Sanity Check about Nitrates, Please.

[tebriel]

Hi, I have a 55 gallon "show" tank (wish i had a shorter one, but sometimes you learn things too late) with 110#'s of LR , 55#'s of LS, 1 clown, 2 spotted cardinals, 1 damsel and 1 scissor tail goby. Throw in a few snails and blue legged hermit crabs and you now know my entire tank. It's been biologically set up since 2002, though I did have one crash about 6 months ago. I'm testing and taking better care of my tank, for example: I change 5 gallons (almost 10%) 4 times a week. My Nitrites are 0, my alkalinity is 300ppm +, my salinity is 1.023...now for my problems
1. nitrates are 20ppm consistently
2. pH will not rise above 7.8 even though I add buffer daily, I've stopped adding buffer and it's still at 7.8, I was using Kent pro buffer dKH.
3. The skimmer (a seaclone, yes yes I know, they suck but it used to actually do something) now pulls nothing out of the tank since I started my frequent water changes. Is it that since the water is changed so often that there's not really enough to pull out for my crappy seaclone or should i be worried?
extraneous info:
All water RO/DI filtered, running a Mangum 350 Pro canister filter with no media just the filter (i use it basically as a big powerhead and wash it off biweekly), 2 maxijet powerheads, 1 ebo jager heater, PC: 2x65 W 10k Coralife bulbs and 2x65 W actinic Coralife bulbs plus some moon leds.

 

[darknes]

Why so many water changes?
1. 20 ppm isn't really bad for a fish only tank. Have you tried another test kit to see if yours might be off?
2. What brand of salt are you using? Whats the pH of a new batch of saltwater?
3. It's possible. Have you taken it apart completely and cleaned it lately?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by tebriel
Hi, I have a 55 gallon "show" tank (wish i had a shorter one, but sometimes you learn things too late) with 110#'s of LR , 55#'s of LS, 1 clown, 2 spotted cardinals, 1 damsel and 1 scissor tail goby. Throw in a few snails and blue legged hermit crabs and you now know my entire tank. It's been biologically set up since 2002, though I did have one crash about 6 months ago. I'm testing and taking better care of my tank, for example: I change 5 gallons (almost 10%) 4 times a week. My Nitrites are 0, my alkalinity is 300ppm +, my salinity is 1.023...now for my problems
1. nitrates are 20ppm consistently
2. pH will not rise above 7.8 even though I add buffer daily, I've stopped adding buffer and it's still at 7.8, I was using Kent pro buffer dKH.
3. The skimmer (a seaclone, yes yes I know, they suck but it used to actually do something) now pulls nothing out of the tank since I started my frequent water changes. Is it that since the water is changed so often that there's not really enough to pull out for my crappy seaclone or should i be worried?
extraneous info:
All water RO/DI filtered, running a Mangum 350 Pro canister filter with no media just the filter (i use it basically as a big powerhead and wash it off biweekly), 2 maxijet powerheads, 1 ebo jager heater, PC: 2x65 W 10k Coralife bulbs and 2x65 W actinic Coralife bulbs plus some moon leds.
I have had nitrates at 20 in the past on my 55. It took several 30% changes (I know that isn't the normal amount to change, but think about the concentration of nitrates going out compared to the zero going in) To get them down. It took quite a few to get them down. The other alternative is to set up a refuge. You can buy a hang in one or set up a tank underneath your 55. Your skimmer probably has nothing to pull out with the frequent changes.

 

[tebriel]

Originally Posted by Darknes
Why so many water changes?
1. 20 ppm isn't really bad for a fish only tank. Have you tried another test kit to see if yours might be off?
2. What brand of salt are you using? Whats the pH of a new batch of saltwater?
3. It's possible. Have you taken it apart completely and cleaned it lately?
1. No, not yet, but I'll go buy one tomorrow
2. Just switched from Instant Ocean to Reef Crystals, I haven't tested the new water before adding it, that's a good idea.
3. Yes, I actually just got a new one the other day, my maxijet that comes with the skimmer died, so i went back to petsmart and traded it in for a new one. I clean it bi-weekly alternating weeks with my filter.

 

[tebriel]

sepultian: I'm trying to decide on what type of refugium to buy, also thinking about building a phlenum like garf suggests and reconstructing my tank with it, but that would be a lot of work and probably cause me to re-cycle my tank. I dunno if that's the best idea, but I want the best for my tank, and I'm willing to do what it takes. As far as the refuge, should I just go DSB and grow some macro algae in it? That seems to be what I've been reading. Thanks for the advice, I'll try to decide if I want to do the 30% water changes, my RO/DI unit is unusually slow, I'm waiting for my pump, pressure gauge, and heater to come in the mail.