what will happen if...

[peasly1]

what if I did a 50% water change on my fowlr 125 gal.It is high in nitrate, I have been doing 15-20% every couple weeks but it wont go down,tank has been running over a yr..I was wondering w/ that size water change would the tank cycle again or anything bad happen ? other readings are fine w/ having to raise the ph from 7.8 to 8.2 recently thanks..
%

 

[swtanks]

What are the nitrates at now? With a FOWLR, if the nitrates are at 40ppm or below, I wouldn't worry. My large tank always has some measurable nitrates and there are no problems.

 

[fshhub]

my lfs, had me do a 50% change, to reduce my nitrates, in my brackish tank(which we no longer have) a braackish tank, note that salt is more delicate, and I WOULD NEVER CONSIDER DOING IT AGAIN
we lost everything, except one puffer, luckily for me, after research we had found out what had happened, the owner had owned up to what they had done; first he tried to prove me wrong, by calling his breeders and a marine biologist, anyhow, he did give us credit which we now only use for dry goods
That what got us started in SW
anyhow, my reccommendation would be NO, don't do it
What type of filtration do you use, what type of substrate, how old is the tank, do you use LR, what kind of life is in your system and what are your water parameters?
This info may help you to find assistance

 

[peasly1]

nitrates about 160 w/ cc..ugf.. I know that is part of the problem

 

[nosmada]

i would say thats most of your problem. you may want to make the switch over to sand and get rid of the UGF.
chris

 

[fshhub]

is that the only filtration you have?
if so, the only thing you can do is remove it, if you have any box filters, they are also contributing
One more point, Whaat is the Nitrates in your water like(wherever you get it from to do your changes), test it, Sometimes this can be a contributor, but not normally th problem at those readings

 

[peasly1]

tap water shows no nitrate..I also have a wet/dry.... and a fuval 404 that I use to run carbon w/ foam pad no bio balls or macaroni type things in there..I do plan on changing over to dsb w/ no ugf,but cant get it done right away..

 

[jacksonpt]

peasly... I'm running CC in my reef with UGF, no other filtration (except a little LR). No probablems for me. When you do your water changes, are you cleaning out the CC, or just sucking out old water and replacing it with new? Nitrates are a natural part of decomposition... so I would guess you've got a lot of waste breaking down in your tank... probably in you CC. Try cleaning it out with a decent syphon (if you're not already doing so).

[hr]
Jackson
75g Reef
My Site
[ December 12, 2001: Message edited by: jacksonpt ]

 

[peasly1]

yes I siphon the cc every time, it looks very clean..I cant see the tank overstocked.. it has a big batfish.10 in/15 in med wrasse med tang med dogface sm coral cat in a 125 gal..50 lbs lr

 

[flydan]

Hey,
Just a suggestion. If your stand allows you to look under your tank grab a flashlight and take a peek. You may be shocked. I don't have a ugf, but I look at the bristle worm tracks from time to time!
Dan'l

 

[fshhub]

when you change, that will help with your nitrates, also, the wet dry, if using bio balls and dteh canister filter will help to contribute to your problems, because they also trap detritus, removing the media will probably help, only you need to do this gradually, you really con over do it with filters on a marine system, that is one of the advantages of a reef, the lr and ls, with good circulation, and maybe a skimmer, or refugium, which is little more than a container to hold water nd algae, is all you really need, I con't use a skimmer or refugium personally, but am considering a refugium, and never have nitrates over 20, they are slowly coming down in our new tank the only thing we use that resembles a filter right now is a Emporer, which has no media, we just use it for carbon from time to time
Don't get me wrong, even though I don't use them, I highly recommend skimmers for most people, especially with new reefers, they do make the job much easier by creating a cushion for you
HTH and good luck