Nitrates still not going down!

[hotjeepinmomma]

Just an update on the 55 gallon tank i uped my water changes to every day and still the nitrates are at 160 the LFS said it happens! But how do i get it down! The 135 gallon is still cycling so i can't put my fish in there and just start over on the 55 gallon tank, any more suggestions?!

 

[1journeyman]

Have you tested your source water for Nitrates?

 

[scotts]

I kind of gone over some of your posts to see what is up with your set up. You have canister filters which can produce nitrates, when was the last time you changed the media in them?
Do you have sand or crushed coral in the bottom of your tank?
Are your test kits good? They do have an expiration date on them. You might want to have your LFS check your water.
How do you do your water changes? This might stir up stuff which releases nitrates into your water.

 

[bigarn]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Have you tested your source water for Nitrates?
Good point .... something sounds strange here.

 

[hotjeepinmomma]

i took the canister filter out when they said it was a no no i also switched from tap water to ro water, there is half crushed and half sand, i just bought these test kits a week ago cause i thought that might be the problem, i don't dump the water in i syphen it in with a hose so i won't mix any thing up...

 

[scotts]

Originally Posted by hotjeepinmomma
there is half crushed and half sand, .
IMO this could be your issue right there. CC is a substrate that collects the waste in the bottom of your tank. Then you siphon out this waste when you do a water change. LS has bugs and critters and bacteria in it that breaks down the waste that is in the sand. however if you mix the two then neither one works the right way, and you would have a nitrate problem like you are having now.
I always say it is having oil based and water based paint. Both work well on their own, however if you mix them it just does not work.
Most people on this board prefer LS, just so you know.

 

[hotjeepinmomma]

So i'm doing things right just the cc and ls ain't working for me, so when i break down the tank only use ls. I just tested my tap water just out of curiosity cause thats what we use to use and everything reads zero, nitrate nitrite and ammonia. So then what is the problem with using tap water?! Also on a nother subject, the 135 gallon has been set up for 3 weeks now and everything is reading zero the lfs told us to put our shrimp in it a coral banded shrimp so we did 2 days ago and he is doing fine, i test daily and things are still at zero, should i just add my porcupine puffer and tomatoe clown in his tank so i can just break mine down???

 

[scotts]

My opinion is the CC/LS mixture is a major factor in your tank. Also you have a puffer in your tank right? What do you feed it?
The problem with tap water is that it has "stuff" in it. It may be small amounts of metals, dirt, whatever. But for tap water the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) can be around 250 or higher. With RO water your TDS will be around 10, with DI water your TDS will be 0. It is better to put clean water and salt into your tank then water, salt and some other stuff in your tank.

 

[hotjeepinmomma]

yes we have a puffer we feed him frozen krill twice a week and small pieces...do you think i should put the fish in the 135 gallon tank??

 

[scotts]

The reason I asked about the puffer is because I have heard they, and other aggressive fish, are notoriously sloppy eaters. Especially when they are fed live food. This means more leftover food which in the long run turns into nitrates.
I am not sure where you are with your 135 and in the cycling process, so for now I would not change anything. If you want to help your problem in your 55, you could use one of those vacuum hoses they use of freshwater tanks for cleaning gravel. This will get rid of some of the crud in the bottom of your tank. Of course this would be when you are doing a water change.
So what do you have in your 135? Sand or coral, any sump or refuge? What are you going to do with your 55? The reason I am asking is you could use your 55 as a refugium/sump under your 135. That is what I did with my 125 and my 55 gal.

 

[thejude]

Originally Posted by Scotts
I kind of gone over some of your posts to see what is up with your set up. You have canister filters which can produce nitrates, when was the last time you changed the media in them?
Do you have sand or crushed coral in the bottom of your tank?
Are your test kits good? They do have an expiration date on them. You might want to have your LFS check your water.
How do you do your water changes? This might stir up stuff which releases nitrates into your water.
this brings up a question: a guy at a fish store said that a flounder in my tank would be good because in keeps the substrate stirred up. is that true.

 

[scotts]

In all honesty I don't know about flounders, but I don't think I have heard good things about them. But there are gobies that you can use to keep the top of your sand sitrred up and cleaner. I personally like the four wheeled goby. Diamond gobies are beautiful fish, but can and will jump out of your tank. It depends on what substrate you have and what size tank.

 

[hotjeepinmomma]

He is a sloppy eater but the shrimp and the clown get most of what he don't. Well the 135 is in the third week and everything is at zero, the shrimp we put in there is fine. I took all the cc out of the tank cleaned he heck out of it (it was nasty) and put in back in the tank that was 2 days ago and the nitrates still are high, WE did the 135 in sand and its got hang on filters, my husband refuses to do a sump (its his tank so lol) but i'm selling the 55 cause i just bought a 50 gallon reef tank for 40 bucks and don't need the 55...
Originally Posted by Scotts
The reason I asked about the puffer is because I have heard they, and other aggressive fish, are notoriously sloppy eaters. Especially when they are fed live food. This means more leftover food which in the long run turns into nitrates.
I am not sure where you are with your 135 and in the cycling process, so for now I would not change anything. If you want to help your problem in your 55, you could use one of those vacuum hoses they use of freshwater tanks for cleaning gravel. This will get rid of some of the crud in the bottom of your tank. Of course this would be when you are doing a water change.
So what do you have in your 135? Sand or coral, any sump or refuge? What are you going to do with your 55? The reason I am asking is you could use your 55 as a refugium/sump under your 135. That is what I did with my 125 and my 55 gal.

 

[sinner's g]

I had cc for years and never had my nitrates that high. Are you vacuuming the cc with each water change? You have to vacuum cc to clean the crap out.
check your water source, have the lfs test your water, just to make sure your results are correct.
I got bad results once, not fun.
cut back on feeding and/or decrease bio-load (how many fish do you have?)
ime, if you still have inverts alive, then 160 is not a correct reading. Have you retested the water with a different kit or at a different store? Are the fish acting stressed?
good luck selling the 55gl, I've been trying to give mine away.

 

[nano reefer]

how did you start your changing?
should have gone 50%, 40 next day, 30, 20, then 10% for a week. Try a material like purigen, matrix, or de-nitrate. If it still doesnt go down, set up a refugium if you dont have one.