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Just moved, now nitrates are very high.


jojo822

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I just moved dec 6. Took everything out to move the jbj 28 gal, now nitrates won't budge. They are very high. I bought live bacteria from my lps, and it seemed to make it worse. Any suggestions? Large water change?

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You simply removed all your live stock, drive the tank (with water) to the new location, dropped everything back in and then tested nitrates and they had increased?

 

I think more information about your tank's original setup, new setup, how you transferred everything and what your parameters are will help us help you

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Yes, I removed all live rock, put them in 5gl buckets with some water from the tank, removed the sand and reused it as well. Fish, coral, etc. we're kept in 5 gal buckets of the Same tank water. I only moved 5 min away. Made up about 10-15 gal of fresh rodi salt water, and set the tank back up. Fish seem fine, nitrates are high, cannot get them down now. I use filter floss in top chamber, gfo/Purigen in second chamber, and Chemipure in chamber 3..

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CronicReefer

This is pretty normal if you disturb a large amount of the sand bed. Just keep doing frequent water changes and it will start to come down.

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reefernanoman

Yes, do large water changes! This happened to me when I moved my NC28G. I didn't do anything about it(didn't test), but I lost all of my SPS.

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Should I do 20%,40% every few days?

 

also, grab some MB7 or Microblift, add some when you do your water changes.
Are these live bacteria additives?
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A Reef is a delicate ecosystem you disturbed it. If at all possible purchase some premixed ocean water not water that stores mix themselves and call it ocean water. Get some Nurtisea or even Petco water,just adjust for the Salinity. Do a major water change it will cost you some money at first but it will work and be worth it. Never mind adding additives at this time.Then check your nitrates, It will work I have done it.Then you can go back to your normal routine. People sell Beautiful Reef Tanks all the time have them broken down and by the time the buyer gets it home and back together they wonder what the Heck happened to the Beautiful Tank they purchased. BOOM!

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If I were you 10% every 2 to 3 days. You don't want to make a huge impact to fast on your reef. I would have did a 15% wc after mixing up youhr sand bed or sucked all the water out of the tank place the sand in a bucket and did a saltwater rinse so that it dosnt cause problems with your water.

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Anyone suggest adding live bacteria to the tank as well as wc? If so what brand? Thanks for all the info guys!!

I use Brightwells microbacter7 (MB7) I use this everyday along with vodka but I know people that just use this with great results.

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You'll need to do one large initial water change in order to make a dent in your nitrates level and then subsequent smaller water change.

 

Same thing happened to me and I only moved across the room from one tank to another. I figured its because of stirring up the sand bed and all the crevices and pockets in your rock got disturbed and detritus start exiting the rock. My nitrate shot up to 30ppm. I did a big 80% water change. 3 days later a 40% water change. And then 20% water change following week. Its been a month and my nitrates is now down to 0.5ppm. Chaeto in the sump helped too.

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Anyone suggest adding live bacteria to the tank as well as wc? If so what brand? Thanks for all the info guys!!
Bacteria will not rid your tank of nitrates. You need to export the waste. Either plant a forest in your tank or do some water changes. 25% every 24 hours until it's under control.
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First of all, what are your nitrate levels? High is too vague of a description.

 

Bacteria creates nitrates when it breaks down ammonia and nitrites. Adding More bacteria won't do anything.

 

If you really want to drop your nitrates quickly you need to do a series of large water changes . I would do a 60% or higher water change 2 days in a row. Test your water each day and if it is still not at an acceptable level continues with 20%-35% 2-3 times a week.

 

Hope this helps

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CronicReefer

Idk man 80% seems pretty large

 

I just moved dec 6. Took everything out to move the jbj 28 gal, now nitrates won't budge. They are very high. I bought live bacteria from my lps, and it seemed to make it worse. Any suggestions? Large water change?

You can do a 100% water change if you match your salinity and basic parameters (alk/temp/ph/calc/magnesium) many pico reefs are very successful doing this, it is just much more difficult and usually not needed with larger tanks. The bacteria that you need are not free floating in massive populations in the water so feel free to do more manageable water changes every day till your nitrates read what they need to be.

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I usually suggest completely replacing the sand bed when you move a tank. If you're worried about bacteria colonies, purchase the semi-wet live sand. I know this is all hindsight but just for future reference. +1 on the large water change with subsequent smaller changes. Good luck!

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Thanks everybody, I did a 40% wc 2days ago. So basically do another one everyday until the nitrates start to drop? They are at about 25-30ppm still, and I moved 12/6

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CronicReefer
Thanks everybody, I did a 40% wc 2days ago. So basically do another one everyday until the nitrates start to drop? They are at about 25-30ppm still, and I moved 12/6

Another 3 or 4 and they will be down low.

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It's a jbj 28 gal nano. About 25 gal water volume after the sand/live rock. Would a 5gal wc everyday be enough?

 

First of all, what are your nitrate levels? High is too vague of a description. Bacteria creates nitrates when it breaks down ammonia and nitrites. Adding More bacteria won't do anything. If you really want to drop your nitrates quickly you need to do a series of large water changes . I would do a 60% or higher water change 2 days in a row. Test your water each day and if it is still not at an acceptable level continues with 20%-35% 2-3 times a week. Hope this helps
That explains why when I added the bacteria my Lfs gave me they got worse
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CronicReefer

Lets say your nitrates are 25. If you replace 20% of your water with water that has 0 nitrates you theoretically should see a drop of 20% in your nitrate reading. So you should see nitrates drop by 5 points with the first water change, 4 with the second, 3.2 with the third, etc. However your fish produce waste and you feed as well so nitrates are constantly being put back into the water so you will not always see a drop like you may expect, maybe only a 15% decrease in nitrates with a 20% water change.

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So 40% everyday is basically the way to go? Plus I run a Reef Octopus bh1000 skimmer( I know overkill for my tank) pretty wet lately..

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CronicReefer

You could have it run on a 12 hour on/off schedule, just make sure it's running when you feed. 40% will help get them down much quicker just make sure you are matching salinity temp and alkalinity so you don't cause any unecessary changes.

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