Nitrate Issues

[meganistkrieg]

I've posted this to my tank thread but it's pretty dang dead over there, and I'm concerned (read: a worrywart) enough that I'm hoping for a few responses here that might help.

 

For the last three weeks or so, I've noticed that my nitrates constantly hover in the 15-20 range (per API tests). It wasn't like this in the period before, and I honestly can't think of anything that's changed (except adding a crab and a few odd softies) that would make it rise and STICK to this level. To try and lower it over the last few weeks, I have:

 

1. done approx. 3 waterchanges each week, all 2-3 gallons at a time (and one 4-gallon change)

2. flushed out the back chambers - didn't see any detritus come up but have been siphoning diligently anyway

3. checked my media rack to make sure nothing was getting clogged - there was a little bit, but not more than a teaspoon full stuck on the Chemipure

4. vacuumed the heck out of my sandbed (very gross)

5. cut feeding down to every other day (and usually every two days at that)

6. changed the filter pads every time I thought they looked a little gunky

7. changed out old Chemipure Elite (few months old) for new Chemipure Elite

8. used an alternate set of API tests, carefully cleaned tubes between testing, shook them hard during mixing, etc. (same results)

 

and my nitrates are still around 15, even immediately following a water change. I have no idea what to do to get them lower, and being as I have two moderately sensitive invertebrates (skunk cleaner and tuxedo urchin) it makes me nervous to have the nitrates hovering around that level. Pest algae is at a minimum and nothing seems worse for wear from the levels or my fiddling with the tank, so my question is...

 

...WHAT ELSE CAN I DO? I'm hoping that this is just a case of "your tank is five months old and still settling into its denitrification cycle" but it's driving me insane. Any advice greatly appreciated, even if it's just "go for a walk and leave your tank alone." What can I say - I'm a perfectionist.

 

Edited to add that I use only distilled water, which I've tested with the same API tests and have come up 0 nitrates every time. Bioload is two juvenile oscellaris, skunk cleaner shrimp, tux urchin, small emerald crab, porcelain crab, various snails and two hermits.

[lakshwadeep]

Nitrates that hover around 10-20 ppm are very common; luckily they're also fairly harmless. If your livestock are fine, you can have some leeway on what needs to be done. How long have the clowns been in the tank?

 

Chemipure elite (which has ferric oxide) will help. Also, you didn't mention a refugium or macroalgae like Chaetomorpha; that would help.

 

You can see a good overview of dealing with nitrates here (click on the links for denitrification ideas).

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

[meganistkrieg]

Nitrates that hover around 10-20 ppm are very common; luckily they're also fairly harmless. If your livestock are fine, you can have some leeway on what needs to be done. How long have the clowns been in the tank?

 

Chemipure elite (which has ferric oxide) will help. Also, you didn't mention a refugium or macroalgae like Chaetomorpha; that would help.

 

You can see a good overview of dealing with nitrates here (click on the links for denitrification ideas).

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

 

Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, behavior or growth-wise, so hopefully as you said it's "fairly harmless" and everything will be okay. My female clown (approx. 2") has been in for four months, since the initial cycle ended and the male clown (1.5") has been in for about two. I use the inTank media basket and in the back I keep filter floss - chaeto (with light) - Chemipure Elite in that order. Have trimmed the chaeto once about a month ago when I realized it was wildly overgrown.

 

Will check out the link, thanks! Any other help appreciated.

[Rocket]

What is interesting is nitrates do not drop when you do a WC. Have you tested the WC water?

 

You can always venture into the realm of Vodka... if you have a skimmer.

[Nemo Niblets]

Test kits could be bad. I had lots of problems w/ API. Have you tested your newly mixed water?

 

Also, if it's a Biocube 29, take out the sponge in the return pump chamber.

[saltboy]

My Nitrate is at 20, how could I lower it?

[meganistkrieg]

Sponge was taken out even before the tank was set up, and I've tested my water pre-change a few times and it's come up 0. This makes me think it's not the tests and it's not the new water. After doing a 3 or 4 gallon change, the levels drop to about 10 for a day or two, then go right back up to 15-20.

 

No skimmer, so I don't know if vodka or sugar dosing is an option?? Haven't really read anything about it, to be honest.

[jcosmai5]

I've had the exact same problem in my 55 gallon for 6 months and I couldnt figure it out. I down sized to a 20 long 2 days ago and my tank has 5ppm nitrates which makes no sense since its 2 days old. I tested my tap water and everything is fine. Ive come to the conclusion that it has to be the live sand which makes nitrates. I have a protein skimmer and an hob ac 70 refugium with carbon. I have 20 pounds live rock and alot of circulation. So i would say take your live sand out and clean it as well as you can and then replace it.

[Nano sapiens]

Sponge was taken out even before the tank was set up, and I've tested my water pre-change a few times and it's come up 0. This makes me think it's not the tests and it's not the new water. After doing a 3 or 4 gallon change, the levels drop to about 10 for a day or two, then go right back up to 15-20.

 

No skimmer, so I don't know if vodka or sugar dosing is an option?? Haven't really read anything about it, to be honest.

 

Your situation is not uncommon and not detrimental to the vast majority of organisms that we keep.. Since you've taken time to create a post this is worrisome to you...as it was to me.

 

I had a similar experience with my 12g around the 8th month of operation. No amount of water change, food reduction, etc. would permanently drop the nitrate from around the 15-20 ppm range. Organisms in the tank looked fine, though, but I wanted to solve the mystery.

 

After trying the water change route (30%/wk which did nothing to permanently effect the high nitrate level) and cutting back feeding (no real effect there either) I concentrated on the sand bed. I slowly reduced the depth from 1" to 1/2" over a few weeks period and with every water change I vacuumed the sand bed, especially in, around and under the rock work (wherever possible). This caused unsightly diatom blooms on the sand for a month or more due to substances being liberated from the sand bed, but after around 2 months my Nitrates started to come down fairly quickly. Another month or so and they had stabilized at around 5ppm. I continued light vacuuming every second water change and today they stay around 1-2ppm (measured with a Salifert kit).

 

Good luck!

[MusicISUnlimited]

I've posted this to my tank thread but it's pretty dang dead over there, and I'm concerned (read: a worrywart) enough that I'm hoping for a few responses here that might help.

 

For the last three weeks or so, I've noticed that my nitrates constantly hover in the 15-20 range (per API tests). It wasn't like this in the period before, and I honestly can't think of anything that's changed (except adding a crab and a few odd softies) that would make it rise and STICK to this level. To try and lower it over the last few weeks, I have:

 

1. done approx. 3 waterchanges each week, all 2-3 gallons at a time (and one 4-gallon change)

2. flushed out the back chambers - didn't see any detritus come up but have been siphoning diligently anyway

3. checked my media rack to make sure nothing was getting clogged - there was a little bit, but not more than a teaspoon full stuck on the Chemipure

4. vacuumed the heck out of my sandbed (very gross)

5. cut feeding down to every other day (and usually every two days at that)

6. changed the filter pads every time I thought they looked a little gunky

7. changed out old Chemipure Elite (few months old) for new Chemipure Elite

8. used an alternate set of API tests, carefully cleaned tubes between testing, shook them hard during mixing, etc. (same results)

 

and my nitrates are still around 15, even immediately following a water change. I have no idea what to do to get them lower, and being as I have two moderately sensitive invertebrates (skunk cleaner and tuxedo urchin) it makes me nervous to have the nitrates hovering around that level. Pest algae is at a minimum and nothing seems worse for wear from the levels or my fiddling with the tank, so my question is...

 

...WHAT ELSE CAN I DO? I'm hoping that this is just a case of "your tank is five months old and still settling into its denitrification cycle" but it's driving me insane. Any advice greatly appreciated, even if it's just "go for a walk and leave your tank alone." What can I say - I'm a perfectionist.

 

Edited to add that I use only distilled water, which I've tested with the same API tests and have come up 0 nitrates every time. Bioload is two juvenile oscellaris, skunk cleaner shrimp, tux urchin, small emerald crab, porcelain crab, various snails and two hermits.

 

Did you try one very large WC? I know it`s probably going to be a pain in the ass but a 50% and up big WC should substantially lower your nitrates. I used to have a huge nitrate problem, did some pretty pig Wc`s up to 90% and they went down after two weeks. Every three days i would so some large Wc`s and after i saw that they were subsiding i did slightly less every five days and now i am at probably about 30%-40% weekly. I have a pretty big bioload so your numbers will probably be less.

 

Your situation is not uncommon and not detrimental to the vast majority of organisms that we keep.. Since you've taken time to create a post this is worrisome to you...as it was to me.

 

I had a similar experience with my 12g around the 8th month of operation. No amount of water change, food reduction, etc. would permanently drop the nitrate from around the 15-20 ppm range. Organisms in the tank looked fine, though, but I wanted to solve the mystery.

 

After trying the water change route (30%/wk which did nothing to permanently effect the high nitrate level) and cutting back feeding (no real effect there either) I concentrated on the sand bed. I slowly reduced the depth from 1" to 1/2" over a few weeks period and with every water change I vacuumed the sand bed, especially in, around and under the rock work (wherever possible). This caused unsightly diatom blooms on the sand for a month or more due to substances being liberated from the sand bed, but after around 2 months my Nitrates started to come down fairly quickly. Another month or so and they had stabilized at around 5ppm. I continued light vacuuming every second water change and today they stay around 1-2ppm (measured with a Salifert kit).

 

Good luck!

 

+1, you could have pockets of ditrius in your sand bed that causes the nitrates to remain high.

 

What is interesting is nitrates do not drop when you do a WC. Have you tested the WC water?

 

You can always venture into the realm of Vodka... if you have a skimmer.

 

When i was new to reefing i would pour my water into the tank and it would stir up everything in the sand, which also caused nitrates to remain. Could be an issue.

[meganistkrieg]

Argh, so focus on the sandbed... I'll look at getting a smaller siphon since mine is a bit unweildy, and continue vaccuuming up as much gunk as I can. I suspected this would be the issue when I realized, after five months of the tank running, that I'd never once vaccuumed the sand bed - I didn't know I had to. As I said previously, I've vaccuumed it viciously a few times now, but per what everyone has posted here, it seems to be the only culprit left at this point.

 

Thanks, everyone! Will keep doing bigger water changes and stay on top of the sand-suctioning. At least my critters aren't in immediate peril.

[krv]

My Nitrate is at 20, how could I lower it?

 

Do some decent sized water changes. Do a couple 25% water changes in a single week. Try not to go any larger than 25% though, or you may shock your tank. It may cause your level of beneficial bacteria to become way too low for your bioload. You need to give the tank a few days to reestablish its bacteria level.

[sango]

+1 on the sandbed.

 

I used to have problems with nutrients in my 10 gallon. I wasn't able to keep the sandbed clean due to my LR placement. I eventually went barebottom and was amazed at how dirty my sand was when I removed it and washed it. I was also amazed to see how much detritus collects on the barebottom each day even with high flow.

 

How deep is your sandbed? I would suggest using just enough sand to keep the bottom looking sandy - no more than 1/2". Be careful when removing or cleaning the sand not to release too much detritus or the nutrient spike could harm your livestock.

[meganistkrieg]

My sandbed is roughly 1" deep - need to consider getting rid of it, I guess, or at least cutting down on it (as I'd rather not go bare-bottom). Any advice on how to remove half a sandbed??

 

Have replaced my one large weekly water change (5 ga) by doing twice weekly water changes of 2.5-3 gallons/ea. Nitrates aren't going UP anymore, need to test today (did a change last night) to make sure they're going DOWN. Nothing suffering, no overt or troublesome algae outbreaks, but man, I just want my little vial to be yellow instead of orange...

[uhupong]

My sandbed is roughly 1" deep - need to consider getting rid of it, I guess, or at least cutting down on it (as I'd rather not go bare-bottom). Any advice on how to remove half a sandbed??

 

Have replaced my one large weekly water change (5 ga) by doing twice weekly water changes of 2.5-3 gallons/ea. Nitrates aren't going UP anymore, need to test today (did a change last night) to make sure they're going DOWN. Nothing suffering, no overt or troublesome algae outbreaks, but man, I just want my little vial to be yellow instead of orange...

 

Have you resolved the problem by now ?

[MedRed]

live rock can hold nitrate like a sponge. even if the nitrate level drops in the water, it will leach out more and bring it to equilibrium. How old is your LR? was it in another tank before you bought it? You could always go the biopellet route. once those get going they will continue to pull the nitrates out of your rock until there's none left.