nitrate problem

[schneidergarret]

I am having a nitrate problem and don't know why I just did a 5 gallon water change on Saturday I have a 24 gallon nano cube I then tested again today with high nitrates so I did about a 3 gallon today and it is still high does anyone have any suggestions? Tia

 

[ange062]

What do you have stocked in the tank? How long has it been running? What are you using for filtration? What are you feeding, how much, and how often? What nitrate reading are you getting? Has it recently changed or always been high?

Sorry for all the Q's, but you didn't give enough information to give any feedback

 

[schneidergarret]

The tank is full of softies and has 1 clown 2 damsels and one pep shrimp I feed once a day the only filtration I have would be the live rock and I also have carbon and sponge like things in the second chamber the tank has been up for 2.5 years with nitrates at around 10 tops and now they are up to around 35 to 40 I am only feeding fish food from the lfs. It just changed around Friday I noticed all my coral ****ed off so I did the water change Saturday and it is still high

 

[schneidergarret]

Help needed

 

[pieceman]

wow thats high for soft corals.
I would change my filter pads along with the carbon and do another 30% water change.
Stop feeding your fish for now, they should be fine for 2 days without food.

 

[ange062]

Agree with above, keep up with water changes daily for now. Before your WC make sure you are stirring up detritus from the live rock to be siphoned out. Also make sure you sihpon out any detritus that has settled in the rear chambers. You may also want to take a look at siphoning junk out of the sandbed, but split this up over a few days. I'd only do about 1/16 of the bed at one time so you don't stir up too much..

Also replace your filter media and carbon with brand new ones from the LFS.

Has anything changed with your water supply? Maybe you need to replace RO/DI filters (or your LFS does). You can test new water to see where it's at. Lastly, if you are mixing your own water, have you received any notice about a change to chloramines being used to treat your water supply? This has been happening a lot in my area and could explain spikes like that if not accounted for.

 

[schneidergarret]

I have been getting my ro water from the lfs I didn't test it before mixing though I will do another water change and clean up all the material thanks for all the help