Nitrate issues

[coralreef20g]

What's up guys,

 

My system has been set up for 49 days now. This being said, I introduced my first "livestock" to the tank last week as a pair of clowns.

 

Anyways, I've been doing 20% water changes weekly and have been assiduous when it comes to cleaning the sand bed. My feeding schedule for my clowns consists of what they can consume within 1:30mins every other day.

 

This being said, my nitrates have been floating between 10-20 ever since my cycle completed. Today they tested at 13. I was just curios if there's anything I can do to truly lower my nitrates and get them in that 0-5 range. Or will they lower as more time passes and the tank matures?

[Weetabix7]

Adding Macroalgae will lower the nitrates. 

I have a pair of Clowns in a 15g tank that I feed heavily every day and I can't get the nitrates above 0 because of the Macroalgae in my tank. 

[GregEmmitte]

You can also try using nitrate sponges.

 

i prefer macroalgae though.

[dpoltsdsu]

1:30's worth of food is actually quite a bit.  I'd feed a bit less personally.  Running a Protein Skimmer and frequent water changes will lower nitrates as well as utilizing macroalgae in a designated refugium

[Clown79]

What kind of tank do you have and whats the filteration method?

 

What filter media are you using?

 

Also what kind of water are you using?

[seabass]

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

Also what kind of water are you using?

^ This is what I was thinking.

 

When I first started, I used RO water from one of those grocery vending machines.  But no matter how much water I changed, nitrate wouldn't drop below 40 ppm.  Then it hit me to test a newly mixed batch of saltwater; and sure enough, the new water had 40 ppm of nitrate, so water changes did nothing to lower that nitrate level.

 

I also tried RO/DI from one of the local fish stores, but there was stuff floating in the water (clearly not 0 TDS).  After that, I switched to distilled water, until ultimately I got my own RO/DI unit.

 

So go ahead and test a newly mixed batch of saltwater for ammonia and nitrate.  Some salt mixes contain more ammonia than others, so this could also be a contributing factor.

[Weetabix7]

You can use some of the more attractive Macroalgae plants in your display without having to set up a dedicated refugium, by the way. That's how my tank is right now. 

[SaltyBuddha]

2 hours ago, Weetabix7 said:

You can use some of the more attractive Macroalgae plants in your display without having to set up a dedicated refugium, by the way. That's how my tank is right now. 

What kind of green macros do you like in your DT?

[Weetabix7]

17 minutes ago, SaltyBuddha said:

What kind of green macros do you like in your DT?

 

Codium, Cactus Caulerpa and Caulerpa Prolifera. 

[coralreef20g]

On 5/26/2017 at 11:02 PM, Clown79 said:

What kind of tank do you have and whats the filteration method?

 

What filter media are you using?

 

Also what kind of water are you using?

I have a 20 gallon Red Sea max nano. As far as filtration goes the rsm is equipped with a filter sock, a skimmer, a bag of carbon, and a couple sponge filters.

 

I purchased the 75 gpd ro/di unit from brs and have only used water produced by this in my tank. Considering today is a water change I'll test my pre mixed salt water and see if anything stands out.

 

I believe it may also be important to mention I very rarely turn on my skimmer. I've heard and read from various sources that a nano system such as mine does not need a skimmer. So I'm challenging myself to see how long I can go without utilizing mine. Mainly out of curiousity and because my skimmer is ridiculously loud. Weekly 20-30% water changes and vacuuming the sand bed are my main ways of nutrient export.

 

Should I cut my feeding down to what my clowns can consume in a minute?

[fishfreak0114]

Sponges are nitrate factories, so personally I would stop using them.  The crap just gets too deeply lodged inside to get out when rinsing.

I would cut down the feeding, when I feed my fish if I'm using flake, I just drop in a small pinch or two.

[coralreef20g]

21 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:

Sponges are nitrate factories, so personally I would stop using them.  The crap just gets too deeply lodged inside to get out when rinsing.

I would cut down the feeding, when I feed my fish if I'm using flake, I just drop in a small pinch or two.

I was actually just about to take out and clean my larger sponge of the two as I'm suspecting that may be the source of my nitrate issues. Should I just take it out permanently?..

Quick update: nitrates and ammonia of pre mixed salt tested at absolute 0. Somewhat of a relief knowing this is controllable.

[fishfreak0114]

I would toss them.  If you're already running a filter sock for mechanical filtration, the sponges are likely just causing problems.

[Weetabix7]

21 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:

I would toss them.  If you're already running a filter sock for mechanical filtration, the sponges are likely just causing problems.

 

Agreed. 

[Clown79]

Sponges- they are horrible for nitrates even when washed regularly or replaced. Thats probably the culprit.

 

Buy a bag of filter floss, cut it to size and replace 2 times a week.

 

Socks need regular cleaning as well. Most have 2 on hand, replace dirty one with clean one and rinse the other one.

 

Rinse your bag of carbon weekly to remove detritus and replace it at least every 3 weeks.

 

As for feeding, feed daily small amounts, enough that lasts no more than 1 min.

[Nart]

Also - I am curious, what test kit are you using? and do you have anyone double checking your test results?

For me, I never start to go chasing after the problem or fixing it till I have two different tests done. Some test kits I will have from API and Salifert, and/or I will go to my LFS and pay $2 to have them check some parameters for me.

[coralreef20g]

15 hours ago, Nart said:

Also - I am curious, what test kit are you using? and do you have anyone double checking your test results?

For me, I never start to go chasing after the problem or fixing it till I have two different tests done. Some test kits I will have from API and Salifert, and/or I will go to my LFS and pay $2 to have them check some parameters for me.

I use Red Sea kits for all of my testing. Although, I haven't double checked my results.

 

I know this is a present issue in my tank as it extends further than just some data on paper, it's apparent through algae growth on my rocks and glass.

[seabass]

Phosphate might be an even more important nutrient when it comes to algae growth.

[Nart]

Ah okay. But like the others have said, get rid of sponges and you might want to change out your filter socks more often.

My Innovative Marine came with 2 filter socks, one for each overflow, I got rid of both, and using a caddy to put floss in. I change the floss anywhere from 1-2 times a week.

 

I am pretty sure it's your filter sock and sponges, causing the issue.