Nitrates at 80!!What to do?

[thomas712]

If possible take your vaccum, and place it over the tubes that rise up the back of the UGF, place the vaccum tube right over the riser tube all the way down to the crushed coral. Syphon some water up, tamp the vaccum down on the crushed coral and watch what come up. Let me know.
I susspect that there may be a ton of junk traped under the UGF plate.
If nothing else I would just rip that UGF out of there.
Thomas

 

[crzyfshygy]

Dude now Iam really buggin!!!!!! Iwent to the LFS to get more RO water also thought it would be a good idea to buy a new nitrate test and Iwas using Mardel test strips. I bought Fast test the LFS guy said it was what he has been using for years.
NITRATE TESTED AT 10PPM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS WAS THE SAME THING THAT HAPPENED WITH MY AMONIA THESE STRIPS WERE SHOWING .25 AMONIA AND NOW 80 ON THE NITRATES. WHEN I BOUGHT A DIFFERENT TEST IT SHOWED PERFECT. WHAT A RIP OFF. I WISH THEY WOULD COME OUT WITH SOMETHING THAT WAS ALL DIGITAL (THE TEST KIT TO END ALL TEAST KITS) THANKS FOR YOUR HELP. IAM GOING TO ADD YOU TO MY BUDDY LIST!

 

[lizzard]

Water changes essentially do the same; treat the symptoms not the cause. The plus for AZ-NO3 is that its easier to do.
traib,
Ok, lets look at the two choices here. Az-no3- reduces nitrates.
Water changes- correct excessive nutrient levels which is the (cause of high nitrates) and high phosphate levels. Plus it will replenish important trace element such as iodine, magnesium, and calcium. I’ll go with the water change.

 

[traib]

Lizzard
Ok, lets look at the two choices here. Az-no3- reduces nitrates.
Water changes- correct excessive nutrient levels which is the (cause of high nitrates) and high phosphate levels. Plus it will replenish important trace element such as iodine, magnesium, and calcium. I’ll go with the water change
The original question was what to do about nitrate readings of 80, not low levels of trace elements. I just answer the question.
I could write a couple paragraphs on how to maintain an extremly small aquarium, but that was not asked. Focus on the question. If he wants to know more I'm sure he has presence of mind to ask.

 

[lizzard]

My first post gave him many ways to reduce nitrate so his question has been answered..
But you stated that water changes do the same thing as az-no3, and this is not totally true.You get more bang for your buck with water changes. Again, AZ-NO3 will aid in the reduction of nitrate but you are not addressing the problem of why your trates are high, your just removing the symptoms. ..You'll find that it's better to spend the money on salt for more frequent water changes. Again it comes down to maintenance.

 

[traib]

Lizzard
Re-read the above!

 

[mombostic]

Thomas:
I like your idea. When I vacuum under the UGF plate, I feed a tube down through the riser and go all under the plate. Your ideas sounds less messy, but does it get all of the stuff? If a simple syphon pulled the stuff out, wouldn't my powerhead be drawing it out?
crzyfshygy:
I only do what is exposed, but like I said, I also do under the plate. I really agitate the coral and push the vacuum way down in there to stir it up and get that stuff out. CC does come up in the tube, but water still moves through it. When a lot of cc gets into the tube, I just lift up the tube and it sifts out.

 

[ophiura]

This is a reason not to skimp on test kits. I am not particularly fond of test strips at all, personally.
It is also a time NOT to panic. Even at 80ppm, that amount of nitrate is not immediately toxic, IMO - certainly not to fish (I have worked on systems with long term nitrates far higher). It is not a great situation, one that I would address, but certainly no reason to go crazy. Especially in a small tank, where if you do big water changes you could be causing trouble.
Unless there is something extremely toxic going on - severe ammonia spike that is persistant, some sort of apparent toxin, etc...I am still a proponent of taking a breath, and coming up with a slow and steady solution...reducing waste into the system (bioload or food), and increasing water changes.

 

[ctgretzky9]

Sand is no better than crushed coral and vice versa. It's a matter of preference. There are people now who say a deep sand bed is not great either. So do what you want, stick with what you got, just do the things that will make it work for you.
I have had cc beds for a long time. It is a matter of are you willing to take the time to vacuum the cc on a regular basis.
Every time I do a water change, (every 2 weeks or more often) I am changing out the water by vacuuming the cc. I take out about 5-7 gallons on a 60 gal. that is all from the bottom. Try and get as close to under the LR as you can, don't stir the water up too much-in other words move from place to place slowly with the vacuum and dip it into the cc an inch or two.
It's all about the time you put into it.
Also, there is a reason you have high nitrates...overfeeding is a big cause. I used to feed my fish 2 times a day sometimes, now I feed them 1 time a day and that's it.

 

[crzyfshygy]

Skimpin on test kit is not what happened. That test kit cost me 27 bucks. It is really hard to find a trust worthy LFS everone has a different answer. The guy who sold me a filter at a LFS in Lauderdale installed the media wrong. I did not find out till I went to change it. I am in this HOBBY 2 months and have learned sooo much. What I am finding out is every tank is diiferent every species is different which leads to a COMPLETLY DIFFERENT SET OF CIRCUSTANCES ON EVERY OCCASION. This hobby is for individuals who want to learn, who will make mistakes and have many trial by errors. That is what keeps me interested. Its a Journey not a Destination.

 

[ophiura]

There definitely are no cheap test kits...that is true, but some are definitely better than others. :yes: But glad that it was a testing error and not a bigger issue