my nitrates are really high

[mitch303]

alright so my nitrates are at 40ppm i just did my first water change yesterday took about 7.5 gallons out. My nitrates are still at 40ppm i took my bio-wheel out yesterday since i heard that will raise nitrates. i tested my well water and nitrates came up 0ppm in the well water. tested a new batch of saltwater i have mixing nitrates came up 0ppm so its something in my tank. my tank did just get done cycling about 3 days ago ammonia 0ppm and nitrites 0ppm what can be causing this?

 

[shayna123]

When you say done cycling were your nitrates at 0? If not it is probably still cycling. How long was your cycle?

 

[mitch303]

no my nitrates have never been 0 they have always been in this range. It took about 3 weeks to get my ammonia down to 0ppm and my nitrites to 0ppm. Also when my ammonia dropped to 0 my nitrites were reeally high like 5.0 and it took like a week to drop them to 0 but when they were high i was getting reads of 40ppm for nitrates is this normal to get nitrate reading while nitrites are really high during cycling.

 

[Remn]

How large is the tank? It may take a few more water changes until you see your nitrates decrease depending on the tank size. Any residual ammonia/nitrites may be still converting to nitrates even though they don't show up on your test kits.

 

[mitch303]

its a 55 gallon. i just did a 7.5 gallon water change yesterday when should i do my next one and should i do the same amount?

 

[mitch303]

i also did have a bio-wheel in my hob filter for the whole cycle. I was told to take it out so i did that yesterday, Could this be why they are so high also?

 

[jeff@zina.com]

Nitrates don't go down at the end of the cycle, they keep rising until removed from the tank. Water changes will normally handle this, as will macro algae and various nitrate reducers. You want them to be .5 or less, especially for corals.

Jeff

 

[mitch303]

so should i do another water change? i just did one yesterday is it fine to do another today or should i wait a week?

 

[Dr. Reef]

u can do small water changes every other day or so and it will bring nitrate levels down sooner or later. dont over feed if any.

 

[heckfire]

wait.... theres a bazillion others variables to factor in... describe your set up ie-gallons, filtration, time established, live stock.....

 

[duncantse]

There are just too many factors to know why your nitrates are that high.

Are you keeping a FOWLR or reef?

Try doing 25% water change every 2-3 days.

 

[mitch303]

im keeping a fowlr setup and am trying to keep my mag/calc/alk levels correct for coralline algae to grow and also for the inverts when i get them. I just ordered my rodi unit so as soon as i get it should i do like a 15 gallon water change with the new rodi unit and will this bring my nitrates down?

 

[duncantse]

Yes, 15 gallon water change should bring it down.

 

[Sophie10]

Are you sure you test kit is OK? I had an ammonia test kit that would always read trace amounts. Try a batch of plain mixed salt water, if you haven't already.

 

[mitch303]

i already tested a fresh batch of saltwater and the tube was yellow but at the top there was a bubble that was orange about the color of 40ppm

 

[Sophie10]

Sounds like you may need a new kit Mitch. You seem to be getting some background reaction. Ask your LFS to test some water for you, and compare.

 

[mitch303]

i also tested some water froma bottle of water and it didnt have the bubble of orange on top of the tube so maybe i need to shake the second bottle harder or soemthing

 

[badvegan]

you want to put up with test kits and water problems in a new hobby?

you want to put up with test kits and water problems in a new hobby?

If not seriously look into getting a denitrifyer. Some people like the sulferones from midwest aquatics or natureef. I personally use the dialysea with cad system so dont know much about the denitrifyers, but everyone i know with one loves em.

 

[Chris27]

If not seriously look into getting a denitrifyer. Some people like the sulferones from midwest aquatics or natureef. I personally use the dialysea with cad system so dont know much about the denitrifyers, but everyone i know with one loves em.

Hardly a good suggestion at this point, the tank is barely done cycling and as such still has some maturing to do. Installing a $300 piece of gear to address nitrate this early in the game would likely be a waste of money.

Nitrates are going to be high at the end of a cycle simply because that's what bacteria does. A large ammonia source was added to the tank, which was broken down via the nitrogen cycle. The end product is nitrate, which is removed by water changes, anaerobic bacteria, or used as food by different types of algaes.

I'm certain anaerobic bacteria isn't in the tank yet becuase of it's age, and if there is a fuge packed full of macros, not enough time has past to where the macro could have addressed the nitrate.

Water changes take care of it....but not as fast as one would like to believe.

For example -

55 Gal tank - 40 ppm Nitrate

7 Gallon water change = roughly 15%

So you'll be removing 15% of the nitrate which is about 6 ppm.....after the water change nitrate will be 34 ppm.

If you do a 25 Gal water change you would be removing about 50% of the nitrate leaving you with 20 ppm after the water change.

 

[IluvGod'sreefs]

I was getting high nitrate readings once and it made no sense because it would be right after a good water change, etc. So I slowly eliminated everything tank wise, and all that was left was the kit. So, I got a new kit and no more nitrates.

Also, I have had good luck running two Purigen pouches in a canister filter. Purigen is very good at removing nitrates, and since you can recharge the pouch, you can use it over and over. Just don't neglect to keep the cannister cleaned regularly because they can be a nitrate factory themselves if you don't.