Holes in rock cause high nitrate

[Emma1234]

Hi,

I have a rock that I made myself 3 years ago. I drilled holes in it because it was taking the cement so long to dry. The rock has has hollow midsection. Its about 30lbs.

I have phosphate that is pretty near undetectable. But my nitrates are 25 ppm. And I have a quite a bit of hair algae. I dowsed a couple of my other rocks in a solution of water and hydrogen peroxide. And that took care of the algae on those rocks. But I lost a leather coral. So I don't want to dose again.

Is the rocks with the holes and hollow inside likely the cause of high nitrates? I thinking it might be because gunk is building up in the holes and inside the rock and I can't clean it sufficiently.

Thanks

 

[Reefpuck]

Could be because of a lot of things... without knowing many details.

Have you tried taking a turkey baster and blowing all the detritus out? You'd be surprised how much can accumulate in the rocks.

 

[Emma1234]

I move a powerhead around the rocks to try to blow out the detritus. Just not sure how much I'm getting.

 

[on the spot]

...my nitrates are 25 ppm.

Is the rocks with the holes and hollow inside likely the cause of high nitrates?..

strictly speaking no. the stuff collecting there is. reduce the excess stuff - food and waste.

You may need better circulation in the tank to get the stuff moving so it goes to your sump where you can catch it.

you may need to feed less. or need more diverse clean up crew.

 

[mcgyvr]

Absolutely not the reason for your minor nitrate issue..

But if you give details on your system and current maintenance schedule we may be able to offer solid advice on how to reduce it..
Of course if nothing else simply do more water changes.. A 50% water change should reduce nitrates by 50%, 10% by 10%,etc...

 

[Alex3344]

this is a very useful thread! Thanks for the replies!

 

[m14socom]

It's possible that some nitrates got in the holes. You should be able to clean them out then do a water change.

 

[thegrun]

If anything the holes will help, not hurt the nitrate issue. The low flow area inside the rock will allow anaerobic bacteria to colonize the hollow space and they consume nitrates.