Nitrates

[piccasotrigger]

I have been kind of struggling to get the nitrates down to 0. Unfortunatly i dont know whats going on and why i cant do it. I have a 55 gallon with 2 xp3s 1 emperor 400 30lbs LR and only 4 starfish living in it at the moment. I cleaned the tank really good 2 days ago and checked the nitrates after and they were at 0. Now i checked today and there at 20. Is that normal for them to go up that fast with just starfish? All for of my starfish are just different variations of chip stars.

 

[team2jndd]

chocolate chip stars do make a significant amount of waste... also, your emperor filters, are you running them with the filterpads and bio wheels? These will also add to your nitrates. 20 is fine with your setup though. Also, what kit are you using?

 

[piccasotrigger]

Im using the four pads and 2 bio wheels for the emperor. With the xp3s im using the coarse pads,bio chem stars, carbon, and microfilteration pads. also on one i have the biochem zorb. Is there anything i should get rid of or add? To get the nitrates where i want them.

 

[team2jndd]

Well, all of those will add nitrates. Even the carbon needs to be switched out regularly because it will eventually put everything back into the tank that it originally took out. If you are running an agressive tank, nitrates at 20 is no problem. Even for a reef tank it wont be a problem. However, if it will be a reef tank, i suggest ditching that filtration and going with the skimmer/fuge.

 

[piccasotrigger]

alright so im going to be running an agressive. So i think im going to get rid of the all the carbon and just add pads and bio filteration. Thanks for all the help.

 

[team2jndd]

Are you running carbon IN the pads or are you adding it yourself in a seperate bag? I run carbon as long as you rinse it out every other week or so it should be fine. It deffinately helps cleaning out the water if you keep up with it. I would suggest a skimmer for an agressive tank though depending on what you decide to keep.

 

[piccasotrigger]

What skimmer would you suggest? i was thinking about getting one.

 

[team2jndd]

well, alot depends on what you are putting in the tank. A 55 is kind of small so it limits you. Ecspecially for an agressive tank. For example, if you wanted to go with a snowflake eel, dwarf lion and ummm a cinammon clown... a HOB would be best. Maybe a used prizm or something. To be perfectly honest, you probably won't even need one. Like I said, it really depends on what will be going in the tank. If you plan to get a small bubble tip or something, I would suggest one because they make a lot of waste and are sensitive to water conditions. Just let me know what your fishlist plans are and i will suggest a system.

 

[piccasotrigger]

I have a 150 coming in december so im going to keep this fish as babies and then move them into the 150 in 5 months. Snowflake and zebra eel, Dogface puffer, mask puffer,also bluethroat trigger. I know it seems like alot for a 55 gallon but my lfs has all of them at the moment and they are all tiny.

 

[team2jndd]

That's pushing it on the bioload. Both of those puffers get to be pretty large as does the bluethroat. You may need another upgrade down the road.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by piccasotrigger
alright so im going to be running an agressive. So i think im going to get rid of the all the carbon and just add pads and bio filteration. Thanks for all the help.
What fish are you planning on that are aggressive with 4 stars in a 55? What specific breeds of stars do you have? How deep is your sand?

 

[skipperdz]

not trying to steal but i too am having nitrate problem in mine as well.
i have a 55g with 4vhos, bought a remora c skimmer a week ago (hope that helps)and 2 1200 maxijets running
what i have in the tank are: maroon clown, eibli angel, fairy wrasse, hawaiian blue puffer. 4 emerald crabs, 10 turbos, 5 hermits, CBS, LTA, 6 nasserious snails, and a peppermint shrimp.
all parameters are great, except my trates which is b/t 40-80 ppm, and none of my inverts seem affected yet, have had the problem for about 2 months and only lose an occasional snail.
anyway to fix this...sorry again for the steal