I need macro algae asap!

[chickenofthesea]

I am having a Nitrate spike in my 44g system for some reason. I have been feeding the same amount for months, I have done 10g water changes once a week since I started, I haven't added any new live stock in the last month or so. I am in the military and I am leaving for the field on Sat for 30days and my wife and kids know how to do the basics but handling this will be much more difficult if it gets worse. I wanted to know if anyone has any macro algae they can spare or sell for cheap so I can use it to help bring down the nitrates. Right now they are at 20ppm and one of my clowns and a cleaner shrimp just happened to die last night. I have no idea if that is coincedence or the Nitrate spike. CAN ANYONE HELP ME?

The alternative is to try and sell all of my live stock for basicly nothing just to avoid needless deaths.

 

[DonW]

Nitrates did not kill your fish nor will macro quickly reduce your nitrates. Do water changes.

Don

 

[chickenofthesea]

Water change is what I will use to bring them down but I am going to need something to help keep them that way while im gone for 30 days.

 

[DonW]

Water change is what I will use to bring them down but I am going to need something to help keep them that way while im gone for 30 days.

Lets take a minute before stressing out. What is in the tank? Fish ? Corals?

Don

 

[chickenofthesea]

For fish: I have one T. Percula Remaining and a Royal Gamma
For Corals: I have Variety of Mushrooms including Ricordea, Pink and Green Candy Cane, About 300 heads of different Zoas and some White Star polyps.

 

[DonW]

So nothing that is going to stress to much over nitrates. Now see if you can figure out why you have nitrates with only two fish and 10g water changes. What equipment is in the tank??

Don

 

[returnofsid]

Are you using RO/DI water, to make your saltwater AND for top off?
If so, how old are filter cartridges? Have you tested for nitrate from your RO/DI water?
If NOT, have you tested your tap water for nitrates? Source water can fluctuate, according to seasons, agricultural and industrial activity in the area, rain, lack of rain, runoff, etc.

Have you changed to a different food source?
Put some food in a cup of RO/DI water, let set awhile and test the nitrates.

Are you using any Bio-Balls or rubble that could be trapping detritus, contributing to a nitrate spike, as it decomposes?


Do larger water changes to reduce your nitrates, maybe consider feeding less.

 

[jrgilles]

Yea, water source sounds suspect to me. Especially with the fish dying. 20 ppm nitrates shouldn't have any effect at all on the fish.

 

[chickenofthesea]

I purchase my water at a local fish store. I buy 10g of SW for water changes and 5g of RO/DI for top off. I have a Penn-Plax 1000 Canister Filter with ceramic cylinders for biological filtration and I use activated carbon and zoelite. I have a CPR bak pak 2 skimmer with a maxi jet 1200 and it does really well dispite the fact that it uses a more outdated pump. I have about 60 lbs of live rock and about 25 lbs of live sand. I feed my fish with a small pinch in the morning and they eat it up in just a few minutes. My brittle star and nassarius snails usually get the rest.

 

[Bosco83]

You should probably take the canister filter off of you system they can trap detritus in them and it shouldn't be needed if you have enough live rock in your tank.

 

[jrgilles]

Yea, sounds like it might be the canister. Heard you need to clean them very often to avoid nitrate issues

 

[chickenofthesea]

what about running the activated carbon and what not?

 

[1guydude]

well wat size tank is this? On my 36bow i run a fluval canister. I change half the filter pads every 2-3 months and when i do a water change i rinse everything in the old water from the change! I run ceramic rings, chemmi-pure, and the sponges... I also have a cpr bakpak but im using the accela pump on it!
U need to find the source of ur trates!

As far as the carbon goes, i used to run reg carbon and id throw it away every month, now that i got chemi-pure and chemi-pure elite in my other tank, i throw it away every couple months...which i have to do lol!


Ive got some chalupra if its really needed but not a lot...

 

[chickenofthesea]

It is approx. 44g very tall. I pull the canister every other month and clean the sponges and change out my carbon. Its not usually all that dirty. Is the Accela pump on the skimmer all that much better? Also, What is chemi-pure?

 

[1guydude]

well how do u clean the sponges? Like i said, i try to only change half or rinse half out when i do a water change in my old water from my tank as not to kill the "good" bacteria that are breaking the amnonia and trates down! Ive never ran a diff pump on it to compare but it really does a good job of skimming...
chemi-pure is just a nicer grade of activated carbon, its supposed to be better and last longer. This is my 1st batch of it so im still testing it out myself...

 

[NC2WA]

Good advice so far...IMO the Penn-Plax 1000 Canister Filter is one source of your nitrates...20ppm of nitrates should not kill fish....if you were not going to be away for 30 days i would suggest adding more LR and get rid of the canister filter..however since are leaving, you dont want to make too many drastic changes before you go..

chemi-pure is used to eradicate cyanobacteria (red slim algae)..instead of using this product, IMO, u should find the source of what is causing an alage bloom ..primary cause of red algae bloom is old lights, water quality, poor flow in tank....this product does work, but it is NOT a panacea and the problem will return until the root cause of problem is found.

Kirk

 

[chickenofthesea]

I clean my sponges in fresh water from a sink I use to clean my equipment. I have been doing it that way since day one. I don't stagger my sponges cleaning schedule but I can't imagine that with all the ceramic cylinders I use and the live rock that even mistakenly killing off the bacteria on the sponge would make a huge difference. I will be looking into chemi-pure.

 

[jrgilles]

Fresh water most likely kills all the bacteria in the sponge. The bacteria is living in a pretty high osmotic pressure in the salt water, so when exposed to fresh water, they will all burst open due to the drastic change in osmotic pressure. You are right that it is probably repopulated pretty quickly, but if you are having issues with nitrates, maybe you should switch to salt water rinsing of the sponges when you do water changes.

 

[chickenofthesea]

I will start using my water change water as you suggested earlier and see if that makes a change but now im considering ditching the canister all together. I have atleast 50#'s of live rock in my tank. 50#'s should be enough. Do you think that I could remove all the baskets from the filter and add a bunch of rubble in the filter to give me more bio filtration until I can get a sump installed for me to place my rock rubble?

 

[DonW]

well how do u clean the sponges? Like i said, i try to only change half or rinse half out when i do a water change in my old water from my tank as not to kill the "good" bacteria that are breaking the amnonia and trates down!

Your sponges are creating nitrates not breaking them down.

Don