nitrates too high
- Thread starter petenheather
- Start date
petenheather
In Memoriam
Golan...okay
Golan...okay
oh boy.........well I m still stuck with this prob, gonna go back to apex and get more water, I really appreciate all of your help, I just wish i knew exactly what do do...seems a skimmer will help, getting rid of those noodle slowly will help. no quick fix for me. if you are really selling a skimmer, email or call me and we can discuss it
Pete and Heather
Golan...okay
oh boy.........well I m still stuck with this prob, gonna go back to apex and get more water, I really appreciate all of your help, I just wish i knew exactly what do do...seems a skimmer will help, getting rid of those noodle slowly will help. no quick fix for me. if you are really selling a skimmer, email or call me and we can discuss it
Pete and Heather
Gooli
New member
pete....dont trust most LFS - they are a business - the more you buy stuff from them the happier they are - trust fellow reefers and do your own research
i cant tell you how much livestock i have killed because some ignorant employee at a LFS thought he knew what he was talking about where in reality he was repeating what the manager or owner told him
i cant tell you how much livestock i have killed because some ignorant employee at a LFS thought he knew what he was talking about where in reality he was repeating what the manager or owner told him
Holmie_D_Klown
Premium Member
Before messing with macro, buying a skimmer (which is still a good idea), changing your mechanical filter, etc; you NEED to check your water. Both tap and LFS water. One of those sources, if not both, are more than likely the problem and very easy and inexpensive to take care of.
petenheather
In Memoriam
nitrates are 0
nitrates are 0
hello and thanks to all those who helped me through this!! after 1 more water change the nitrates finally came down to 0! I am currently looking into a skimmer that can be somehow fit to my tank....all the other water parameters are fine..now is the waiting game to see if it lasts, I will be getting rid of those ceramic noodle and slowly adding lr ruble.:dance:
nitrates are 0
hello and thanks to all those who helped me through this!! after 1 more water change the nitrates finally came down to 0! I am currently looking into a skimmer that can be somehow fit to my tank....all the other water parameters are fine..now is the waiting game to see if it lasts, I will be getting rid of those ceramic noodle and slowly adding lr ruble.:dance:
petenheather
In Memoriam
however the "band aid" fix needs to stay on till I can fix the problem forever
petenheather
In Memoriam
should I check my local tap water for nitrates?
Gooli
New member
heather...i got your pics...it looks like you may be able to cut a piece of the plastic off in the center there and put in a skimmer...do mor research on the skimmer that you want and then take some measurements to see if it could fit.
tap water has no place in this hobby unless you are using RO\DI to clean it up. You're using tap water now?
tap water has no place in this hobby unless you are using RO\DI to clean it up. You're using tap water now?
Re: nitrates are 0
Re: nitrates are 0
How is that possible?? Did you do a 100% water change??
Even a 90% change from 70ppm will only take you to 7.
IMO you had a false 0 reading.
There is no quick fix for nitrate issues (other then several large fractional water changes)-- but these can cause shock issues if you aren't careful...
as stated above, its a bandaid--not a cure...
Re: nitrates are 0
How is that possible?? Did you do a 100% water change??
Even a 90% change from 70ppm will only take you to 7.
IMO you had a false 0 reading.
There is no quick fix for nitrate issues (other then several large fractional water changes)-- but these can cause shock issues if you aren't careful...
as stated above, its a bandaid--not a cure...
conorwynne
New member
Use RO water and mix the salt yourself.
get a skimmer to help reduce the load
Use Live Rock and look into doing a live sand bed.
get a skimmer to help reduce the load
Use Live Rock and look into doing a live sand bed.
conorwynne
New member
Oh and get rid of the bio balls or other such filtration, just do not do it quickly or there will be a ammonia/nitrite spike.
petenheather
In Memoriam
my nitrates dropped to around 10 or less after doing a 50% water change. Im going to another fish store in gardena and he said maybe I should get a sump with a protein skimmer,it should fit nicely under in my tank stand! he said that will keep my nitrate around zero. also to note I am using live sand (2bags) 2 power jets and about 40+lr. I I bought my water at a local fish store pre-made, he told me I am getting r/o water. My qustion is is okay to use tap to top off, I heard it was because im only replacing the evaporizing water?, can do a test to see if my tap water has nitrates, and if there is what products can I purchase to add besides my ocean salt?
Holmie_D_Klown
Premium Member
As a general rule, you should never use tap for anything with saltwater tanks. But if you want to use it for top off, yes you should check it for nitrates. My tap has over 50ppm nitrates, but tap quality varies greatly.
sinder255248
New member
tap water
tap water
I can't believe that I've read all this post and you haven't yet checked your tap water. I use the noodle things in my canister, they're a bacterial aid. My Nitrates are always at 0 so I wouldn't say they were a problem.
tap water
I can't believe that I've read all this post and you haven't yet checked your tap water. I use the noodle things in my canister, they're a bacterial aid. My Nitrates are always at 0 so I wouldn't say they were a problem.
pvtschultz
New member
Pete, why do you keep starting new threads for the same problem? You have been told almost everything that we as a community know about nitrates. I personally think that best thing that you could spend you next $100 on are a good stack of books and start reading. You obviously haven't been able to learn from us so maybe you can learn from reading. I have not had detectable nitrates ever since my tank was set up. You really need to quit relying on LFSs and relying on people who care and who have actually studied these things such as us again and notable authors. Here is the plain and simple truth:
-Tap water almost always has nitrates in it, especially in CA where they reinject sewerage discharge back into the water table.
-If you continue to use tap water for anything, I can guarentee you hair algea, cyano, and bubble alga in the next 6 months.
-You are better off spending the money for a sump on a RO/DI filter off of ebay. Hundreds of us have bought the unit from filtersdirect for about $100 and trust me/us it is the best investment you can get for your own sanity down the road.
-Feed lightly
-10 to 50 gallon tanks make great sumps and are a hell-of-a-lot cheaper than buying one from the LFS. Again, you are buying so he will sell it to you, no matter if you need it or not.
Keep coming back to RC, but listen to what you are told, especially when it is repeated. It is not fair to ocean going fish to be neglected due to ignorance. This is coming from a very conservative republican even.
-Tap water almost always has nitrates in it, especially in CA where they reinject sewerage discharge back into the water table.
-If you continue to use tap water for anything, I can guarentee you hair algea, cyano, and bubble alga in the next 6 months.
-You are better off spending the money for a sump on a RO/DI filter off of ebay. Hundreds of us have bought the unit from filtersdirect for about $100 and trust me/us it is the best investment you can get for your own sanity down the road.
-Feed lightly
-10 to 50 gallon tanks make great sumps and are a hell-of-a-lot cheaper than buying one from the LFS. Again, you are buying so he will sell it to you, no matter if you need it or not.
Keep coming back to RC, but listen to what you are told, especially when it is repeated. It is not fair to ocean going fish to be neglected due to ignorance. This is coming from a very conservative republican even.
petenheather
In Memoriam
I appreciate all the feedback, we are new here and still learning. We are reading everything we can get our hands and talking to everyone, I am sorry if I dont know all the rules of posting yet. Im just getting frustrated. We are getting a sump in a week or so and a skimmer, when we originally got our tank we were told we did not need a sump/skimmer. We have found out the hard way that people will sell you anything to make a buck, now we have to take it from here and move forward and make things better for our fish and corals, we are EXTREMELY dedicated to solving this problem.
pvtschultz
New member
Okay. I had to step outside and smoke and cool down. I do appologize for jumping on your case. I guess all those years in the army shortened my patience span but we are all here to help. It is because of boards like RC that this hoppy has reached the level of success that it has. I promise not to be so demeaning next time.
petenheather
In Memoriam
pvtschultz, I really appreciate all the help you guys have been, we are trying to fix this so we dont lose what we have, Pete and I are a little angry at or lfs because we told them we wanted a reef/fish tank, he sold us what we think is a fish only tank, so we are basically starting over and doing any mods to the tank that need to be done even if that means a new tank, in the meantime we are just trying to lower the nitrate to keep everything alive tilll we can agree on our next move.
