nitrate prob please help

barola87

barola87

Member
hello to every body well my question is my tank has been running 4 about 2 months almost and my nitrates are un controlable ill do a water change and the very next day it will be high again.
ammonia 0
trite 0
trate .50
ph 8.2
temp 80
salt .23
110 gallon tank
115 lbs of live rock
3 to 4 inches crushed coral
1 405 fluval
2 hang on aqua clear 110 filters
2 70 power heads
fish 5 triggers 1foxface 1 lionfish 1 sfe 1 panther grouper
could this problem be cause i dont have a protein skimmer?
can someone hep me am i missing something
 
warnerrobins55

warnerrobins55

New Member
the crushed coral causes pockets that collect nitrates. You need to take that out and put live sand. You can also go to the local supermarket and get some live clams and out them in there. Make sure they are alive. Try and get there when the shipment come in. You can them for like 50 cents. They live off nitrates and they will take them out. The main problem though is your crushed coral. You need to at least have SOME live sand in there.
 
badoleross

badoleross

Member
There are 2 things that I see right away that could be the cause of your nitrate problem The first is the crushed coral substrate and the 2nd being the 405 canister fiter. A sand substrate stays cleaner and does not harbor nitrates the way crushed coral can. I had the same thing in my 220 and switched it ot. And a canister fiter, unless very clean can be a nitrate farm. A sump is a much better option.
 
V

vicegrip

Guest
Imo I don't think .5 is high for a fish only tank.
try washing the filter media in saltwater
 
barola87

barola87

Member
Originally Posted by 75bownut
Add a refugium , it works every time.
wat is a refugium and how much is it and is there a certain type that i should get?
 
barola87

barola87

Member
Originally Posted by vicegrip
Imo I don't think .5 is high for a fish only tank.
try washing the filter media in saltwater
i washed everything about 1 week ago in saltwater.
 
barola87

barola87

Member
Originally Posted by BadOleRoss
There are 2 things that I see right away that could be the cause of your nitrate problem The first is the crushed coral substrate and the 2nd being the 405 canister fiter. A sand substrate stays cleaner and does not harbor nitrates the way crushed coral can. I had the same thing in my 220 and switched it ot. And a canister fiter, unless very clean can be a nitrate farm. A sump is a much better option.
well wat should i do take most of the cc out and replace it with live sand wat will i do wit the fish wen im doing this?lfs told me that the 405 fluval would be good for about 6 months before cleaning it and putting the new carbon inside
 
barola87

barola87

Member
Originally Posted by warnerrobins55
the crushed coral causes pockets that collect nitrates. You need to take that out and put live sand. You can also go to the local supermarket and get some live clams and out them in there. Make sure they are alive. Try and get there when the shipment come in. You can them for like 50 cents. They live off nitrates and they will take them out. The main problem though is your crushed coral. You need to at least have SOME live sand in there.
i cant put live clams in because i have copper in my tank i used coppersafe to get the ick off of my foxface i no i shouldnt of poured it directly in the tank but i didnt no this at the time. now that i think of it ever since i put the copper safe in the tank i been having this nitrate prob
 
7

75bownut

Guest
Originally Posted by barola87
wat is a refugium and how much is it and is there a certain type that i should get?

A refugium is a tank that holds a deep sand bed, macroalgea and usually the light is on when your tank lights are off, some people run there lights 24/7 to the refugium. If you go into the archives youll find alot of info on this and if you go into the diy section of the forums there alot of folks there that can help you build one. They are very easy to make and can be made cheaply. Mine cost me about 30 min time and about 30 bucks. You see macroalgea will pull nitrates from the water, they love it! Also this makes a nice quiet are for your pods to gather. It also helps keep algea out of your main tank
 
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