nitrate high, dont know why.

[mr.bubble]

here is another one of my new questions but what causes nitrate? because i just tested all my levels and everything is perfect exept for the nitrate which is at 40 ppm. and i heard you should keep your nitrate level as low as possibe when kepping inverts. i have an 80 gallon reef with a lot of fish and i am trying to get rid of some. I am doing 5 gallon waterchanges weekly with aged sea water. should i be changing 10 gal? Post me back as soon as you can even if you are not sure. THANKS A LOT!!! <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" /> <img src="graemlins//uhuh.gif" border="0" alt="[U-Huh]" />

 

[fshhub]

10 gallons, would not hurt
how old is the tank?
what are you using for filtration ugf, skimmer and or bio filter, wet dry?, and have you ever tested your source water for nitrates? they could be part of the problem you are having as well
another thing, you could check into is your test kit, but i am inclined to think, maybe it is the fact taht you amy be stocked beyond you bio filters capacity, from the wording of your post, but check those things, and maybe reduce feeding if possible

 

[hockeyplyr]

This is the Deal.
Ammonia Turns to nitrite, Nitrites turn to nitrates. Nitrates are consumed by cetain Bacteria, Plantes and algea. Like a lawn feeds on nitrogen Or Nitrates(ferdilizer) There are bacterias you can buy in dry or liquid form. that you can introduce to your wet dry filt or a filter wheel. Did your Tank grow alge? Alittle growth is health for the tank. and the bacteria in the rock should eat it. You could also set up a refuguim to eat nitrates.
Mine are always below 10 ppm and I rarely change water almost never. If your changing that much water and it doesnt go away you may be sevearly over stocked. How Many fish inches per gal. do you have?
What is your ammonia and Nitrite levels should be 0 They should only go up slightly before changing,
Also Do you have any Activated Carbon in filter. Chemical filtration keeps Ammonia low wich in turn will keep down other levels.
Hope I helped

 

[hockeyplyr]

Also Forgot , If you are over feeding any decaing mater turns to ammonia. and Do you have a protien skimmer this removes alot of waist before it can decay.

 

[daniella]

my nitrates are sky high...i don't know why, i added 1 live rock to my tank...and then everything went haywire...lost a damsel over the ordeal...i did a 40 water changed...and have been doing a 10% water changed every other day...and the nitrates are still deadly...very confusing

 

[kelly]

Daniella,
What is the substrate that you have in your reef tank? I noticed that it was black from your website, or so it appeared to be. A deep sand bed would help. How often do you feed your fish? Do you have a skimmer? What kind of filtration are you running? Give us a little more info so we can help.

 

[fshhub]

also, where did you get hte lr from and was it well cured before adding it to the tank?
if your biofitler was not adequate, and you ad your first piece of lr(or even another) esp if it were uncured, then this definitely could be acontributor

 

[daniella]

hi...i have black sand hehe...alittle strange i know...but my dad made me do it...its not deep at all really...hmmmm maybe like 2 inches...is that ok? and as for the filter...its a pengiun 330...with 2 bio wheels...i feed my fish twice a day...alittle in the morning and alittle and night...i think maybe that rock was not cured? thats why it is giving off high nitrates...
someone told me before adding liverock to an established tank, i should put the rock in a whole and with an airpump for a week...maybe i'll do that the next time

 

[daniella]

sorry i forgot to asnwer some questions....i have no skimmer...and i got the rock from my local petshop... and they told me it was cured...which i don't think was true...they don't know anything about salt tanks..whatversoever...

 

[fshhub]

it also could have been cured, and had die off in shipping, so it would almost have to be recured, and if they did not do this completely, then this may also be the case too

 

[mr.bubble]

I'm sorry for not posting you back but i have had the tank for about 5 months i cheack the levels every other day. the sand bed is 2 inches deep. I have h huge wet/dry filter and I am adding 2 capfulls of cycle to My tank. I also have a very large protien skimmer and i tried adding nitrate 0 and that seemed to get the nitrate to go to 80 ppm. I hope this helps! <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//uhuh.gif" border="0" alt="[U-Huh]" />

 

[mr.bubble]

I forgot but i am growing a lot of alge bur my tangs nibble it right up. If you looked at my other post all gone!!!!! im am trying to make a algae tank just for algea. PRETTY COOL! all my levels are pefect. pH is at 8.2, ammonia is at 0, nitrite is at 0 but the nitrate is at 40 ppm. do you think i should test for calcium, copper, alk,ect? any more info about the nitrate would be great!

 

[daniella]

well DARNNNNNNNNN bubble...mine is 100.0 i wish i had your problems...i'm alittle depressed about it, becoz i don't know what to do

 

[mr.bubble]

I wouldnt really call myself lucky becuase im losing $145 finger leather that i loved sooooooo much. Any more info would help!! <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" /> <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" /> <img src="graemlins//uhuh.gif" border="0" alt="[U-Huh]" /> I just love putting these little faces on here!

 

[kris]

holy buckets daniell--100 <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />
You seriously need to get those down. While most fish are pretty tolerant and nitrates are the least toxic-you are WAY overboard. I think very few people are able to honestly say their levels are actually 0, so some is normal. Anyway here are all the reasons I can think of for super high nitrates, check each one--
Overstocked--Too many fish perhaps??
Overfeeding--my fish would eat all day if I let them but as it is a feed once at night and then just a strip of dried algae in the morning (just as a guide)
Underfiltered-good equipment, like the skimmer will help. Make sure the stuff you are using is rated for much bigger than your actual tank size.
For example--you have a 55g, you need to buy something rated for up to 100g or as I prefer two smaller ones on a bigger tank. Also while the intial placement of lr was detrimental it will make up for itself later by being a good source of filtration. Most people agree ls is also one of the best ways.
Maintanince-water changes as well as maintaining your equipment and the media in it. Nitrates will build in your media, as it is unable to convert there.
Water supply-check it -especially if large water changes don't help any.
Also I think water movement is important-the water needs to come from the bottom to the surface--if not for the nitrates sake at least for oxygenation purposes, which may in turn help overall water quality.
Daniell I don't know about your black sand--if you've gone over everything and you believe all of these things are ok-then you may want to consider this as a possible contributor. But I don't know for sure on that one.
Good Luck to both of you ( and everyone else fighting the nitrate syndrome)

 

[kris]

oh yeah--and do a search on this topic--nitrates have been an issue with MANY hobbiests, and it comes up frequently. There was an especially helpful one about a week or so ago where anthem puu in alot of more advanced and in depth info on this subject (sorry I just can't remember the name of the post)

 

[mr.bubble]

Do you think i should be checking for calcium, copper, alk, or any of the other things that should be tested? any info helps. THANKS! <img src="graemlins//uhuh.gif" border="0" alt="[U-Huh]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused2.gif" border="0" alt="[confused2]" /> <img src="graemlins//uhuh.gif" border="0" alt="[U-Huh]" />

 

[kris]

i would be monitoring them for your leathers sake, but I don't believe they have any impact on nitrates.

 

[mr.bubble]

THANKS alot for all the help but why is my leather dying and not any other corals live the hammer, or the bubble coral, or the frogs spawn, or the flower pot, or any other coral i have? PS.The clown fish has been swimming aruond the leather insted of the anemones. do you think this has somthing to do with this? ANY REPLY HELPS ALOT! post me even if you are not sure. Thanks! <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />

 

[uncle fester]

If the clown is swimming around/in/through the leather coral often enough it will likely cause the polyps responsible for food generation (photosysnthesis) to stay contracted to the point that the coral cannot "feed" itself through photosysnthesis. Is the leather coral secreting more mucus than normal like it seemingly would if there wan an environmental irritant of some kind? Just a thought......