Help with Nitrates / Stocking

A

apesnmike

New member
Ok i am perplexed
I have a 55g with 15g sump
Im testing -0- on all scales except the nitrates i tested tonight at <40ppm.
How can this be?
What can I do ?

My sump does has bio balls how bad is this? And if i remove these what filters the water?!

help please.

I should add this : A month ago i lost my lemonpeel and 4 chromis. Its sat with only 5 hermits in it until today - i added 4 chromis and 4 more crabs ( all small of course )

What should be my next step? and how long should i wait between stocks?
 
Puul the bio balls out and get some macro algea like cheato
to soak up some of those nitrates, plus do bigger water changes per week. Good to go!
 
I dont have a refugium or anywhere to keep macro algae?!
My tank is FO, no LR - my sump is below in the dark.
Is there another form of media i can use to replace the bio-balls?
Will changing my water weekly ( i dont do but maybe 1 a month ) change my other levels? Ive never needed to do this?
 
What else can you tell us about your tank? Do you have a skimmer? Live sand? Power filter or cannister filter?

Here are some observations from what you've said so far:
Your nitrates are almost certainly coming from you bioball filtration. Since you have no live rock, you should not remove these, but you'll probably have to live with a certain level of nitrates. Nitrates aren't all that harmful to fish, but are typically deadly to many inverts. I'm not sure that you should be trying to keep inverts (crabs, etc.) in an FO system.
You can reduce nitrates with frequent partial water changes, increased skimming and reduced feeding.
You could also put some macro in an area of your sump and light it with a small fluouresent or compact flouresent light (very cheap at Home Depot)
HTH,
Mariner
 
Try this...

Try this...

61382welcome.gif


To Reef Central!



I will agree with Mariner, to a point.

IMO, you should really consider adding at least 55 pounds of live rock, or some live rock and some base rock that will become live with time. Then, once the live rock is established (in about 6 weeks), start to remove the bioballs slowly, say 10-20 per week until they are gone. This will leave a vacant spot in your sump for a refugium. Research it, and consider incorperating one into your system.

Most fish can generally endure nitrate levels of <40ppm. However, you will need to increase your frequency of water changes to keep the nitrates at an acceptable level. You should be changing 10-15% per week. In a 70g system, that eqates to 7-10.5 gal per week.
 
Thanks guys...

I went to my local fish store - AQUATIC DREAMS here in spokane, and it looks as though i will be adding macro algae to the sump area with a grow light. Running the lights in oposing photo periods in the tank.
I will remove some bioballs but for now leave most.
I do not plan to do weekly changes as i havent needed to in the past with the fresh or marine. I am sure hoping the macro helps. this is the first time ive ever had a raise in 2+ years.
The crabs are doing great, starfish too! they are all 3+ years old plus the ones i got today. The starfish is " visiting" from my cousins tank and should go home in another month or so hes only been here 3 months.

So -
With the bioballs coming out
macro going in

is there anything else i should do?
My filter is a sump, runing through 2 pads, then balls, then polish sponge.
I have a Remora Skimmer ( not getting much foam at all )
and a UV sterilizer running 24/7

Thanks again for all your help!
 
I would do a decent size water change. Roughly 10 to 15 gal, and
then check your nitrate again in a few hours. If your nitrates are still high, then I would do one every 2 - 3 days. After you get them down, you won't have to do as many water changes. 1 every 1 to 2 weeks. After you get your fuge going that will help
out too.

All the other suggestions were good also.
 
When you clean your skimmer are you taking out the nylon screw over the intake elbow and running a brush all the way down to the bottom. It made my remora go from tiny amount to 1/3 skimmer full of skimate per day.
Fred
 
thanks -
i will try to find the screw your talking of fred. Im guessing its inside? its not on the outside of mine above the elbow. It drives me nuts that i dont skim anything out -

Going to get the mac today!

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP!
 
I don't remember if my brush came with the skimmer or if it was one of several I bought. It's about a half inch wide with along wire handle. I have seen several for sale as filter cleaners. You could probably try a small tooth brush. Cleaning that injector was like getting a different skimmer.

Fred
 
If you contact AquaC at proteinskimmer.com they'll send you a brush designed to clean the Remora for free.
Mariner
 
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