Nitrate source? I'm stuck

jong11

jong11

New member
I've been trying to get my nitrates under control with WC, but I'd really like to get to the source. I tested today, they were at 30ppm and I did a 20% WC. The WC don't really reduce the levels. So I have a few theories about the source, 1. Two hermits have died in the past week, I found their empty shells but not the crab, 2. I'm feeding my clowns to much.
So how much should I feed my clowns? They eat whatever I drop in the tank, none of the sinking pellets I drop in go uneaten.
If something dies in the tank, does it decompose and follow the nh3-no2-no3 cycle or would I just see nitrates rise?
What are some ways to efficently export nitrates? Money is kind of tight with the economy in all lately. I was thinking possibly a ac70 with chaeto, but how much would I actually see the nitrates drop?
Would expanding my cud help reduce nitrates?
Its a 10 gallon tank with 2 clowns, 2 nassarius, 3 astereas, 3 ceriths, and 2 margaritas. Plus a mushroom and a candy cane coral. The tank has been running since January with about 11 lbs of live rock. I use RO/DI water with 0 TDS, so I assume that means it's nitrate free.
I'm stuck and don't want to add any more corals to the tank until I figure this out. Also the wife wants a royal gramma, but I don't want anymore fish in there if I am already having trouble with nitrates.
 
Is the nitrate level always been at 30, or is this a sudden spike? What is the TDS of your RO/DI water? You need to be sure it is below .005, but .000 is preferred. You should only be giving your fish as much food as they can eat in 1 minute. They will act like they are hungry, but 1 minute per day for most fish is plenty. 2 clowns in a 10 gallon tank is as much bio-load as you would want, I would not add the royal gramma. Adding additional clean-up crew will not help the problem, the amount of food will ultimately produce the same amount of nitrate. A refugium with cheato is an inexpensive way to reduce nitrates, I highly recommend adding one. A 30 ppm level for a fish only tank while a little high is acceptable, but much too high if you want to keep corals.
 
No offense, but you just need a bigger tank. You can't expect that size tank and that amount of rock to deal with those fish and their waste. Do yourself a favor and at least get a 29 gallon. You and your fish will be happier! :)
Yes a dead crab or snail will go through the nitrification cycle. You may achieve a balance for a short period of time, but that is why small tanks are hard to maintain. Something will always throw it out of balance. Like a dead snail or crab. :)
+1 on the canary in the coal mine theory by Josh Canada
 
My candy cane and mushroom seem to be doing just fine.

I've been following the 1 minute rule, actually less than a minute most days.

I'm working on setting up a 40 gallon but I'm moving in September and I don't want to set it up only to break it down when I move.

The TDS of my RO/DI is 0.

I think I will go the route of a ac70 mod with chaeto.

My nitrates spiked on 4/25 when I added new corals and a zoa died. I haven't been able to bring them down since. Before that my nitrates were always 0, and I had the clowns for several weeks before that.
 
jong11 said:
Would a skimmer reduce nitrates? I've read it will and I've read it wont.
Click to expand...

Skimmers don't reduce nitrates. Skimmers remove dissolved organic compounds which would otherwise break down into nitrates.

If you did a 2 gallon WC in a 10g tank and nitrates didn't change, I'd buy a new test kit.
 
for a 10 gallon tank, it will be easier to remove all the rocks, clean all the detritus (vacuum sand), scrub the rocks if needed or at least blow a jet of water to remove any detritus, then put it back in the tank, in addition to a water change. you should see the nitrate fall in a day or two. it is a mistake to leave dead livestock in the tank with the reasoning that that's what I bought the cuc for.
 
Like Beerguy said, a skimmer will make a difference. If you purchase one, be sure to research skimmers before you just pick up one at the LFS. Some are practically worthless and some do an amazing job.
 
beerguy said:
Skimmers don't reduce nitrates. Skimmers remove dissolved organic compounds which would otherwise break down into nitrates.

If you did a 2 gallon WC in a 10g tank and nitrates didn't change, I'd buy a new test kit.
Click to expand...

beerguy said:
That isn't what I said.
Click to expand...
To the OP I took Beerguy's post and made assumptions about your tank that he did not.

Since "Skimmers remove dissolved organic compounds which would otherwise break down into nitrates." I did make the jump that since you don't have a skimmer and you do have nitrate problems that adding a skimmer would make a difference. I still think it would.

Sorry, Beerguy I will never misstate anything you say ever again.
 
Angel*Fish said:
To the OP I took Beerguy's post and made assumptions about your tank that he did not.

Since "Skimmers remove dissolved organic compounds which would otherwise break down into nitrates." I did make the jump that since you don't have a skimmer and you do have nitrate problems that adding a skimmer would make a difference. I still think it would.

Sorry, Beerguy I will never misstate anything you say ever again.
Click to expand...


Yeah I made that connection as well. It makes sense that if dissolved organics break down into nitrates and a skimmer removes the organics, then a skimmer would reduce nitrates. Is that correct?

What do you guys think about the Eshopps psk-75h? Or do you have any other suggestions? I won't have a sump on my 40 and I'd like to be able to use it on that tank once it's up and running.
 
jong11 said:
Yeah I made that connection as well. It makes sense that if dissolved organics break down into nitrates and a skimmer removes the organics, then a skimmer would reduce nitrates. Is that correct?
Click to expand...

Like I said, a skimmer will not eliminate the nitrates that you already have in your system. Once the levels are down, a good skimmer can help keep nitrates in check on an ongoing basis but you're still going to have to do water changes regularly. With a tank that sized, many people just rely on water changes to keep their water parameters where they need to be and not run a skimmer at all. That isn't to say a skimmer isn't a useful piece of equipment, because it is. It just isn't always necessary in a tank with such a small volume that 20 or 30% water changes are a walk in the park.
 
I don't know why but somehow I had the idea your tank was larger. I think I was mixing your thread up with another. Most people are going to use water changes for a tank this size.
jong11 said:
I've been trying to get my nitrates under control with WC, but I'd really like to get to the source. I tested today, they were at 30ppm and I did a 20% WC. The WC don't really reduce the levels. I'd be questioning the accuracy of the test. They should have been reduced about 20%. So I have a few theories about the source, 1. Two hermits have died in the past week, I found their empty shells but not the crab, 2. I'm feeding my clowns to much. My view is your tank will not benefit from replacing them and they contributed to your nitrates for sure. How much depends on their size.
So how much should I feed my clowns? They eat whatever I drop in the tank, none of the sinking pellets I drop in go uneaten. I feed my fish until they look like they're not hungry -- twice a day. Sorry, that's probably not much help. I don't know why, but in my experience it seems like dry fish food turns into nitrates faster than frozen whole foods. That could an incorrect perception, but it just seems that way to me. If you do supplement with frozen whole foods like mysis and reef caviar or whatever, be sure that the food is well rinsed in RO water (use a mesh brine shrimp net to strain).
If something dies in the tank, does it decompose and follow the nh3-no2-no3 cycle or would I just see nitrates rise? Yes, that's right
What are some ways to efficiently export nitrates? Money is kind of tight with the economy in all lately. Then the last thing you need is to buy a skimmer for a 10g tank ;) I was thinking possibly a ac70 with chaeto, but how much would I actually see the nitrates drop? I'm sorry, not sure what that is.
Would expanding my cud help reduce nitrates? I wouldn't think so except in terms of diversity. Like making sure you have copepods, isopods, amphipods and worms. It's not going to clean up your present nitrates.
Its a 10 gallon tank with 2 clowns, 2 nassarius, 3 astereas, 3 ceriths, and 2 margaritas. Plus a mushroom and a candy cane coral. The tank has been running since January with about 11 lbs of live rock. I'd be inclined to add about 4--5 more lbs.I use RO/DI water with 0 TDS, so I assume that means it's nitrate free. It should be and you can double check it by using your test kit.
I'm stuck and don't want to add any more corals to the tank until I figure this out. Also the wife wants a royal gramma, but I don't want anymore fish in there if I am already having trouble with nitrates. Definitely :)
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for all the help and advice people are giving.

I had my lfs test my water and my tests are correct.

My thoughts are...
1) wait it out and continue to do WC to see if things stabilize. The die off of hermits caused the high nitrates and the will return to 0. How long do you think this would take?
2) if things don't stabilize, mod a aqua clear to grow chaeto to help export nitrates.
3) add another 4-5lbs of dry rock
4) do all of the above

Any ideas of where I should go with this issue?
 
if you dont want a sump on your 40 you should at lest look into getting a hang on back refuge. they make one that is a skimmer refuge combo. and ever since ive gotten refuge ive had 0 nitrates on ever test in the past 6 months

ecosystemaquarium.com

they make the one i use
 
macro-algae is a god send! mine has at least gotten 5 times bigger in 2 months, nitrates at 0, time to harvest the chaetomorpha.
 
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