How to lower my nitrates fast?

[Julian.Rad17]

I have the Red Sea Reefer Nano and have recently been fighting ich in my tank To boost the fishes immune system I started using the vita chem supplement which you're supposed to soak in food and add directly to the tank. I used this vitamin for about a week and yesterday I found out my nitrates went from 2 to 40.(Red Sea Pro Test Kit) I did a 20% water change yesterday and lowered them to 32. The corals seem fine with good polyp extension, color etc. but I don't want to expose them to this for too long. What I should do to lower the nitrates into an acceptable range? More large water changes? Vacuuming of the sand? Filter Media? Thanks for the help.

 

[SeaCucumberFan]

How fast is fast? I suggest getting macroalgae, like chaeto

 

[Julian.Rad17]

Fast enough so that my corals, inverts, etc. don't suffer. Wouldn't that be the case for everyone? Anyway, would I have to build a refugium for the algae or could I contain in in my sump somehow. I'd like to stick to something less complicated since I'm a beginner.

 

[Dogshowgrl]

Denitrator. There are several out there but you also need to understand pH to play with these tools. Otherwise looking to doseing but it will take several weeks to see a change. Any fast change is often an unwelcome one in this hobby.

 

[gone fishin]

IMO WC's would be the quickest way to lower the nitrates.

FWIW if you want to get rid of ich put the fish in a QT to treat them and leave the DT fallow for 72 days.

 

[Xxero]

What I should do to lower the nitrates into an acceptable range? More large water changes? Vacuuming of the sand? Filter Media? Thanks for the help.

What size tank is that? 21 gallons? If it were me, I would do everything that you listed: vacuum the sand, clean your filter media, and do a 100% water change if you're looking for an immediate reduction.

HTH! :bigeyes:

 

[Julian.Rad17]

What size tank is that? 21 gallons? If it were me, I would do everything that you listed: vacuum the sand, clean your filter media, and do a 100% water change if you're looking for an immediate reduction.

HTH! :bigeyes:

Should the 100% water change be over the course of a couple weeks? Can you elaborate? BTW I don't have any media but should I add some?

 

[Julian.Rad17]

IMO WC's would be the quickest way to lower the nitrates.

FWIW if you want to get rid of ich put the fish in a QT to treat them and leave the DT fallow for 72 days.

How many/how frequently should I do water changes? How big should each one be? 20% ? 50% ?

 

[gone fishin]

How many/how frequently should I do water changes? How big should each one be? 20% ? 50% ?

You could do a 50% followed by a 25% a couple days later if needed.

 

[Xxero]

Should the 100% water change be over the course of a couple weeks? Can you elaborate? BTW I don't have any media but should I add some?

HOW TO LOWER MY NITRATES FAST is the title of your thread.

If you're looking for a quick reduction in your nitrates, BIG water changes are needed. If you're just looking to slowly lower them, then do the 50%, 25%, macro algae, etc.

If the water temperatures, specific gravity, and alkalinity are matched up, you can do as large as a 100% water change with no ill effects. If it were me, I would siphon out as much water from the tank as possible (leaving just enough for the fish), and then re-fill with new saltwater. This will give you the quickest way to Nitrate reduction.

To keep them away, the Nitrates need a means of export: skimmer, macro algae, water changes, carbon dosing, DSB, ATS, etc. Personally, I do a 20% water change every 2 weeks and I utilize a macro algae refugium, a Marinepure block, and a protein skimmer for means of export.

 

[Julian.Rad17]

Ok thanks for the detailed info but wouldn't I need to lower the nitrates fast since they are at 30 ppm? Especially since I have corals and don't know how long they can handle these high nutrients.

 

[Xxero]

You will definitely want to get the Nitrates down, but fish and a lot of corals will tolerate some Nitrates. You stated that you reduced them down to 30ppm. That's not too bad, so I wouldn't panic or anything. Mine have been 50+ in the past, and I was able to get them down without too much suffering. But it took performing really BIG water changes to get them to reduce quickly. 20% here and 20% there didn't do anything but waste salt, water, and time.

In the long run, with nano sized aquariums, water changes will be your best friend.

 

[Julian.Rad17]

Ok thanks glad to hear it. I'll start doing some large water changes soon and hopefully that helps.

 

[Joeb1983]

IMO WC's would be the quickest way to lower the nitrates.

FWIW if you want to get rid of ich put the fish in a QT to treat them and leave the DT fallow for 72 days.

Exactly. :beer:

 

[gmlee]

Ok thanks glad to hear it. I'll start doing some large water changes soon and hopefully that helps.

Until your nitrates slowly creep up again. Mine have been around 50 ppm for the longest time. Then 40, 30, 25 maybe even a tad lower now. Had my set up for over a year now then transfered everything over to a 40 breeder which didn't seen to help my nitrates but coming down now. At 30 ppm I wouldn't worry too much about it. Stay with the water changes, clean out some sand and filters and keep plugging away.

 

[whosurcaddie]

Just a note. Lowering nitrates too fast is worse than having high nitrates. Just make a schedule for water changes and stick to it. Consistency is key.

 

[Xxero]

Lowering nitrates too fast is worse than having high nitrates.

I'm curious as to what negative effects can occur lowering nitrates too fast?

 

[Julian.Rad17]

Just a note. Lowering nitrates too fast is worse than having high nitrates. Just make a schedule for water changes and stick to it. Consistency is key.

Wouldn't it be beneficial to rid the tank of a toxin quickly? I could see if it was alk or something but lowering nitrates fast shouldn't be detrimental.