NITRATE issue that I can not solve

what do you have in your tank? I'm not sure if I would trust that reading. I would think most of the inhabitants would be sick or dieing with that much nitrate in your system.

It looks like you have a setup for a fish only system. i.e the bio balls and the uv light. some people do use uv for their reef systems and swear by it, but I would think most would not use it. I don't personally.

have you done a major water change? because a 50% or 100% would, at least temporary, lower those nitrate levels.

how many pounds of live rock are in the system?

do you have a protein skimmer? you need one if you are going to carbon dose.


at this point. if it were me. I would just remove that 5 gallon bucket with everything in it and not even use it. do a large water change. get a new nitrate test, make sure it isnt expired. stop the use of the de-nitrate and the uv filter and wait. and test every couple of days. but of course this problem might not even be real if that test kit is bad. maybe take a water sample to your LFS and have them test it for you.
 
be aware that doing 50%-100% water change at once will surely put your tank into a cycle. just make sure you have a place for your critters for the duration of the cycle.
 
this is a great thread!! i am going thru the same exact problem.....Come on fellow reefers, give us some more information please!!!! thank you
 
I had a problem with nitrates for a while I tried a lot of different methods with little results. I finally put dividers in my sump to make 2 compartments that I filled with small pieces of live rock. The compartments forced the water THROUGH the LR instead of just having the water pass by it. The second thing I did was adjust my skimmer so that it was producing a lot of waist. The last thing I did was put a bag of phosphate remover media right where the overflow flows into my sump so that the water would pass through it. In no time my nitrates were undetectable and my phosphates were only .05. My tank is a 75 gal, with coral, 6 fish and a 15 gal sump.
 
I would also check you nitrate readings for the new RO water before you add your salt eater mix as well as after you completed your salt water mix, maybe you have a problem with your RO water.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14435193#post14435193 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tastingSalty
be aware that doing 50%-100% water change at once will surely put your tank into a cycle. just make sure you have a place for your critters for the duration of the cycle.
Click to expand...

agreed. do it slowly over a couple of days.
 
When I removed the sand I had to remove the 120 gallons of water which left about 30 gallons in the sump. I have about 8 fish in the tank. All are doing well. I have about 200 lbs + 25 lbs in live rock. I did take a water sample to the LFS and the same ...Nitrates way up. All of my other parameters chck out.
So the Bio-balls are on thier way out, replced by rubble LR.
I did another 30 gallon water chanage this eveing. My RO/DI water checks out. This really is baffeling. I up this whole issue is from the Bio-balls , I have read alot threads where they say bio-balls are trouble. I will let the tank settle over the weeekend and see how things go ... I will do another 30 gal water change.
Keep the help coming I appreciate all the support and looks like others are also. I hope I answered evey ones question to help me resolve my nitrate issue.
 
I would test the TDS of your RO water before throwing that out. Bio-balls can be a nitrate factory, I've seen it before. This just seems unusual to me. Even with bio-balls, I've never seen no3 this high with regular water changes. What fish do you have in your tank?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14437501#post14437501 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RSOMOGYI
I did take a water sample to the LFS and the same ...Nitrates way up. All of my other parameters chck out.
Click to expand...

how high was the nitrate reading at the LFS?
 
So my nitrates are down to 160.
Eveything remains in check.
So after adding additonal LR and removing about 1/3 of my bio-balls my skimmer went on a rampage and nearly drain my sump. I burned up the pump for the skimmer. I need to buy a new pump for the skimmer after work. I am sure this isn't good for the nitrsate, right?
But ... the Nitrates did drop from last night to this morning. I am sure the 30-40 gal water change out of the sump helped.
I am glad that I always enjoy a challenge.
I hope my tank makes it throught the day today
 
At the LFS the nitrates where very high ... when they told me to start doing all thie stuff to the tank I thought I would come here to the expertys by trial and error!
 
Don't take too many bioballs out at once, or your system might crash. There are certain things in this hobby that are unique for people and you can't find a reason for it. What you can try for your nitrate problem is a sulfate filter (if all else should fail). You need a couple of weeks and lots of patience for it to start running, but it is keeping my nitrates constant at about 5 right now. I used to be a heavy feeder and that shot the nitrates through the roof, all stoneys turned brown. Since I have had the filter, my nitrates are down and the stoneys maintain their colors. And yes I did do and still do water changes. I believe I saw a thread on RC in the DIY forum, so your could save cash. It works, and I'm extremely happy with it!
 
I am very new to this too and its probably a very silly reply but it really helped me. Check how much you are feeding the fish etc because that really effects the nitrate levels. Ive had nitrate problems since i started and discovered that i was really really overfeeding my tank. Its a simple explanation cause the tank will eat whatever you put in there but only digest some of it and so alot of it comes out as waste products hence nitrates. Hope this helps!
 
Did you have the lfs check your nitrates as well or buy another kit? 100% water change will not send your tank into a cycle, there's almost no bacteria in the water itself, it's all on the rocks/sand/bioballs. So yes, remove those slowly, if you have a massive good skimmer you could look into sugar or vodka dosing, I wouldn't personally but some people have great luck with it and it'd be cheaper than all those water changes.
 
Sulfur filters (made a typo first sorry): The filter is filled with 2/3 sulfur 1/3 calcium carbonate - crushed coral (the type of thing some guys also use for sand but not the fine version, the pieces should be about 2mm+). See this site: http://www.shop-meeresaquaristik.de...Nitratfilter-Gr--II--Art-Nr---200-75-1--.html
You connect it in your sump via a bypass from a return pump. You basically set it to drip very slowly (that's about 1 drop per second) for the first 3-4 weeks, until the drops coming out of the filter measure 0 nitrates. Then you gradually increase the amount VERY VERY slowly. It can take about 3 months until the filter really works 100%. The nice thing is, once it works, it kicks a$$! I was a heavy feeder and used the filter in combination with regular water changes to get the nitrates down, it works! 100%! I couldn't get my nitrates in grip with water changes, so I decided to use this product. This producer provides you with the filter material already inserted in the filter.
Like I said, you could build it yourself as well pretty simple, but I ordered one, because I live in an apartment and don't have the equipment or space to build something like this.
The filter you see on the provided site is big enough for a 2000 liter tank. The filter material should only be changed about 5 years (or if you are a very heavy feeder, as soon as the levels start rising again).
Even with your filter, don't neglect the water changes!
Hope I could help you?
 
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