Nitrates and All in One Tanks

[QuiGonJay]

Hi,

I have a question regarding the filter systems on all in one tanks. I have recently seen a jump in nitrates from essentially zero since after the initial cycle to about 15 to 20. Tank specs are: 45 gallon jbj all in one, about 55 pounds of live rock, running for 3.5 months. Cuc, 2 ocellaris clowns and 3 small pajama cardinals. Fish added over time, last batch added 3.5 weeks ago. Water changes done biweekly or so, about 15%. Last one was about a week and a half ago. My questions:

1) should the ceramic ball things on the basket filter be used or do they contribute to nitrates and should be removed?
2) can not replacing the carbon or cleaning the filter pads contribute to the problem?
3) I have been using more frozen food lately. How critical is it to strain\ wash them before using?

It could just be my feeding is a bit off since switching to the frozen or i need to up the water change but thought it was a good time to get some advice on the other items.

Thanks!

J

 

[rfgonzo]

It is more then likley your feeding and filter pads. Change the pads often, How much do you feed?

 

[QuiGonJay]

Once a day, what they eat in less than 2 minutes. Forgot to mention that I use ro water but not a skimmer (I have one but can't get the damn thing to work without microbubbles everywhere so its not in use). I haven't changed the pads in a month so that could Bea factor.

 

[rfgonzo]

A month? Those things fill up with detritus fast. I'm lazy so I don't use pads or socks for this reason. Don't worry about the micro bubbles with your skimmer it's probably just breaking in and a little extra oxygen won't hurt anything. It's annoying to look at but should go away after break in.

 

[Reef Frog]

It takes a while to develop the specific bacteria that turn nitrates into nitrogen gas. So with new fish pooping away and all the new feeding the bacterial colonies need to catch up.

I would consider removing the bio balls slowly as long as you have sufficenf live rock. It's all you need for bio filtration. Yes, keep the filter pads clean. And get that skimmer on line! Micro bubbles are common during the break in period.

I only rinse frozen mysis shrimp bc it's oily. Rinsing is optional and a debated topic. At this point judicious feeding, regular water changes and good skimming will help you the most. GL.

 

[hogfanreefer]

I have an IM pico and I ditched the filter pads and run live rock rubble and a bag of Chempure in the media basket. With frequent 2 gallon (it's a 4 gallon pico) I've had consistent nitrates of less than 1...of course my stocking is limited to 3 sexy shrimp and a clown goby.

 

[DesktopReefer]

IMO, pads should be changed every 2-3 days max. That might be a root cause.

 

[OnceTrueFalseBr]

Feed them less.

 

[JeffyT]

I have an IM pico and I ditched the filter pads and run live rock rubble and a bag of Chempure in the media basket. With frequent 2 gallon (it's a 4 gallon pico) I've had consistent nitrates of less than 1...of course my stocking is limited to 3 sexy shrimp and a clown goby.

i have the IM NUVO 30. should i consider putting live rock inside one of the media basket filters?

 

[Reef Frog]

If you have enough live rock in the tank it is not necessary for denitrification. You don't want to trap unnecessary detrius.

I have seen some people use a media rack for a micro-refugium or cryptic some however. If you do it I would suggest blowing out detrius when it accumulates. But I think its best to keep the rack open for when you need to run bags of media, filter pads etc.

 

[QuiGonJay]

Thanks for all the input. Will replace pads and give the skimmer another try. Sigh. I know they are important but god help me I hate that skimmer.

 

[mpekoske]

as others have mentioned make sure you are changing your filter pads more frequently and keeping up on your water changes, i start to have this issue in my tank and ended up starting to carbon dose which has really helped

 

[Esage]

imo, pads should be changed every 2-3 days max. That might be a root cause.

+1

 

[Kyle918]

Good afternoon,

That seems pretty normal for a new tank, 3.5 months old and out of its initial cycle. As stated once, the denitrifying bacteria that oxidize nitrates into nitrogen gas take considrably longer to colonize your tank. They reside deep in the live rock and if your sand bed is deep enough, over 4-5 inches, they reside deep in the bed as well. They require areas void of oxygen in the tank.

Those ceramic balls tend to be considered nitrate factories because they are great at harboring the bacteria needed to oxidize ammonia and nitrite because those bacteria are aerobic and not so great at harboring anaerobic bacteria. So oxidation of ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate occuring very readily, leaving nitrate levels to climb.

For my tank, I have no filtration other than biological filtration (the live rock) and a filter sock here and there and change them when I get to it, usually once the sound of water trickling over the sock because its full reminds/bothers me. I have zero nitrates currently and have since they came down after the initial cycle. Like many, I also slack on regular water changes but do about 10% when I do get around to it, which is literally how it is, when I get around to it. I also added fish slower than yourself though. I quarantined my fish for 8 weeks before introducing to the DT so additions were slow, giving the tank bilological system plenty of time to adjust between new additions. I feed 3 times a day, sometimes 4 on weekends while I'm off work and I feed my corals about twice a week.

If you have no coral, I personally wouldn't worry about those levels. They will come down on their own with water changes and if you don't add to much more livestock in the near future. Nitrates can harm some inverts though and fuel algae growth, so don't allow them to sky rocket.

 

[JWags911SC]

IMO I would keep up with the partial water changes, not doing so will fuel algae growth, speaking from personal experience.

Remember, you will only see the same percentage drop in your Nitrates as the percentage of your water change in comparison to total water volume. It was hard for me to bring my Nitrates down because of letting them climb to 20 ppm before I did my first 20% water change after the tank had cycled and I had fish for a while.

 

[QuiGonJay]

So sounds like the ceramic ball part of the filter should be removed (rely on the live rock) and the pads need to be frequently replaced/cleaned. What about the carbon bag? Worth continuing to replace or just remove? Will do the skimmer and water change/pad change, just curious if that carbon has any benefit in a marine tank.

 

[Mark9]

If it was my tank, i'd remove the ceramic balls.
Do you have a media rack?
If so, run some Purigen and Chemi-pure blue instead of the carbon.
And use a skimmer.
Do regular water changes, maybe 10-15% every 2 weeks.
It might help to wash some foods, I do, but some people will bash you for it.
Change out the filter pads every 5 days or so, less if they get nasty.

 

[JeffyT]

when you guys say PADS do you mean like the filter floss? i don't change out my filterfloss until i do water changes ever 2 weeks. 2-3 days?

 

[QuiGonJay]

Did a water change, removed the ceramic ball bag, replaced the carbon and also the filter pad\sponge\floss whatever you call it. Will ease up more on the food as well, give it a few days then check and do another water change. I am hoping cleaning the filter sponge will work as I don't want to buy new ones every week (expensive). If not I will just remove them entirely. I will say the media rack had a nice population of amphipods and copepods when I cleaned it. Snacks for the fish.

 

[QuiGonJay]

Oh, and I will tackle the skimmer tomorrow. I know that will be frustrating and its getting late . . . best to deal with that when I have more time. And maybe a drink.