Tank upgrade/move = nitrate spike

[Gil2Gil]

Hey,

 

So I've had a pico running for about 6 months and have been really wanting to upgrade. Finally moved apt this month and have a ton of space, so I bout the nuvo 20.

 

Love the tank and got it for a great deal!

 

Anyways, I transferred everything over from the pico to the new tank. It's been a few days now and I'm still trying to get things settled.

 

Salinity, ammonia, nitrite and finally temp are settled - but the nitrate is really high 40ppm

 

All the coral has been fine since day one of the move, I used their original water, and sand (which is where I think I messed up).

 

Anyways, today I noticed the Xenia and waving hand looked a little miserable, sure enough the nitrate test showed up a color I've never seen before.

 

My question; how much time do I have before s**** hits the fan here?

 

And as far as solutions; I did a 3 gallon water change out of desperation this morning. Helped a little I think, not enough I know. After some research I ran into PURIGEN. Any advise or experience? The soonest I can get this stuff is tomorrow after work if the damn petco has it. I'm in Manhattan, finding a good LFS has been a mission. Throw me ideas.

 

Will the nitrate get eaten as the tank settles?

[Tamberav]

I would probably just siphon out the sand and do a large water change. I think you may have posted this in the wrong section.

[johnmaloney]

There is probably detritus that was stirred up in the move, especially if you moved the sand. Nitrates should come down, but I agree with Tambarev.

[smeagol108]

very simple solution here. do a 100% water change/. match temp and salinity and ALK if you have sps. You only have a 20 gallon, and its prob only 15-16 gallons of water. Very easy change and it will bring those nitrates instantly to zero. quickest fix and guaranteed to work.

 

at this point you already put the sand in so siphoning and than putting it back after rinsing or adding new sand is a pain. do the 100 percent water change and than watch the nitrates. they will creep back up as the sand bed settles and the detritus breaks down more but it will be manageable a syou will be back to zero nitrates. Do another 100 percent change is necessary a few a days later. Before you do the 100 percent change block off rocks real good to get everything stirred up in the water column.

[Gil2Gil]

Sorry if it's the wrong section, but thanks for the advice guys!!

 

I know for sure the sand is what did it, it wasn't much - but enough obviously.

 

My coral guy suggested a carbohydrate treatment? And that's when I ran into the prurigen. Do you guys have experience with this product?

 

If it were possible to avoid mixing and hauling 15 gallons up a 4 story walk up - that would be cool too. But I have always wanted to avoid dosing anything as much as possible. Again, that's why that purigen pad looked like a good idea.

[VW_TDI_02]

Purigen doesn't remove nitrates. It removes organic matter before it can break down. Adding Purigen won't do anything to the nitrates already in the water. The best thing is just a water change. You can pull out all the sand but really just give it a really good cleaning with a siphon. Want to pull out the gunk that was liberated when you moved.

[johnmaloney]

Sorry if it's the wrong section, but thanks for the advice guys!!

 

I know for sure the sand is what did it, it wasn't much - but enough obviously.

 

My coral guy suggested a carbohydrate treatment? And that's when I ran into the prurigen. Do you guys have experience with this product?

 

If it were possible to avoid mixing and hauling 15 gallons up a 4 story walk up - that would be cool too. But I have always wanted to avoid dosing anything as much as possible. Again, that's why that purigen pad looked like a good idea.

It is probably easier to change the water then to treat it. I would try to siphon out clean water from the water column if you want to reduce the water needed, then make up the difference with freshly made saltwater. Throw out any water on surfaces and made dirty by the move.