Nitrate, Nitrate,nitrate

[djpom1]

I am having major problems with my nitrates. I had an anenmea die a few months ago, then all my crabs seemed to disappear. Now I have been doing water change after water change and I cannot get my nitrated down. They are like off the charts. I was told to use a product called prime, so I tried it and nothing happened. I am going to do another water change but I was wondering if anyone else had any ideas. The wierd thing is that all my corals and fish seem to be doing just fine. And no I do not over feed and I do not have to many fish in the tank, unless 6 fish in a 155 is to many ha ha. I am really down and out about this. Any help would be great.
Thanks Dennis

 

[drakken]

What kind of filtration do you have?
When it the last time you clean the filters?
What kind of water do you use (tap or RO/DI)?
What substrate do you have?

 

[nm reef]

A good starting point would be ...What exactly are your nitrates? Post the most recent test results and what type of test was used. Sometimes a test can expire and give incorrect readings.
You mention that you've done several water changes...how much in gal or percentage at a time? How long has your system been set up and list the inhabitants. ^ fish in a 155 could contribute to nitrates depending on the fish and how large they are.
There are several potential sources for excess nitrates...and there are numerous means of control for excessive nitrates. In order to help you with your situation we'd need all the information you could possibly provide.
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[matti070]

try sum marine buffer. i use them now, my water tests came out, well, ok.

 

[krowleey]

macro macro macro, you need a fuge with lots of macro's

 

[stackman]

Sorry to be specific, but is it Nitrates that are high, or the Nitrites? The two are different. Nitrates will tend to build up slowly and are usually taken care of through water changes. The nitrites may be from overloading your tank, or waste accumulating in the bottom of the tank. Do you have any form of a cleaning crew like snails or hermit crabs?

 

[cincyreefer]

IMO, the only effective way to keep nitrates real low (below 10ppm) is by using a refugium. I have never found water changes to do anything but help very temporarily.

 

[djpom1]

Sorry I had to go away for a while, but to answer your questions, I have been doing a 40 to 50 gallon watter change every day for 5 days. It is not my water it tests great. Also my other tank is doing fine. My test is right on I have brought samples to 2 lfs and it tests the same. About 100ppm. All fish and corals seem to be fine but the trates are so high. I have a americle PL400 wet/dry. I also have a 20 gallon tank hooked to it just in case the power would go out as to no over flow the filter. I have lace rock in the 20 gallon. What do you mean add micro algae, I am new to that idea. Please explain. I also have a sand bed but it is only about 2 to 3 inches deep. I have about 200lbs of live rock. I have 2 protein skimmers that came with the filter but they never seem to do much.
Dennis