nitrate disaster!

W

wobbegong06

New member
ok my friend has a 75 gal reef tank and a 30 gal sump. a little under 100lbs of live rock and a .5" of sand. she has mostly soft corals and anenomes. fish include: a few damsels, 2 clown, 1 engineer goby, 1 watchman goby, 1 dragonet, 1 coral beauty, 1 yellow tang, 1 dwarf lion, and of course some inverts (shrimp and crabs). here's the problem, no matter how many water changes she does her nitrates wont go below 40-50ppm. i tested the RO water she uses and its fine, and we keep up on the filter and membranes. she has a crappy protein skimmer that she got for free, it wasnt cared for properly. so she is in the process of getting a new one. so hopefully that will help some. not only that her calcium wont go above 380. she adds kent marine liquid ca. , kalkwasser, iodine, magnessium, strontium, and dkh buffer. she is doing the exact same thing as i am doing in my tanks. we even use the same water from the same system. its a mess. HELP!:eek1:
 
that's a lot of fish.....what kind of filtration system does she have? what kind of water change schedule? Sounds like something that happens from having a detritus clogged wet-dry or canister filter on an overstocked tank.
 
You say .5 inches of sand. You mean 1/2 an inch ? Also how is the flow and the cleanup crew ? What color is the SB?
 
yeah, how much of a water change are we talkin about?

also, cut down on the fish, thats a lot of waste for a crappy protein skimmer to be handling
 
she takes out 30 gallon twice a week. she has a rio 2500 pump and a fluvul 404 canister filter, which she cleans every other week.
 
I would clean the filter weekly or just eliminate all together. You caouls use for other media but no sponges or filters. Also 30 gallons way over the (never more then 33% water change) norm.
10% weekly or 20 % bi-weekly.
Also the SB is only 1/2 inch ? and waht color is SB ?
 
sand in clean and little tan color. everything in the tank look super, just the nitrates wont go down. and its not the tests, i've used several brands
 
I'm suspicious of that canister filter. I'd try taking all the media out of the canister and leave it empty or just run some quality carbon for a week, then remove or replace it with fresh.
 
This could be the problem. Most FO tanks go bare bottom. Without the cleanup crew then it becomes nitrate farm.
Remove or bring to 3 inch minium with proper cleanup crew.
Also with the amount of stock i would get a better skimmer. Like i use 120 super skimmer in my 75gal. Also mb 1 more powerhead for cross flow. The SB clean but brown color could be algea wich if in high enough amounts can aslo cause high readings.
I would think in a fish only tank then vacuuming the SB would be nessecery to remove waste and debris weekly.
The nitate doesnt just show up over night , it takes time. Creeps up on you . Beeter skimmer cleaner SB and differant media in filter and after 3 or 4 water changes with RO/DI water then you should see it come down.
 
yeah it didnt show up over night. but we cant get rid of it. before all this, she did weekly 20% water changes, and everything was cool. she is doing the exact same thing i am doing. and i have no problem. she is getting a new skimmer. she's got a good clean up crew too. sand sifter stars, hermit crabs, and brittle stars.
 
Ok there is coral. You need a minimum 4 inch SB. And turn the filter off.
Sorry so much here.
.5 inch sand bed wrong.
only 1 powerhead wrong
to small skimmer wrong
dragon with no fuge wrong

Start with the SB and go from there. Also refugium with cheato would really help.
 
oh i didnt mention she does have a fuge. sorry i thought i said that. well thank for the advice but i dont agree. like i tell my customers, i'll tell you what works for me but someone else might have a different opinion, and thats cool. i will take you up on removing the canister filter. she is getting a new skimmer
asap. thank you anyway.
 
Canister filters are fine if kept clean. Also any more then 33% water changes are dangerous. And the SB isnt deep enough. These are basic facts that most reefers know and do. Also no cross flow. I dont think there is a major factor here. Mb you should give her our link.
 
She does a 50% water change twice a week and the nitrates aren't dropping at all? Might want to check that test kit...
 
i've tried different brands. mardel, saliferts, and seatests. they all say the same thing. hopefully this new skimmer will help some. i'm just lost, it doesn't make any sense
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

OrionN
Biota Hybrid CB Regal Angel. Please comment
Replies
4
Views
267
griss
griss
C
Help with fish illness diagnosis
Replies
4
Views
608
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef
U
Goniopora
Replies
3
Views
165
Uncle99
Uncle99
R
some random questions
Replies
1
Views
230
SantaMonica
S
K
Mandarin acting strange
Replies
4
Views
1K
OrionN
OrionN
Back
Top