sorry about all the question guys... emergency nitrates....

[clown316]

nitrates have been high... i have 29 biocube... i added chemipure elite... replaced all sponges and the bio balls with cured live rock... and added a circulation pump for more movement.. i also did about 4 water changes and removed all excess waste... its been about 5 days since the nitrate spike began... what else can i do? any suggestion. anybody. I'm out of ideas and i have a cleanup crew arriving tomorrow.. and im nervous because i think the nitrates might effect them. im kinda freaking out.

 

[fctasha]

I had a problem with high nitrates i added more flow was doing big water changes all the time. I had a high fish load. I ended up buying a biodenitrator they also make a product that you put in a bag and drop into your back flow to cut nitrates simular to the way you would use reef carbon.

 

[clown316]

its chemipure.. its in a nylon bag.. i have that already.. thanks. any other suggestions. come on guys. im drowning. ha

 

[ophiura]

What are your nitrates at?
FWIW, I would never consider nitrates to be an "emergency" requiring rash emergency action. Large frequent water changes can cause more immediate damage than high nitrates will. High nitrates are a chronic concern, not a concern, IMO, that should be addressed with a "panic" approach.

 

[clown316]

well its not that the nitrates are the emergency bud. i have a package with inverts coming from this website for tomorrow morning. and as you know.. inverts are... well.. sensitive to nitrates.. so thats my problem.

 

[ophiura]

But how high are they? I mean, 20, 50, 100? What inverts do you have coming?

 

[clown316]

well its a cleanup crew but im worried cuz there is a coral banded shrimp.

 

[earlybird]

Might not have to worry but we are unsure b/c you have not defined "high." What are your levels?
If you don't have anything in your tank right now you could do a large 25-30% water change with nitrate free water and it should reduce your nitrates. Make extra water so you can drip acclimate the inverts for 2+ hours.

 

[clown316]

well i have the red sea test kit and its between 10 and 20. ahhh. i have two clowns, long nosed hawk, and a small cleanup crew in there now. they seem to be doing well. and i did a water change. 5 gallons. i have the 29 gallon biocube

 

[earlybird]

10-20 is not going to hurt. that's really not all that bad. Just make sure to properly acclimate the new arrivals and everything should be fine. How do you think the nitrates got in there are you using RO water or do you think you are overfeeding?

 

[clown316]

i only feed once a day... i use RO water... i think that the detritus build up on the rocks contributed to my problem.. but this weekend i bought one of those koralia or however you spell it circulation pumps.. its a nano one but it is keeping all the stuff off the rocks and keeps everything suspended in the water column.

 

[earlybird]

Sounds good. Just to help with detritus build up you should use a baster or a powerhead and blast your rocks once or twice a week. Obviously put in a filter pad or some cut filter to collect the detritus. Works like a champ. You can consider cutting your feeding to every other day if you like. I only have 2 clowns and I feed every other day but since I have LR I do see them picking at the rocks daily which I can only assume that they are eating. Fish in the wild aren't so lucky to have full bellies daily. It's an option.

 

[ninjamini]

With a bio cube and no nutrient export via macro algae get used to 10-20-40 nitrates. Its a small tank and they can build up quick. Just keep up with weekly water changes and 2x daily top offs.

 

[clown316]

Originally Posted by ninjamini
With a bio cube and no nutrient export via macro algae get used to 10-20-40 nitrates. Its a small tank and they can build up quick. Just keep up with weekly water changes and 2x daily top offs.

what do you mean? my nitrates have been an 0 for quite some time... and what do you mean by no nutrient export via macro algae... im confused. ha