help getting nitrates back down

[breutus]

:mad2:

since the tank electrocution I have not been able to get my nitrates back down to what they used to be (5-15 ppm) they spiked right afterwards for about a week to almost 100ppm and came down to about 35ppm and I can't seem to get them any lower!

Could it be because I lost my clams? I have always heard they help keep nitrates down. Could it also be dead matter still in the tank from the snails, corals, clams that died? I never saw a spike in ammonia or nitrites.

I typically do 5 gallon water changes every other day or so, but have done more in the past few weeks. I am running carbon and poly.

On this same note could my sand in my deepsand bed (in sump) be needing changed out it's been there a while and there is debris and stuff over an inch deep that you can see through the glass.

My last question (i know its been a lot!) if I want my cheato to grow more should I turn the light on longer than the twelve hour reverse schedule it's on?

 

[Nanook]

A large water change should help get them down. Running your lights over the fuge for 24/7 would help uptake nutrients as well. You probably lost a lot of life in the event and skimming, water changes and carbon are your friends.

 

[Homereef]

24/7 on Chaeto.

Bacteria is a film. Always remember that.

I would not change out the sand in the sump until maybe after you get the nitrate down.

What is your Amm and Nitrites ?

 

[breutus]

How often should carbon be changed out? Does it help take up nitrates?

And I'll up the lights on the cheato as well then!

I've been wondering if I can try some pulsing xenia in the tank again since it can help bring down nitrates.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12251244#post12251244 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Homereef


What is your Amm and Nitrites ?

Both undetectable on two different test kits

 

[Nanook]

I would recommend running the carbon actively for two weeks, then remove it and rinse it well, and then run it for another two weeks. This is advice I got from a carbon expert here on RC.

 

[frenchie]

stick a nice size clam in there, honestly clams filter feed on nitrates. thats the only difference between my two tanks once has a bunch of clams and is running awesome algae disapeared quickly and tank turned purple real quick nitrates and everything else leveled out.

 

[frenchie]

125 gallon which you guys have seen pics of looked like a freshwater planted tank, almost like a forest is clamless for now until i fight algae off with cleaning crew and manual removal than i'm gonna put some in that tank also.

 

[frenchie]

a cheaper way to go if you have a sandbed in your sump would be a bunch of cleaner clams usually only 5 bucks a piece good for fuges.

 

[frenchie]

http://www.mariculturetechnology.com/Livestock.htm

i've ordered cleaner clams, snails, and keyhole limpets from here great prices and fast delivery.

 

[fazgood]

I am just at the tail end of the nitrate battle. Aside from the electrocution thing, you seem to have a similar set of conditions that I had and this is what I did to reduce them to near -0

I had several things that all led to the problems. The loose organic matter in the fuge was slowly breaking down and adding nitrates to the water column. During water changes I removed a lot of the debris from the sump and fuge. I had piles in the corners that included dead plant material and after a couple of water changes I siphoned most of that out. Any dead material is going to prolong the problem so as folks stated, clean up crews are a big help but don’t over do it because when they get the problem under control, they will starve and die and start the cycle over again.

Chaeto like all plants does best with a rest cycle. If can tolerate 24/7 but in the long run I think its best to give it 4-6 hours of darkness. It also does not remove the nitrate from the tank, it uses it for food and you need to remove the macro algae to get it out of the tank. It does take it out of the water column but if it dies, it will go right back into the cycle so as it grows its best to thin it and let it re-grow.

Once you get those in line Calfo’s quote “dilution is the solution to pollution” is the key. In my case I did about 20% water changes once a week for about 6 weeks. The first few did little good but as I cleaned things up it really made a difference.

Also, make sure your test kit is good. Also is you use RO/DI water you might test that to make sure your tap water is getting cleaned up. I think the nitrate pads and chemicals are a waste unless you remove the root cause of the problem. Also there is a lot of data showing that deep sand beds work well removing nitrate but I have yet to see any objective evidence that proves this in a scientific test. I think the theory is sound and I just set one up using about 14 inches of sand and I am going to see how effective it is. It will take a few months to get it cycled but I hope to be able to put it on a tank that has high nitrates and see if it can drop them in a reasonable period of time. Unfortunately when I started this project my plan was to use my tank but my old slow bones took a few months to get things set up.

One last thought (yes, bored at work again), phosphates could also become a problem. Are you using a phos-reactor? Part of my hair algae problem was phosphates. The test kits could not measure it because the macro algae was using it up before it could get to a level that could be measured (at least that’s what the books said). I added one and with all of the above, my hair algae and nitrates dropped to -0- in about 3 months. Once again, I’m not very fast at anything.

Just my opinion.

Faz

 

[breutus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12252325#post12252325 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by d.french
a cheaper way to go if you have a sandbed in your sump would be a bunch of cleaner clams usually only 5 bucks a piece good for fuges.

I don't really think i want to use cleaner clams , mainly because i've heard they are notorious for adding clam diseases to a tank which makes it hard to keep the clams I want, and they typically live in coldwater and at a lower salinity so i don't want them to die and have more problems

but thanks for the suggestion i wanna to put a clam back in there and see if I can get it down I also have been wanting to see if I can keep xenia again since it eats up nirates

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12252872#post12252872 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fazgood


Chaeto like all plants does best with a rest cycle. If can tolerate 24/7 but in the long run I think its best to give it 4-6 hours of darkness. It also does not remove the nitrate from the tank, it uses it for food and you need to remove the macro algae to get it out of the tank. It does take it out of the water column but if it dies, it will go right back into the cycle so as it grows its best to thin it and let it re-grow.

this was kinda my thought so i have it on now from 7pm to 2pm

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12252872#post12252872 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fazgood

I had several things that all led to the problems. The loose organic matter in the fuge was slowly breaking down and adding nitrates to the water column. During water changes I removed a lot of the debris from the sump and fuge. I had piles in the corners that included dead plant material and after a couple of water changes I siphoned most of that out. Any dead material is going to prolong the problem so as folks stated, clean up crews are a big help but don’t over do it because when they get the problem under control, they will starve and die and start the cycle over again.

Faz

how do you vacuum out the sump to get that stuff you cant get a siphon since you cant get the end lower, and i have tried to different pumps they just clog immediately!

 

[frenchie]

never heard of that but thanks have to read up on that.

 

[fazgood]

If you have that much gook then that is for sure a source of the problem. You might have to turn off the pumps and take a bunch of stuff out of the sump and just gently net out as much as you can. That way you can also try to seperate any pods or other good guys before you toss it.

Faz

 

[scbadiver]

I have used a canister filter to vacuum the sump and tanks. I use my old FLuval 303. I'd fill the bottom chamber with something large like biodisks or balls, the second with polyester floss, loosely, and then tighter floss with a filter pad over it in the top chamber. Hook it up and suck the stuff until it starts pumping crud back out. Usually I could get it all done before it filled with debris.

 

[breutus]

scbadiver that is an awesome idea! Now i just need to find someone who wants to let me borrow there cannister filter LOL, If your ever in the area and want to drop it off for a day or two

 

[fazgood]

Breutus,

It would be cheaper to buy one. Scuba will cost you a fortune in adult beverages.

Faz

 

[scbadiver]

Boy, Joe catches on too fast! Don't tell everybody, I'll have to start buying the stuff! I'd would let you borrow it but mine finally died after 15 years. I have a Rena XP now but I have it on the sump with carbon.

 

[breutus]

LOL well thanks anyway, i have a eheim on my 7 gallon but it's not worth the effort to get it off.

i like the thought of frag trades for beer though