The 'help me hammer down my nitrate' thread...[Mature Tank with Problems]

Sk8r said:
update: started NoPox on 3/17. It's now 5/2, and nitrates are under 20, down from 'off the charts'. MUCH happier tank! The product works!
Click to expand...

see told it would work..lol...when you get where you want it to be ..cut dosage in half...do this for awhile...now im maybe dosing once a week....im at zero and staying there....good luck
 
What do you do when everytime you dose white stringy stuff starts forming in the water? I was dosing 8ml into what I am approximating as a total 70 gallon volume. When I first observed the issue I started cutting the dose in half and am now down to 1ml and though it was very minor today at 1ml it still occurred. With my NO3 still sitting just under 10 according to the instructions I should be dosing about 5ml/day. Should I do smaller doses spread over the day, or just keep cutting in half until the blooms stop occurring, and then slowly work my way back up?
 
I'm presently running lights out because the green film algae bloom has takey over the whole tank when the lights kick on. Tank is on week 4, should I just let the algae run its course with the lights on?
 
I'm assuming you mean week 4 of NoPox, not tank's existence. I'd say go ahead and run the lights, and just scrape the glass a lot. The fish will likely love the scrapings. The problems are related, but if the green gets too aggressive it can be a water quality problem. I'd also recommend a program of aggressive water changes with ro/di based saltwater, extending over twoweeks. 30% the first day, wait two days 20%, wait two days 20%, rest five days, do it again. That will help both situations at once, in addition to the NoPox.
 
Oh! Well, you're still in the cycling and post-cycling mode, which is not the time for NoPox; whole different ballgame. Just do some water changes and consider using a GFO reactor for your phosphate problem, which will continue as your rocks soak out the stuff. You're still in the 'perfecting the water' period,, possibly even still cycling. Look at my sig line, match those parameters, and if you HAVE already had your ammonia spike and go away, do weekly water changes of 20% until you can get the nitrate in line. Use ro/di only. Tapwater can bring in a lot of nasty. Salifert tests will be a good bet, plus the water changes, and you should start seeing some improvement in your numbers within a month. You can start a fish in quarantine, run TTM (look in the stickies: tank transfer method) and you should be good to put in a cleanup crew.
 
I bought the RedSea Reef Mature Pro Kit to cycle the tank. It came with NOPOX and indicated I should started dosing from day 1. So I was following that program to the t.

I have salinity at 35 ppt, alk is typically about 9.5, no test kits for Ca and Mg yet. I keep the temp between 77 and 79. NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 is somewhere between 5 and 10.

RedSeaKev says my skimmer may not be running optimally and thereby causing the bacteria blooms. That would not really surprise me cause this my fourth week running a skimmer. I know pulling some pretty nasty green skimate at present.

Unfortunately, things started out really well so I already have some livestock in the tank. 1 emeral, 3 hermits, 3 ceriths, 3 trochus, 4 nassarius, and 2 juvenile clowns. I followed RedSea instructions which had me add the cuc on day 10, and the clowns on day 14. At that time things seemed like they were going just as there documentation stated, but the day after adding the clowns I had a massive diatom bloom for about a week, and NO3 spiked close to 50. As soon as the diatoms cleared up the green film algae started taking over the rock sand and glass.

I feel bad cause now they have to ride out me getting this tank stable.
 
Well, you're right that this encouragement was premature. RedSea is advising way too much haste, imho. Popular experience says more like four weeks, not two. What you've got now is not too alarming, however, except the out of control NO3. If it's any comfort, I've been in that territory after the blackout disaster, and when nitrates are in that territory, with critters in the tank, yes, I'd use the NoPox and start aggressive water changes right along with it. If your skimmer is pulling dark green muck, that's working. It'll iron out, and your fish and cuc should make it fine, but don't add any corals yet.

Develop a program that will maintain the water quality I list in my sig line with real low nitrate. It will take time and weekly testing. Log your results: the mind forgets.
 
I have been doing about 15% water changes weekly. Changing the filter socks twice weekly. I let the lights kick back on today and the bloom did not occur. The film algae was not on the sand or the glass, just what had remained on the rock. We will see if that continues to be the case. The skimmer overflowed on me yesterday while I was at work, and almost did again today. It does seem to be pulling much lighter skimate. I dosed 2.5ml of NOPOX today and the bacteria bloom was quite obnoxious, so I will try just skipping the NOPOX dose for a day or two. My NO3 is under 10 but I would really like to get it back under 5. Thats what the clowns were accustomed to in the qt before I threw them in the dt.
 
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