high nitrates

[xxseawolf]

im starting to get high levels of nitrates in my 55g tank. i have a maroon clown, pearlescale butterfly, coral beauty angel, lyretail anthias, scooter blenny, and a small purple tang. i also have a few small pieces of coral, 2 anemones, about 75bs. of live rock, 2 cleaner shrimp, 1 coral bandit shrimp, and 2 serpent stars. is this too much for my tank or what can i do to get levels down? i just did a 20g water change and i will do 20g change a week for the next month. will this be enough or should i move some fish into my 30g FOWLR hex tank?any help would be appreciated. thanks

 

[Amphiprion]

That is a fairly high load (and the tank will eventually be too small for the tang). How high is high in your case? Most of your fish are quite tolerant of higher levels, though that may not be the optimal situation. Water changes will help briefly, but the nitrate levels tend to rebound shortly afterward. You might want to consider adding a refugium as a long term solution.

 

[xxseawolf]

high to me is over 20 and im between 40-80. not very comfortable with taht. as for the tang by the time it gets too big i will have a 150G or bigger tank. i have thought about a refugium but was looking for any other avenue. thanks for your response.

 

[Amphiprion]

There really is no other more effective long term approach than one of those denitrators, which can be expensive to keep up and maintain and can be finicky. Personally, I have never used one, so if someone can chime in that has experience with denitrators, that could give you more info.

 

[xxseawolf]

amphiprion, thank you for your response. its ashame that you are one of the only ones that is willing to respond and help someone with as little experience as i have. i will look into a refugium or some other way of making this work. i was givin this site for a way of getting answers but it seems like if you dont have alot of experience people look down on you and dont want to help. there are a few exceptions(like yourself). i was trying to save time, money, and a little suffering. so thanks again.

 

[Amphiprion]

No problem. I don't think it was because people didn't want to reply. Sometimes it just takes time--usually someone will answer eventually. If they don't, start another thread and keep asking or being persistent with this one.

 

[xxseawolf]

trust me i have. different topics. i have asked(what i thought were ligit questions but possibly anoying ones) and it seems like there would be only 1 or fewer that would help. but thanks again. i am a good learner and if i have to, i will learn the hard way(unfortunately at my fishes expense).

 

[celano]

That bio load does seem a bit high. 6 fish, 2 nems, "some" corals and shrimp. How old is your tank and what kinda skimmer are you using?
FWIW water changes wont help lower your nitrates all that much
they will just bounce right back. If you want to keep all those fish and you have good skimmer its time to think about settin up a fuge.

 

[sunfish11]

You could also try a Remote Deep Sand Bed.

 

[jda]

What type of skimmer do you have? If you don't have a decent skimmer, then get one. If you have a good skimmer, then you might consider using sugar as an additive to remove nutrient from your tank. There are pros and cons here, but it is very effective in a FOWLR with a good skimmer. Without a good skimmer, it doesn't help.

I can probably find some sugar links if you are interested, but need to know what kind of skimmer you have.

 

[SgJsg35]

Have you actually used the suger method? How much did it bring down the nitrates? Ive read the threads but am still a skeptic. Would like to hear a personal exprience. My nitrates are a bit high also, cant seem to keep them below 30 for very long.

 

[shibumi]

I have high nitrates too and I have been doing water changes but it is not helping.

I have a 90g with 120LR
2 clownfish, an pacific blue tang, naso tang, vlamingii tang, sailfin, a dragon goby and 2 green chromis.

Several corals mostly softies.

I have a skimmer for a 120g

Any idea?

Thanks

 

[xxseawolf]

i have a skilter250 which is rated for larger than my 55G tank. i havent done a water change for 4 months(until 3 days ago). i plan to do one(15G change for a 55G tank) every week for the next month. i am debating converting my sump into a fuge. i hear that should help with the nitrates. possibly gonna try that this weekend. i only have 2 inches of sand in my tank and i wish i would have gone 4-5 inches. should i yank my rock out, lay more sand or should i just add sand around the rock, or is 2 inches enough? thanks for any help.

 

[xxseawolf]

celano, my tank is close to 8 months old.

 

[Amphiprion]

The only thing that worries me about the sugar method in a FOWLR is the potential to significantly drop oxygen levels due to very high bacterial growth. In a reef aquarium with lots of photosynthesis, this is usually less of a problem, but obviously can still be an issue.

 

[shibumi]

So how does the sugar method work?
Has anybody tried it?

and seawolf I believe is better if you just add sand around. But I heard that is not so good idea to have a deep sand bed ... mine is between 2 and 3. I dont really know, my dragon gobby keep moving my sand around.

 

[IPowderBlueTang]

Here's the thread on Nitrate reduction with sugar!

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=898931

I also been using sugar to drop my nitrates and it is working, my nitrates was past 80 and is down to 20!

 

[jdircksen]

PB Tang - how long have you been dosing sugar and in what quantities?

I put in 1/2 tsp 2 days ago and 1/2 tsp yesterday and haven't seen any change.

 

[jda]

It can take months for the sugar to completely work. It doesn't work overnight. It took me a bit over 6 months to take my 210G FOWLR from about 40 to zero - and it has been at zero ever since. Those who claim that it works in a few weeks probably have minor Nitrate problems where most of the nitrate was in the water column.

If you have a cruddy skimmer, then you won't notice as fast of a change.

Yes, sugar can depelte oxygen as the bacteria grows. Water movement/oxygenation is as important as ever - which is another reason that a good skimmer is so important. You can always add some extra powerheads if you feel that oxygen is an issue. The cool thing is that the water will get cloudy if a bacterial bloom happens too fast. You can use this as a gauge to tell you when you have added too much.

A skilter is not a good skimmer. I would not use it on a 10G tank - I don't care what it is rated for. You might consider a better skimmer, although if you need a HOB skimmer, your options will be limited. It should still work if you use sugar, just not as good as it could work.

FWIW - I feel that the bacteria skims better after 7-10 days. Perhaps this is when the first grown bacteria begins to die and you are skimming dead bacteria as well as the live.

Here is my Recirc ASM G4X with a days worth of skimmate:

 

[jda]

Oh, here is a wiki page on a local board which explains sugar in a paragraph or two. I apologize if you have to log in to read it. Keep in mind that it is a wiki page and not a science book.