Nitrates 80 - 100!!!

dmjordan

dmjordan

Active Member
A fellow coworker and fish hobbyist has been telling about his nitrate problem he has been having lately. Since I am still a newbie myself I told him I will ask the you all for advice.
Tank is as follows:
65 gal tank, nitrite = 0, ammonia = 0, nitrate = 80 - 100, ph = 8.2, salt level = 1.026, temp = 79 - 80
Equipment is fluval 304 and coralife skimmer
45 lbs of LR and 50 lbs of LS
feeds fish every other day
inhabitants are 2 cinnamon clowns, 1 lemonpeel angelfish, 1 hippo tang, 2 green chromis, 1 BTA and some shrooms
tank has been running for 1 year
Past 3 weeks he done the following:
3 weeks ago 20 gal water change (RO)
2 weeks ago 10 gal water change (RO)
1 week ago 10 gal water change (RO)
this week planning on doing a 50% water change
Nothing seems to be bringing down the nitrates :scared:
Any suggestions?
 
halo_frk03

halo_frk03

Member
well nitrates are xtra nutrienst in the water... water changes should be bringing them down... maybe he is overfeeding...?
 
washowi

washowi

Member
Classic problem that some people over look. Clean any sponges in the filter system, Floss, Bio-balls, etc. If he has media bags with carbon, etc.
Is that a possibility?
Todd
 
hedonic

hedonic

Member
Originally Posted by dmjordan
1 week ago 10 gal water change (RO)
Good idea, do this every three to four days untill it comes down, maybe even a little less, I have a 65gal sys, and a 7.5 gallon bucket, I do weekly water changes relgiously, its like bathing, every week whether you need it or not.

Originally Posted by dmjordan
this week planning on doing a 50% water change
Nothing seems to be bringing down the nitrates :scared:
Any suggestions?
Bad idea. Large volume water changes can cut down nitrates, but they can also exasterbate a realitivly minor problem. stick with less volume, more frequent changes, it will come back in-line as long as he is not feeding to much.
 
dmjordan

dmjordan

Active Member
Originally Posted by washowi
Classic problem that some people over look. Clean any sponges in the filter system, Floss, Bio-balls, etc. If he has media bags with carbon, etc.
Is that a possibility?
Todd
Cleans sponges and bio media every 10 days in water from tank in bucket and replaces carbon every month.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
I'd say its time to test a fresh batch of new saltwater and your RO water source to see what you come up with.
 
dmjordan

dmjordan

Active Member
That was the only advice I was able to give. Told him to check water and then batch of saltwater mixed up to see if either water or salt is causing the problem.
 
dmjordan

dmjordan

Active Member
Originally Posted by bigarn
Have a good LFS test for nitrates to eliminate the possibility of a faulty test kit.

He was using the saltwater master kit by API and now he is using the salifert both are giving the same reading.
 
dmjordan

dmjordan

Active Member
Could a 30 gal water change be disasterous if new batch of SW test 0 for nitrate and all other parameters match what is in tank?
 
hedonic

hedonic

Member
I would still think it is much to large, you have temprature to consider then, it would have to be spot on, and try to match up PH, you could do this by using a ph buffered slat mix like reef crystals (coralife). In the end rapid small volume water changes can just as effective and much safer
 
dmjordan

dmjordan

Active Member
He does use reef crystals salt in his tank and has had a new batch of SW mixing with heater and powerhead since Monday. I'll let him know to do small water changes instead of a large one.
Does about 6 gals every 3 days seem O.K.?
How long can he save the batch of SW?
 
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