Friggin Nitrates

[Salty D-O-G]

I've tried everything under the sun but no luck. Water changes solved it momentarily and after a week right back. I only feed once a day in the morning and I do not overfeed then. I do have a refergium with plants and cleaning crews and a skimmer. Nitrites are zero and PH is between 8.0 and 8.4.
Any Other suggestions? Thanks in advance

Jerry

 

[ronj]

what kind of tank do you have??? is it reef-ready??? if so, you might want to check down in your overflows...detritus gets trapped in there and builds up pretty quickly...

 

[Salty D-O-G]

what kind of tank do you have??? is it reef-ready??? if so, you might want to check down in your overflows...detritus gets trapped in there and builds up pretty quickly...

Oceanic 54 corner with over flow. How do you suggest cleaning it? I guess that would be true for the sump them also?

Jerry

 

[ronj]

I guess that would be true for the sump them also?

oh, definately...i have filter socks that catch almost everything from my overflows and i still have to vacuum my sump out..there is not much, but if i didn't have the filter socks, it would get alot of detritus buildup...about the overflows, some people use wet/dry vacs and just vacuum them out..i use a maxi-jet..i attach tubing to the pump and just blow it all out and my filter socks will catch everything..the vacuum is probably the best way to get it all though

 

[Krish]

Can you tell us more about your system like what you use for filtration etc? I looked at the pics of your setup on your other thread, but there are no pics of what you have under the tank etc. That will help us a bit

 

[jsmkmavity]

what sebstrate are you using? do you have any type of filter media anywher in the system that has constant water flowing thru it, (like canister filter or socks)?

 

[Salty D-O-G]

Ok here goes, 54 coner with overflow into a All-Glass Brand type 1 sump. I do not use any type of filter media except for the water flows over Bio Balls into the refergium which is filled with 2" sand and some live rock and chetamorpha(SP?). I do how ever use the foam filter between the refergium and pump section but I clean that out at least every couple weeks. I also have a Americal skimmer. The return pump is a Danner 950. There is tons on pods and micro stars along with worms hermit crabs and snails that all seem very happy with all the life that is down there. I can post a pic if you want to see what it looks like.

Jerry

 

[twilliard]

I would look into the bio-balls

 

[Krish]

except for the water flows over Bio Balls into the refergium which is filled with 2" sand and some live rock and chetamorpha(SP?). I do how ever use the foam filter between the refergium and pump section but I clean that out at least every couple weeks

K...Here's most likely where the issue is... For starters, bio-balls work as nitrate factories. Do to them not having any anerobic zones, their end product is nothing, but nitrates as they cannot perform de-nitrification. So what you end up with is an accumilation of nitrates over time. Wet/dry's are very efficient at what they do and it takes little time for them to convert ammonia into nitrite and nitrite into nitrate in a short amount of time which is why you probably see them shoot up not very long after doing your water changes. Easy fix would be to slowly remove the bio-balls out over the course of a few weeks allowing your rock sufficient time to take on the bio-load without shocking your system. Live rock can perform all of the necessary biological functions on it's own while at the same time perform denitrification (do to having anaerobic zones for the necessary bacteria to grow) so I'd just let the rock work for you. As for the sponge, unless you are prepared to change/clean it out every 3 days atleast, that too can cause issues as waste/detritus gets trapped in there and as it begins to rott from being in there too long can also shoot up nitrates. Just a few thoughts...Hope that helps

 

[burning2nd]

such a large ph swing,??

 

[Salty D-O-G]

I've heard from people not to use any filter media at all. What is your opinion?

Jerry

 

[Krish]

What sort of media? Carbon, sponges etc...?? I don't use any sponges anywhere for the simple fact of having to keep them cleaned ever 2-3 days. I don't ever even use them on pumps (pre-filter sponges) as they work the same way. As for media like carbon, I run carbon 24/7, but change it every week. Some people do run all sorts of stuff without any issues (sponges etc), but I've found for me personally, I have best success in keeping my nitrates at 0 without any sponges, bare bottom tank, and tons of skimming with water changes weekly. What works for me may not work for you, but your main goal should always be to get rid of waste before it has a chance to break down and cause water quality issues.

 

[mmkeeper]

I think you will most people here are using macro-algae, maybe a deep sandbed. No media. Then you might use a sock, if you use a sock, you change it atleast every other day or use it only when cleaning.

 

[burning2nd]

I use no media, nothing to block anything as the water circulates around my system

 

[matts125]

If this is a new tank then it is normal, Nitrates are much less harmfull than amonia. some times it just takes time for your tank to fully cycle.. other things have cause high nitrates are Bio Balls sponge filters, dirty filter socks and canister filters..

Good luck and keep us posted on your out come..

Matt

 

[jsmkmavity]

ditch the bio balls and clean the sponge every 2 or 3 days or just remove it and use as necessary for a couple days at a time.

 

[Salty D-O-G]

The tank is 2.5 years old. So I will take ya'lls advice and give everything a good cleaning and get rid of the bio balls. Thanks again

Jerry

 

[Krish]

Good luck! Just don't remove all of the bio-balls one time. Take out a bit every few days or so just to prevent a shock to your biological system.

 

[Salty D-O-G]

Will do. But you say slowly remove them. Why? Also should I go ahead and just not put them in my 175? They've only been in there a month. Two more questions tho, I did make a plexi plate and drilled a bunch of holes (like 500) to take the place of the foam in the 175 so there would be less flow restriction and 2 make it safe for any creatures that might fall into it. That was quite the pain to make. Does anyone know where to buy something like that? 2nd see the attached pics. Thanks Guys for all the help. Like I said I just want better beginning results this time to ensure long time enjoyment. I have a lot invested into this big bastard.:lol:

 

[Krish]

Will do. But you say slowly remove them. Why?

The reason why is because the bio-balls contain alot of the nitrifying bacteria responsible for converting the ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate and your whole system my rely on it to a great degree so removing them all at once may shock the system because you may be removing the main source of nitrifying bacteria for the tank one shot. By removing them slowly, the tank will be able to adjust to the changes allowing the rock to support more nitrifying bacteria colonies so that when the bio-balls are all removed, the rock can take over full filtration as it will have all of the necessary nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria on and in it

I did make a plexi plate and drilled a bunch of holes (like 500) to take the place of the foam in the 175 so there would be less flow restriction and 2 make it safe for any creatures that might fall into it. That was quite the pain to make. Does anyone know where to buy something like that?

Not sure where you can buy something like that as it will probably have to be something custom made and drilled, but you could probably use egg crate in it's place and just cut it to fit


As for the pics, you don't really want to put anything in that spot if it will still be in a wet/dry environment like the bio-balls were to try slow down the flow. For one, if you did, it would have to be cleaned regularily just like the sponge would need to, to not allow it to collect any waste and have it rott which will degrade water quality, but also anything in a wet dry environment like the bio-balls were in, would act the same way as the bio-balls and you'd be back to square one. Bio-balls are nothing but plastic with a lot of surface area for bacteria to grow so anything used it it's place acts the exact same way. If you wanted to slow down flow to prevent it from stirring up the sand in that chamber that follows the the input from the tank, maybe you can get a piece of plexi/acrylic and put a single baffle in the sump like in the attachment below which will route water into that chamber from over that baffle rather than down at the bottom where the sand is and therefore, wouldn't stir it up. I have it marked in yellow and you'd just have to space it away from the wall to the left of it enough for the water to pass between the two. Just a thought...HTH