High nitrate

[garyw68]

I just tested my water and everything is great except my nitrates. It reads about 20ppm with the test that I am using. No matter how many water changes I do, I cant seem to lower it. I do not over feed and I always rinse my frozen cubes with RO water before giving it to the fish. Can anyone give me some tips on how to lower nitrates? Thanks.

Ph -8.0
Alk ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 8.6/3.09
Phos ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 0
Cal ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 400
Nitrite ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 0
Nitrate ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 20
Ammonia ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 0

 

[austin552]

Me to...

Me to...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=851639

 

[kevin2000]

Re: High nitrate

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7455241#post7455241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by garyw68
. No matter how many water changes I do, I cant seem to lower it.

Water changes will reduce nitrates in direct proportion to the percentage water changed ... ie .. a 25% water change will reduce nitrates 25% .. a 30% will reduce it by 30%. Sometimes one needs to do a few major water changes in a short period of time to get water chemistry back in line and then revert back to std water change procedure.

Must be a zillion posts on how to control nitrates .. most problems are because of insufficient live rock, too many fish, too much food, or insufficient water changes.

 

[Sk8r]

Do you have any bioballs or filter media in the system? THis can be a cause.

 

[garyw68]

I have a eheim classic 2217. I am pretty good about changing the filters and rinsing off the filter media. I do it about one every two weeks.

 

[Avi]

What kind of protein skimmer is there in your setup?

 

[lvmartian]

Have you checked your makeup water? If the nitrates are high the tank nitrates will not go down.

 

[garyw68]

I have a CSS rated for 125 gallons. It does a pretty good job too. No, I have not checked my makeup water for nitrates but I am using RO/DI water which I get 0 with my TDS meter.

 

[Avi]

Well, with a good and effective skimmer and regular water changes....even having a refugium with Chaeto growing very well...I also have nitrates consistently at about 20-25ppm. I'm on the verge of buying a sulfur denitrifier.

 

[bertoni]

If you're using bio-filtration media, that can be an issue itself, even if cleaned regularly. This article discusses nitrate problems:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

Water changes don't tend to be very useful because the nitrate level usually rebounds quite rapidly. Better nutrient export is probably your best shot.

20 ppm is fine for a wide range of animals, in any case. Are you trying to keep stony corals? If not, 20 ppm nitrate might be just fine.

 

[dous]

ah.. did you say you have filter media stll in your eheim 2217? I heard these can be nitrate factories. I'm not at that stage yet (I'm using Eheim 2215, CSS65 on a 55g), but I was told that when my tank is well cycled and water parameters are stable for a while, to get rid of the filter media gradually until its empty and just a water pump. I'm still new at this but maybe you can try that. hope that helps.

 

[dots]

Have you added livestock or rock recently? I added a lot of rock and totaly forgot about the spike that occured........I never test for Nitrates, dumb, and did and had 50 ppm.......


If you feel it is a one time occurence, I dosed with sugar and it lowered it quickly, however I do not know of the long term effects of using this method reqularly. (lower CO2 and filalmentous algae) However, my cyano and browning went away.......Otherwise find the source and eliminate it.....

 

[garyw68]

I have also heard using filter media (Eheim 2217) can be a nitrate factory. Would it be a good idea to remove it? If so, I would only be using my LR and skimmer for all the filtration.

I have not added anything to my tank in a while. I will read over the article that Bertoni left for me and try to isolate the source. I did have a problem with my phosphate too. About a month ago, it was at 25ppm. But that was easy to bring down to 0. This nitrate problem looks like it might be a challenge.

 

[Sk8r]

garyw68, yes, that is the idea: no filtration except that. I only run a particulate filter as I run carbon, only for 3 days occasionally to sweep a little chaff, maybe once every couple of months. Otherwise your microlife should suffice, and the detritus a filter takes out should feed them and go into their biomass. That's why the berliner method is more stable than the filtration method. You never clean, except to dump the skimmer cup.

 

[Amphiprion]

Even for many stony corals (especially ones tolerant of higher nutrients), 20 ppm is of little concern.

 

[bertoni]

I agree, 20 ppm isn't that high.

I would remove the filter media a bit at a time, so as not to cause an ammonia spike, etc.

 

[silversnake]

I have montiporas and they are growing nicely. My trates run 20-40 for 3 yrs no problems.