Need help with high level nitrites, nitrates...

[rolyguy7]

Hello all,

I have an established 175Gal tank that has been running for about 8 months now. It's home to 6 tangs, 2 perculas, 2 Dragonets. There's a 200 lbs. of live sand along with 250 lbs of live rock. I just started introducing small coral frags onto the tank as of yesterday. I did a water test today and have the following results:

PH 8.6
Amonia .25 ppm
Nitrite .1 ppm
Nitrate 20ppm
Alkalinity Normal 1.7-2.8

Not sure why my levels have gone up. I did have a new fish I introduced to the tank a few days ago die, seemed he was ill when I purchased him however my hermit crabs (about 150 of them) made quick business of his remains. There was nothing but a skeleton left. Could this be why my levels have gone up from the norm? What are recommendations to bring my levels back down or should I just leave the tank be and wait for it to balance itself on its own? I don't like making major changes since from past experience it has made more problems than it corrects. The only thing I've done so far is crank up my protein skimmer to help lower the nitrate levels. Was thinking of doing a 10% water change. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all for listening...

 

[alexb518]

the fish that you introduced in there is likely the problem. how long was he in the tank for before he died? and how long after? is that the only thing you added/took out?

 

[jelwyoming]

Too much food, a dirty prefilter, a dead big snail will all do that sort of thing. Your skimmer might need a bit of tuning as well. Check it an a day or two and see if it has cleaned up any. If it were the dead fish, is should cleanup with your skimming in a couple of days. Good luck!

 

[Shagsbeard]

Tap? RO? RO/DI?

 

[rolyguy7]

RO/DI... Tested my water again yesterday after a 10% water change and got the same results as listed above. Any ideas?

 

[Sk8r]

20% water change, and carbon will solve most nitrate problems...also...don't have sponges or filters in your system. They're also a source. Cut back on feeding: let your bacteria catch up a bit.

If ammonia starts to spike, have Amquel at hand to stave off disaster.

Whoa, did I see wet-dry in that equipment list? Clean it. And if you have 1 lb live rock per gallon, just phase it out, and that will likely solve your problem.

 

[rolyguy7]

Ok, will try cutting back on feeding. Yes i have a wet/dry with bio balls and filter media. Carbon sits in the wet/dry. Are my ammonia and nitrite readings a concern?

When you talk about 1lb live rock per gallon, what do you mean phase it out?

thanks...

 

[rolyguy7]

Anyone? One of my frags has disintegrated and two other are not doing so well. Any ideas? I added more carbon to help with the nitrates and been using ESV to buffer the system. All the other frags seem ok.

 

[rolyguy7]

Ok, it seems that my testing kit was giving me false results. I had been using what was recommended by my local aquarium. They recommended Red Sea Marine. I just switched over to Seachem test kit which comes with reference water so that you can make sure you are testing correctly. Seachem test results are as follows:

Amonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 20
PH = 8.1
Alk = 4 meq/l

This seems to be more in tune with what I've been told my tank should read being that it's been running for about 8 months now. I also tested against the reference water to make sure I was performing the test correctly. It seems my water isn't as bad as I thought it was. I have added some Chaeto in the sump to help out with the nitrate levels and some carbon as well. Just thought I'd let everyone know what I've learned here. You need to have a test kit you can rely on.

Thank you all that chimed in to help me out.

 

[ruarox]

i hear you when i was cycling and afterwards i was using api test kits it said nitrates were very high and they never went down so i had lfs test using their test kit and my water was great no nitrate problem

 

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9690804#post9690804 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rolyguy7
Yes i have a wet/dry with bio balls and filter media.

When you talk about 1lb live rock per gallon, what do you mean phase it out?

thanks...

The bio-balls are definitely the area to look into. They will be, if not already, going to be the source of nitrate issues. 20ppm is getting up there if you are keeping corals. They don't like nitrates much. You have plenty of live rock to take them out of the system. Remove 1/4 per week until you have removed all the bio-balls. Any other mechanical media should also be either removed or at least cleaned thouroughly at water changes.

 

[rolyguy7]

Ok, so it's recommended to remove the bioballs? I'll start working on taking them out little by little. what's recommended? remove a 1/4 per week?

 

[drummereef]

Yes, a good rule of thumb is 1/4 per week to allow the bio filtration in the rock to catch up.

 

[Pike614]

What about Kent Marine Nitrate sponge? Will that remove nitrate in a system as well? I have read that you can simply put it ina mesh bag behind LR and it'll soak up the nitrate. Is this true?