52]

Originally Posted by daj0424
Tank business:
1 clown
1 yellow tang
1 blue tang
1 threadfin
1 valentini puffer
I realize that this is quite the bio load but they are all very small fish (none over 2in) and will soon be upgraded to a 135 gallon tank.
PH. 8.2
Nitrates 80
Nitrites 0
Amm 0
40lbs LR
emperor 400, power head, Bak Pak Protien skimmer, uv sterilzer.
i would allso get rid of that skimmer! if your ganna have a FOLR tank then your skimmer needs to be top of the line. I mean something like a nice berlin (only bad part about the berlin is you have to clean it at least twice a weak) or a one from the AquaC line
Thats all so i dont bombard you with everything at once and im shure someone else will chime in and give a good responce...hope that helped

 

[daj0424]

I didnt add my maintence schedule. I do 10g water changes every two weeks. Normally I would vacum out just half of my CC but recently I have been vacuming out most of it. That still does not seem to lower my nitrates. I plan on doing a 15g water change this weekend. I am going to pay close attention to my cc and see how dirty it is.
Thanks, any other advise would be appreciated. I have done some reading on a coil denitrator. Would this devise help?

 

[streetsurf]

I've heard that because there is more space for air volume with crushed coral that it has more potential to trap much more detritus than live sand, that would cause part of your problem. I would also consider adding more live rock. I also think that you have inadequate filtration for the bioload that you have. I certainly suggest a nice big refugium, but in the mean time, I would definately remove the biowheels out of your emperor 400 completely because they tend to cause higher nitrates as well. Make sure that you are cleaning your filter media often. Also, if your vanentini will allow you, maybe try adding a clean-up crew. Keep up your routine cleanings and you should be fine.

 

[oceana]

Originally Posted by matty0h_52
i would allso get rid of that skimmer! if your ganna have a FOLR tank then your skimmer needs to be top of the line. I mean something like a nice berlin (only bad part about the berlin is you have to clean it at least twice a weak) or a one from the AquaC line
Thats all so i dont bombard you with everything at once and im shure someone else will chime in and give a good responce...hope that helped

you should clean every skimmer twice a week. or atleast once. from the second the grim starts to build up on the sides the skimmer will start producing less. might not be much but it is less. i have used a few of the aqua products and IMO you really cant go wrong. i would say its time to ditch that CC

 

[matty0h_52]

Originally Posted by oceana
you should clean every skimmer twice a week. or atleast once. from the second the grim starts to build up on the sides the skimmer will start producing less. might not be much but it is less. i have used a few of the aqua products and IMO you really cant go wrong. i would say its time to ditch that CC
Nice addition. allso you might want to try boiling it in a little vinigar and water i heard that works well (make shure to flush it well though before you stick it back in the tank). it will remove all the oily build up on the chambers.

 

[golfish]

Have you ever heard of a "remote DSB"
"it is a modest strategy and dependant on bioload of course. But so cheap to employ, and easy to remove if you don't like it.
My LFS finally tried this with a 55 gall tank full (nearly to the top) of sand with a good stream of water traversing the length of the tank. It was staggering how fast it reduced nitrates on a nearly 2K gallon system.
A 5 gallon bucket with a 60lb bag of sand filling it can do similar/remarkable work on say a 90-120 gallon tank. A larger plastic garbage can (kitchen size... 20 gall or so) with a couple hundred lbs of sand, etc.
The goal here is denitrification and buffering (if using aragonite).
There are not many other benefits... and not many risks either. Unlit and with a strong stream of water over it, its a fairly brainless application Cover it and keep it dark... there is little to maintenance to speak of for it. You can imagine that with the good water flow (key) or even mechanically prefiltered water... there is no way for this to practically become a nutrient sink, as the small fast volume of water cruising over it do not allow the settling/sinking of much solid matter over time"
That comes from Anthony Calfo

 

[murph]

There is some sort of sediment build up somewhere in your tank which pretty much means elevated nitrates.
IMO you also have kind of a weird mix of live stock which means a weird mix of nutrients/waist and a diminished capacity for the tanks natural ability to export those waist by at least half.