Need help- re nitrates

[picardoflik]

I've had my 30 gallon tank for over 3 years now. Although my fish seem to be doing fine, I've always had a problem keeping the nitrates down. I've recently (Dec 2014) changed the bottom from loose crushed coral to sand and just replaced by dual T5 HO fluorescent lighting to a brighter Coralife Aqualight LED. I'm not sure if I have been missing something fundamental as I can't seem to get the nitrates down despite frequent water changes. I think it has been responsible for killing off a long-tentacle anemone (which I've had for about 6 months) and my frequent failures of keeping zoanthid coral alive for longer than a few weeks. I'll give you the basics and maybe there is something I have been missing or doing wrong all along.
30 gallon tank "“ water changes approx. 1-2 times a month often 7 gallons at a time- sometimes 10 gallons.
Current parameters: 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, pH 8.2, ~40-60ppm nitrates
Livestock: 1 clownfish, 1 six-line wrasse, 1 royal gramma, 1 purple fire fish, 1 leatherback urchin, 1 long-spine urchin and a few hermits, snails for CUC. Also have a starfish and 3 heads of mushroom coral.
I feed them 2x daily with a small pinch of dry flake "“omega one with garlic.
Like I said, fish seem healthy, I've had 2 clownfish since I started the tank- 1 has since disappeared and presumed dead . I would just like to clear up the nitrates and I think I'll have better luck populating the tank with various coral- which is what the intent was from the beginning.
Also, if you have any ideas for good starter coral, I'm all ears.
Thanks!

 

[hotelbravo]

i keep my nitrates around 40-80 on purpose to feed my macro and no fish or inverts have died in a long time with the exception of two royal grammas that have died in the last 10 months. i have a RBTA that is flourishing and is always fully expanded looking awesome so im not so sure that nitrates are all that bad

 

[billdogg]

Is there a sump or skimmer? If you are relying on that little HOB filter, you need to clean the filter pad every few days.

Although your nitrates are too high for more demanding corals, you have nothing in your tank that will be bothered by those numbers.

If you want to get them down, do a series fo 15+g water changes over the next couple weeks - every other or 3rd day, and then just keep up with it after that. Nitrates can almost always be traced back to overfeeding/detritus accumulation.

 

[brettandlyndis]

Also you can try adding a bag of Purigen in your hob filter. It sucks up the nitrates and can be regenerated every so often

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Is there a sump or skimmer? If you are relying on that little HOB filter, you need to clean the filter pad every few days.

Although your nitrates are too high for more demanding corals, you have nothing in your tank that will be bothered by those numbers.

If you want to get them down, do a series fo 15+g water changes over the next couple weeks - every other or 3rd day, and then just keep up with it after that. Nitrates can almost always be traced back to overfeeding/detritus accumulation.

This :thumbsup:

 

[CStrickland]

It looks like you have some stuff settling on the sand. Tweaking or increasing your flow might help keep stuff suspended so it can get removed by your filtration. Or start vacuuming the sand a little at a time to get stuff out.

Once you get them lower with a couple big water changes, doing 10% each week might work better than 30% once a month.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

It looks like you have some stuff settling on the sand. Tweaking or increasing your flow might help keep stuff suspended so it can get removed by your filtration. Or start vacuuming the sand a little at a time to get stuff out.

Once you get them lower with a couple big water changes, doing 10% each week might work better than 30% once a month.

Absolutely correct! :thumbsup: