High Nitrates???????

[coops2k]

Hi Fishkeepers,

Got a 75Gal Tank with a 25 Gal Sump running with a Turbofloater 750.

Tank has been running since Jan, so about 4.5months. I have 2 Clown Fish & a Yellow Tang. I have two Toadstools and a yellow leather.

Heres my situation, everything was ok until about a month ago...nitrates went up to 10 in April and only 1 of my toadstools started looking ill (no polyps / tenticales coming out and it shrunk with slime coming off it). Did a water change of about 70 litres and now my Nitrates has gone up to 50!, but the toadstool is improving but my yellow leather looks terrible.

Other Params are Salinity-1.0255, Nitrite-0, Ph-8.2, Temp-28C.

Any ideas why???? Noticed a dead snail in the tank & when i did the water a change there was alot of muck in the skimmer chamber which got abit stirred up when the pumps started back up after the water change. Skimmer has been running for a day since the water change and its pulled out stuff it normally takes 4 days to do.

 

[Iam]

Hi there,
I am new to this hobby as well..
I had the same problem and I got great responces..
You might want to read my post and the replies I got..
Please check the title..
OK.. THIRD TIME STARTING OVER
I believe it was about a week ago...just check the posts under this category..
(Sorry I can't send you a link because I am posting this from my phone internet and the links are not activated)

Good luck

 

[davocean]

10 for trates is not that bad, but 50 after WC?
Are you using RO water?
Test that water.
How often do you do WC?
Sounds like you should clean skimmer, and don't let that muck enter your tank.
Toadstools can be moody somtimes, not sure about the leather

 

[MCary]

10 is not that high to begin with.

If you understand the nitrogen cycle and the role the filter play in it, it will be much easier to understand. Basically, one group of bacteria breaks ammonia into nitrite, another group breaks nitrite into nitrate, and then without special handling nitrate just hangs around.

A very small amount of nitrate escapes into the atmosphere as nitrogen gas, so surface agitation helps a little.

Regular water change helps by removing some and diluting the rest of the nitrates.

Nitrates can be consumes by anoxic or anaerobic bacteria. Anaerobic bacteria are bacteria that cannot live in the presence of free oxygen. For them to do their thing an oxygen reduced or free enviroment has to be created for them. Liverock has a limited amount of this environment provided its large enough and pourous enough for bacteria to get to its core. Usually LR's ability to reduce nitrates is limited.

Another method of providing an anaerobic zone is a deep sand bed. That is a bed of fine sand (particle size is important) 4-6 inches deep. The anerobes live in the lower strata.

Reactors with coils or sulfer beads with a very slow circulation of water is another method.

There are filter pads that claim success. Polyfilters I believe.

There is a new chemical additive on the market.

And a refugium with macro algaes helps. The macro consumes the nitrate.

Mike

 

[coops2k]

Thanks for the response....i did test the new water that was replacing the old water before i put it in and everything was ok.

Could the mess/waste in the skimmer compartment cause the nitrates to shoot up.

 

[davocean]

If there was alot I guess it could, don't know how fast or how soon you did test after WC.
But 10 b4 and 50 ater WC sounded like water.
What test kit do you have?

 

[coops2k]

I tested the Tank water middle of April.
I then tested the RO water before putting it in the tank all o.k.

But then after putting in the new water and giving the sump a small clean (which sort of made a mess) the nitrates shop up over the last two todays.

Test kit is Salifert. (Think the spelling is right)

 

[davocean]

Salifert is most accurate.
But if your last test b4 WC was mid april it easily could have gone up that high b4 WC.
What substrate, what else for filtration, canister?
Any media? Bio balls?
Any macro in sump?
Need more info.
Don't clean equipment where it can get back in your system.

 

[coops2k]

Only 25kg of Live rock and 2 seio m1500s in the main tank for circulation. Deep sand bed in both tanks though. I think it must have been the build of muck in the skimmer compartment. Think i will need a rethink about the equipment in my sump and the layout.

 

[davocean]

Don't know kg
75 gal should have 75-150 lbs LR.
No media in sump (bio balls, etc.) but don't make sudden changes,
gradual change is better.
Get some chaeto in there.
Lots of snails.
Regular WC w/ RO water
You weren't far off, 10 is not that high, 50 start to do something, but not deadly, could stress corals a bit.