Nitrates in new tank

[megadon]

The Nitrates are the highest color on the chart, over 200. I'll ride it out for a while and see what happens, checking things out each day. I was planning to get a couple good lights to try and keep the algae alive at least. The Damsel seems fine, the bristleworms and snail and little translucent shrimp all seem to be OK. I used 12 gallons of distilled water, the rest (35 +/-) was the same water the Cichlids were in. Would it benifit me to run a skimmer at this point?

 

[glenn]

Do a water change. Do some water changes about 2 days apart. You didnt say if your cycle was done but that level of nitrate is way to high. Do atleast 4 water changes of 25% - 50%. Also watch how much food you are feeding the fish as this will also cause nitrate and phosphate rises. How much are you feeding them now? What size is the tank and what is in it?
Glenn

 

[megadon]

Hi Glenn,
Tha tank is 50 gal and has 60 lbs of LR and 30 lbs of LS from an older established tank. I have 1 blue Damsel in it, the rest of the stuff came from the rock and sand. The tank has been running just about a week and I never saw any Nitrites. I run a Fluval canister and will hook up a skimmer tonight. I feed the Damsel a few flakes twice a day, I have tons of Aiptasia that should get some of the food the fish doesn't get.

 

[joerdie]

i think part of the problem is that you have a damsel in after only a week. i never add fish/inverts for at least a month after starting a new tank. sometimes even longer. I know that i am in the extreme but imo 1 week is not long enough to put a fish in, even if its a damsel. about what you should do now? well ive heard differing oppinions in this. some say NOT to do any water changes durring the cycle because it will take longer for it to finnish. I however would probably do a 50% just to try to help the fish! (sorry for the lenght)

 

[richard rendos]

joerdie...if you don't add fish or something to create waste, your nitrogen cycle will not even start. How do you cycle your tank? You should add your first fish or something to create waste after your temperature and salinity and pH are correct. Otherwise what will make your cycle start?

 

[finland]

If I understand you correctly, the tank used to be a cichlid tank, and you used 35 gallons from the cichlid tank to make the sw tank. The rest was added distilled water. If the tank has been up for only a week, and you added ls and lr from an established tank you may not get a cycle. If you did get a cycle, not enough time has gone by to get that high of nitrates. It takes time for the bacteria to grow in order to cycle a tank. That leads me to believe that the nitrates were from the cichlid water already in there. Do water changes (25%) every couple days to get the level down. Cichlid tend to be very messy fish(a lot of waste)and that would lead to nitrate build up. You mentioned that the lr and ls were from an established tank, so you might not get a cycle, so it would be a good idea to get the skimmer going.

 

[katherine]

Richard:
You don't need live fish to cycle a tank. There are several other methods that can be employed to introduce and encourage bacteria to establish. One of them, which I myself used, is the use of a proprietary maturation fluid, added in measured doses, either over a period of days or in one large dose, depending on the manufacturer's instructions.
Living rock is also a popular way to get your cycle going, or you can even use a couple of cocktail shrimp (the ones you eat).
Megadon:
There are three main ways of reducing nitrates. The first, and simplest is dilution, the regular water change with nitrate-free water. Depending on how heavily stocked it is, most tanks require a 15-20 percent change every fortnight. The second, assimilation, is to grow plenty of macro algae which use nitrate as a food source. The third method, denitrification, is very effective but requires a separate filter compartment.
It would be wise to aim for total nitrate levels of less than 25 ppm in the fish-only tank and below 10 ppm in the invertebrate aquarium.
If all these forms of nitrate reduction are tried without success, then you must consider destocking the tank". (N. Dakin)
Hope this helps.
Katherine

 

[joerdie]

Richard i use one of the meathods spoken about above... Ahhh the cochtail shrimp. Just put 5 or 6 in my sump and presto instant cycle!!!

 

[demosthenes]

Katherine, I agreed with you on everything, and then I read this:
Originally posted by KATHERINE:
<strong>The third method, denitrification, is very effective but requires a separate filter compartment.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I noticed that you quoted N Dakin, so I will not say you are wrong, but he is. Denitrification does not require a seperate container at all. It requires a DSB. I'm unsure of whether by seperate container, a refugium is being insinuated, in which a DSB and macroalgae will be put to use. However, a simple 4-6" DSB will be sufficient in reducing nitrates, and also supporting a thriving pod population. A DSB incorporates fine-grade sand, in order to provide an oxygen-deprived area, so that anaerobic bacteria my complete the denitrification process. HTH in some way or another.
PS For now, I would try to get the LFS to keep your damsel, as you should have already started the cycle, and doing such a large water change will only re-start it. Now that I think of it, I would take back the damsel, and do a 50-75% water change, note that your cycle will start again, but it will help majorly with the nitrates. Not to flame, but the cichlid water was a mistake. Hope you can find your way out of this one.
PPS Keep me updated.