Nitrates...

[channah]

Hello to all, I'm a newbie on the board. I was wondering about safe levels of nitrate for my fish (listed below). I do 10% water changes weekly, vacuuming all substrate, and use DI water (my tap containes nitrates). They currently test at 40-60 ppm. Thanks for any info!
Set Up: 75 gallon Oceanic
Amiracle SR100 wet/Dry with BioBalls
Amiracle Protein Skimmer
30 lbs of live rock
Thin layer of CC substrate.
5" Volitan Lion, 3"Clown Trigger, 3" tomato clown, 5" Dogface Puffer, 5" Naso Tang

 

[fmarini]

Channah:
You bring up an interesting point. What exactly is a safe level of nitrates. I have cared for tanks which people have overloaded and had nitrate in the high hundreds and honestly the fish weren't any worse for the wear. My personal tank has had nitrates around your level for yrs and I have a number of fish over 3yrs old. I even have an 8yrs old vlamingi tang.
I equate nitrates to smog. In that, in an by itself is not harmful. However its not good for you long term health, and could possibly contribute to long term problems.
I suspect your 40-60ppm is fine, but in time this will climb. I see your tank is well stocked and I assume you are feeding pretty heavy as well. Just do the best you can in keeping the tank clean.Also consider exchanging larger volumes of water. is your skimmer working well.
Are you planning a larger tank in the future? These fish may outgrow this tank, and you should start seeing problems when the triggers, puffer, and naso start getting larger
frank

 

[kris]

That's a GREAT analogy!
never thought of it like that before.
anyway you have pretty hardy fish that are big and messy eaters, hence the nitrates.
Sounds like you're taking great care of your tank too, but maybe a little extra at water change would help. Also take a look at how much and how often you're feeding. That amiracle skimmer of yours, is that one of the older counter-current types?? If so, it's not really doing any good so you might want to consider a different one. Even a cheap venturi style will way outperform it. IMO .If I'm wrong about your skimmer, never mind)
As a general rule of thumb--nitrates under 50 are safe with 0-20 being ideal (for a fo tank anyway)
Good Luck

 

[channah]

Yeah, my Amiracle P.Skimmer is with the powerhead/airstone (is that cross-current?). Any recommendations for another good skimmer? I don't want to spend a fortune (I feel like I already have), but if it's what it takes. My skimmer is rated for 90 gallons, and takes alot out, but it's not "overflowing" with foam. Thanks!!!

 

[pancho]

WELL FOR STATERS SKILTER MAKES A PRETTY GOOD SKIMMER, BUT DO YOU HAVE A BIO WHEEL ON YOUR TANK? IF NOT GET ONE. ALSO U MIGHT WANT TO START FEEDING THEM EVERY OTHER DAY. AND CHANGE ABOUT 35-40 %OF YOUR WATER EVERY TWO WEEKS AND YOU MIGHT WANT TO INVEST IN A UV STERILIZER. ALSO IF YOU HAVE A UNDERGRAVEL FILTER YOU MIGHT WANT TO REMOVE IT AND LET THE POWER HEADS RUN THAT WAY AND HAVE A THIN LAYER OF GRAVEL ON THE BOTTOM. ONE MORE THING TRY AND GET A MAGNUM FILTER AS WELL FOR THE UV STERILIZER. GOOD LUCK THE NITRATE SHOULD DROP TO ABOUT 10-20 PPM'S

 

[kris]

There are many good skimmers--in this particular area I think it pays to buy the best you can afford. Some people highly reccomend the berlins and others say the remora's but yes even the prizm is better than the amiracle counter-current one. The old airstone deals are simply not NEARLY as effective.
I'm not sure how pancho thinks all that additional equipment is going to help you any??????? I don't think any of that is necessary, but that's my opinion. But he is right in that overfeeding is a leading cause of nitrates and larger water changes will always help. up to 40%
Another thing though--is that I don't think your levels are all THAT high anyway. Unless you're keeping some really sensitive fish or any corals I wouldn't get yourself too worried. Anything under 60 I was told was safe for fish.
In case you haven't noticed there have been people here with trates in the upper 100's!!!!!
Good Luck

 

[blacktip]

First off I would like to say the skimmer you are using works fine. Venturi skimmers such as Berlin and Aqua C have the same sucess as the old driven airstone skimmers. These skimmers require a new wooden airstone on a monthly basis. They are every bit as efficent as the new high tech skimmers. Secondly fish need to be fed twice a day every day without exception. High nitrate is a result of improper feeding not overfeeding. As time goes by companies are actually starting to look more closly into the proper nutrition of fish foods. If you have ever been to a pet shop before you will notice many differnt brands of dog foods. There are the high quality foods and the others...no names given of course...if you have ever had to clean up the backyard after feeding some of the lesser quality foods you will notice in increase in how much you are scooping up however use a high quality foood and there is less waste. These food are more palettable. Meaning the animal digests more of the food it is eating. Same holds true in fishkeeping...feed brine shrimp ...more waste=higher nitrates...good quailty food = less waste..lower nitrate. So the real question is not what skimmer do I need or how many water changes do I do, it is what food am I feeding my fish.....

 

[blacktip]

The debate on skimmers can go round and round. I have been using an air driven skimmer for years now. I too jumped on the bandwagon when the new venturi type skimmer hit the market. However after comparison and using both skimmers on a tank I have come to the conclusion both skimmers where equally as efficent. I also had the waste water anyalzied by a local water quality processing plant. The report was astounding. The venturi type skimmer had worked equally as well as the air driven skimmer and the waste water test proved it. To this very day I am back to an air driven skimmer and having remarkable sucess in my reef tank. I have even had coral spawnings on frequent occasions as well as astounding growth from my corals.