Nitrate problem!!!

[fishsta]

I have a 75 gallon tank with 75 lbs lr, 75 lbs ls, a 20 gallon wet dry with bio balls, and a skilter 400. The tank has been set up for 7 months now and i have always had a huge nitrate problem. I have not had any fish in my tank now for 2 months and i still have a outragous nitrate reading. I only have nassarius snails, hermit crabs, horse shoe crab, lots of sand sifting stars, and a coral banded shrimp. I have done water changes but they never do anything. Help im about to give up!!!! Thanks for any advise!

 

[feixjai]

bio balls here are consider nitrate factories. hope this helped

 

[chamic1]

What type of salt do you use?
Are you doseing your tank with additives?
Are you feeding your critters anything?

 

[murph]

I saw this method on the net. Have never personally done it so I can not attest to its effectiveness and or side effects. Since you don't have fish in the tank it may be worth a try. I would consider it a last resort after all other sources of nitrates have been ruled out as a cause.
Amounts to a very large water change.
1) Siphon out a quarter the water and refill with new.
2) Siphon out half and refill.
3) Siphon out three quarters refill.
If you do it let me know if it works.

 

[drea]

don't you mess up the cycled water if you take too much out though?

 

[jjlittle]

I had same problem at just about the same time frame on my tank never could get them down. I removed the bio ball increase turn over rate and they droped I am one who believes you dont need bio ball after 6 month time and think they do a reverse effect after that time and expell nitrate into the tank and after changing my system it took alittle while and after a month or so with regular water changes it finally drop to 15 or20 now I run a refrug w/ macro and run about 5. So my suggestion is remove the bioball for you have LR which is the best filter and increase water turn over rate or more move ment with power heads.

 

[bud green]

What about rinsing the bio-balls, will that take care of the nitrate problem? I tend to not like to spend a ton of money replacing something that a little cleaning effort will take care of.

 

[mr_bill]

Only water changes would help a high nitrate issue at this point. Keeping the bio-balls clean would help prevent where he is at now though.
EDIT: Water changes and cleaning of wet/dry (bio-balls, and bottom of sump) would keep nitrates from going crazy.

 

[jjlittle]

You would not be spending money you have around 1 puond of LR per gal which is good you could just remove the bio balls still useing the tanks they are in.

 

[murph]

Most of the biological filtration is taking place in and on the Lr, substrate and filter media. Since there are no fish in the tank that kind of staged water change should not have that much effect in theory.
Like I said I have never actually don that kind of massive staged water change before but since there are no fish in the tank it may be worth a try just to see how effective it is.
After all if you read it on the INTERNET it has to be true. Right????

 

[mr_bill]

Purification through dilution is what that process is demonstrating and yes it will bring the nitrates down.