Nitrates...help!!!!!!

[mikeyb]

my nitrates were extremely high...like 80 and i did a 5 gallon water change with natural sea water in a box that i bought at the lfs and it dropped my trates to 40. my question is could i do another water change in a week with the same sea water to slowly get it down to zero or close so i i can take over and maintain from there by cleaning the tank out and keeping a closer eye on the water conditions?:help: i have a 36g, with 1 angel, 3 damsels, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 coral banded shrimp, 2 urchins, 1 cucumber, 1 green brittle star, 20-25 hermit blue leg hermit crab, 4 turbo snales, some mushrooms, and 2 anenomes, running a bio wheel filtration...tank is 3 months running...hopefully thats all you need to help me:help: :help: :help: thank you so much for the help

 

[viper_930]

Yea, you can just keep doing the 5 gallon water changes every week until they are close to 0, then do water changes every other week. I'd also recommend investing in a skimmer: CPR bakpak, aqua c remora, or via aqua are good choices.

 

[sly]

You could do another water change now. Take out all your fish and put them in a clean bucket so that they don't get dirt in their gills.
Drain the tank down as much as you can. Next add about 5 gals and then drain it down all the way again. Then add 5 more gallons and drain it all the way down.
Now fill it up all the way and you're done.
Draining it and refilling like this removes more toxins than just doing a simple water change by itself. When you are changing the water while it is drained down, you are concentrating the polutants and removing more at a time. I did this once to my 72 gal and I have not had nitrates since.
With so much in your tank, you might want to get a hang on back filter and skimmer. A simple bio-wheel is not enough in most cases. Also try to have at least 1lb of living rock per gallon. This will help remove nitrates better. If you get a hang on tank filter, consider planting macro algae in it. This will help oxygenate the water more and will remove more toxins and excess phosphates that can cause nussance algae to grow in your tank.

 

[mikeyb]

hey thank you so much for the help i really appreciate it guys

:jumping:

 

[viper_930]

I'd stay away from doing the massive water change Sly mentioned, especially witha cuke and 2 anemones. When a cucumber dies, depending on the color I think, it will release a very poisonous toxin that kills everything in the tank. And anemones are very sensative to sudden water parameter changes. Gradual water changes are best for them.