Help guys my nitrate level is high and i cant find the way to bring it down!!! i have done water changes moved around the sand, got hermit crabs and snails, started feeding the fish only once a day, started only running my light for about 5 hours a day, all these things i have tried to do in orfer to fix the nitrate levels i have in the tank. anyone have any ideas???? please help
help!!!!nitrate levels
- Thread starter drevel8
- Start date
dustin Combs
In Memoriam
don't panic. You are doing the correct things with water changes. One thing you may want to do is try not to disturb the sand bed. You are releasing No4 and also N at the same time. Continue to change your water. You will see changes soon. If your tank is 40 gal each time you change your h20 you will be lowering the levels by half. It can be costly with the salt use but your fish and corals will appreciate it. You may want to decrease the amount of food that you are feeding your fish. Good luck and keep us posted.
Mariner
New member
Reducing your light cycle is probably not the thing to do. Both good and bad algae need light to process nutrients -- that will help reduce nitrates.
Are you skimming? Do you have plenty of qaulity live rock? Are you trying to grow macro algae in a refugium or in your tank for nutrient export? All of these are things that will help control nitrates.
HTH,
Mariner
Are you skimming? Do you have plenty of qaulity live rock? Are you trying to grow macro algae in a refugium or in your tank for nutrient export? All of these are things that will help control nitrates.
HTH,
Mariner
PatMayo
New member
To help narrow the causes of your high nitrate it's critical that you specify all of your equipment set up. Some have been mentioned. The depth of your substrate and type, number of fish, how much live rock, what type of filtration do you use if any in addition to live rock. What type of lights do you have and how long are they on. Feeding habits will help as well. How often and what are you feeding.
Regards,
Pat
Regards,
Pat
dustin Combs
In Memoriam
are you currently runnning your protein skimmer 24/7? In this case I would. As mariner said I would invest in some sort of nutrient export ie. macro algae. It is known to be a great way to reduce NO4 and PO4. I feed every other day. My nitrates stay at a low level. That could be you cause for higher nitrate count. Stick with water changes and skimming. Are you getting large amount of skimmate from your skimmer. The rule is @ a cup a day of skimmate.
dustin Combs
In Memoriam
your protein skimmer produces waste in a reservoir or cup. How much does your skimmer produce and what does it look like? is it thick, or watery. That gunk is called skimmate
dustin Combs
In Memoriam
Water definately could be a source. With a salifert test for No3 I have a reeding of .03. You may want to check your water. Are you using ro/di water?
sounds like your skimmer is working. If you have a ball valve on your skimmer you may want to increase the level of water to produce more of a wet skimmate.
when was the last water change? What was your No3 level before the change, and after change.
sounds like your skimmer is working. If you have a ball valve on your skimmer you may want to increase the level of water to produce more of a wet skimmate.
when was the last water change? What was your No3 level before the change, and after change.
dustin Combs
In Memoriam
Pat,
I think it could be an over feeding issue too. Let's see what the NO3 levels are on his top off water. I want to make sure he is using ro/di water and what the levels are on it. I saw an issue with him turning his sand bed also. That would release all the gasses that the sand beb is good for. I think we are drawing close to the problem.
I think it could be an over feeding issue too. Let's see what the NO3 levels are on his top off water. I want to make sure he is using ro/di water and what the levels are on it. I saw an issue with him turning his sand bed also. That would release all the gasses that the sand beb is good for. I think we are drawing close to the problem.
PatMayo
New member
Dustin, I agree as well. I went back and looked through his posts and I don't see where he mentioned how deep the sand bed is. If it is truly a DSB 4 to 6 inches, turning over the sand is a bad deal. If its actually a SSB then it could still be causing Nitrate problems but it won't be quite as bad as turning a true DSB.
We'll have to wait and see.
Regards,
Pat
We'll have to wait and see.
Regards,
Pat
