Very high nitrates

[pugdan]

Hey

I have a 46l Fluval Edge running the following:

Aquaclear filter with impellar upgrade - 200gph
Koralia Nano 900 - 200gph
50w heater
Aquaray 500HD mini

Livestock:
4 blue legged hermit crabs
1 fire shrimp
2 turbo snails
Various corals

Measurements:
0.05 ammonia
0 nitrite
50ppm nitrate
4.6 KH
78F temperature

I have a serious problem with my nitrates at the moment. My tank was fully cycled and I purchased the CUC and some corals but since it has spiked. I've done 2 50% water changes in the last 4 days without any signs of the issue improving.

I have attached some pictures of my tank in case this helps any diagnosis but generally speaking everything in the tank looks healthy.... for now.

How do I go about getting my nitrates down as I'm concerned the water changes aren't cutting it.

I know most people will say this has been covered a million times but I'm struggling and really do need help. The closest I've found to a possible answer is my test kit. The kit is brand new (Red sea marine test kit) however it seems it may be an issue with the test solution settling. I will be retesting later having mixed it up very thoroughly and I hope this is the cause.

Can anyone think of anything I can do to try and solve this problem?

 

[Land_shark067]

So obviously double check your tests. usually your LFS will do free tests for you and you can compare results. but I think your issue is you significantly increased the bio load at once. while a tank can by cycled, it still only had enough beneficial bacteria to handle the amount of waste in the tank from before. now a lot suddenly got added. this is also a really small tank so SUPER hard to keep stable. you will have to do LOTS of water changes even after your tank bacteria grows to compensate. probably 2 a week... I cant stress that enough. small tanks are for experts only! water changes are basically going to be your best and only solution for a while, also really limit your feeding might help. hopefully there was just some matter that was in the noocks and crannys of the corals that is releasing the nutrients and after you remove a bunch it will settle out.

 

[Land_shark067]

Also the SPS is going to be almost impossible to grow in this tank. you can try but i would suggest softies only!

 

[MadCnty]

Test, test, and retest...

 

[CStrickland]

It seems to me that nitrate issues are common in two sorts of tanks: new ones, and dirty ones.
How old is your tank?
For waste removal those aquaclear filters aren't great for reef tanks, they are nicknamed nitrate-factories for trapping waste someplace it cannot complete the cycle. A protein skimmer would be a much better choice. It can also help to blow detritus out of the rocks, or vacuum the sand, to remove waste before it decays and gets converted to nitrates.

Do your coral generally show more polyp extension than that? They look hungry to me

Also, your powerhead placement is inviting waste to settle on the sand and decay into nitrates. If you play with that you may be able to carry more poop to the filter.

 

[pugdan]

Also the SPS is going to be almost impossible to grow in this tank. you can try but i would suggest softies only!

Thanks very much for replying, I really appreciate it! I certainly won't be buying anymore SPS's then!

With limiting my feeding at the moment I only put 1ml of coral food in a day, do you think I should cut this back?

I'm producing plenty of RO water so planning 15-20l water change every two days until things stabilise.

Thanks again for your help

 

[pugdan]

It seems to me that nitrate issues are common in two sorts of tanks: new ones, and dirty ones.
How old is your tank?
For waste removal those aquaclear filters aren't great for reef tanks, they are nicknamed nitrate-factories for trapping waste someplace it cannot complete the cycle. A protein skimmer would be a much better choice. It can also help to blow detritus out of the rocks, or vacuum the sand, to remove waste before it decays and gets converted to nitrates.

Do your coral generally show more polyp extension than that? They look hungry to me

Also, your powerhead placement is inviting waste to settle on the sand and decay into nitrates. If you play with that you may be able to carry more poop to the filter.

The tank is coming up to two months old, 1 month since the cycle finished. I can look at replacing the aquaclear with a canister filter but I was originally put off this idea as I read a lot of people saying these were also nitrate factories. Sadly I don't have the space for a sump.

I have seen a number of people fit a small protein skimmer onto this tank and again this is something I'd be happy to do but most people have said the so called nano skimmers provide little to no benefit.

As advised I've moved my powerhead down and when I've been doing water changes I've been in with a turkey baster to get as much of the rubbish blown up so I can take it out. I'll post some pictures in a day or two of my corals and the powerhead placement if you don't mind taking another look. I'll make sure they're resized a bit smaller this time!

Thanks

 

[homer1475]

I would ditch the filter, run a nano skimmer(The Aquaticlife 115 does a decent job), and weekly water changes. A tank this small doesn't need a mechanical filter. When doing your weekly water changes, make sure your vacuuming the sandbed, and blowing detritus off your rocks. I would also cut back on feeding the corals to once or twice a week until you get the nitrate issue under control. You don't have any coral that has to be actually fed. While they do benefit from actual feedings, they get 99% of their food from the zooxanthellae.

 

[CStrickland]

The tank is coming up to two months old, 1 month since the cycle finished.

It's pretty normal to not have your bacteria all settled in yet. The ones that get rid of nitrates come a little slower. This is one reason why people tend to start with more tolerant corals. Some larger water changes will help, but you'll need to match the temp, salinity, and alkalinity carefully to keep your corals happy.

Might help to not run the filter except for a couple hours after a water change. You could use it to clean up all the stuff you kick up, and then take it offline. If you keep it I'd be cleaning the floss every other day.

 

[djbon]

I'm currently using DIY denitrator (not coil type) tower and after 2 weeks, gradually brought my nitrate to 2ppm. You can search for it on the internet. If done properly, you can control your nitrate safely, naturally without burning a hole on your wallet.

 

[Cancun]

My recommendation would be to try Red Sea NOPOX....

 

[CStrickland]

I would not dose carbon (nopox) without a skimmer.

 

[OrQidz]

I don't think you need to feed the corals every day. I'm not sure what coral food you are feeding but it could be contributing to the nutrient load. The shrimp and hermits can be target fed bits of shrimp, Mysis, etc. Unless you have non photosynthetic corals, they are going to get most of what they need from your lighting.

An aquaclear can work out well IF you use a thin layer of filter floss to catch all the fine particles and detritus AND if you change it out daily. I have run nanos with an aquaclear before successfully, but I took out everything that came stock with the filter. No sponge, no biofilter media, take everything out. Instead I put chemical filtration, such as chemipure, carbon, phosguard, etc and the filter floss which I held in place with a piece of egg crate. You can also fit small skimmers into an AC 70 or 110 size (do some research as to which ones will fit).

I think you are on the right track with the turkey baster to blow the crud around. It is fun to watch it collect on your filter floss for removal. You'll be surprised how yucky it gets!

 

[flananuts]

+1 on a hob skimmer, carbon dosing following a chart to slowly ramp up AND I would suspect that your phosphates will be high as well. Until any die off is done you'll likely high a lot in your water column and will need to remove(based on my experience)


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[Sk8r]

Skimmer required for Nopox dose. Yes. Otherwise it will make the situation far, far worse.