need help with nitrates

[fatboyt123]

i have know idea what is going on with my tank.My nitrates never seem to go down even when i do water changes it always stays the same.They are really high 20 maybe 40 on a api test kit. They werent high in the month after my cycle but then just all of a sudden jumped up and have never went back down.

tank is a 155 gallon with a 55 gallon sump/fuge.Fuge has cheato and a deep sand bed of 4"-5". Skimmer is a octo extreme 200.Mag 12 as a return. 2 K4's and 2 K3's for flow. DT has a 2"-3" sand bed and 200-250 pounds of LR.

For fish there are a pair of GSM clowns .
5" scribbled rabbit fish
2" red sea sailfin
2" blue hippo
4 1" chromis

i feed a shrimp frozen food mixture that i make about 1 or 2 times aday. and i feed 1 sheet of nori though out the day.

what can i do to get them down i have tried big water changes and it doesnt do anything.smaller water changes over a period of time.Also have not been feeding as much.

help

 

[ReefferMan]

I feed alot less.... even skip a night once in a while. Hows your RO membrane?

 

[DonW]

Try another test kit. Water changes with nitrate free water will always lower nitrates at least for a short period.

Don

 

[fatboyt123]

Try another test kit. Water changes with nitrate free water will always lower nitrates at least for a short period.

Don

i did try another test kit but was the same. it was still a api brand kit though. Will it does take it down a very tiny bit but by the end of the night it is right back to the same spot

 

[Ed Hahn]

check areas like overflows and sump for detritus build up. Sometimes a good overflow cleaning or sump cleaning will solve the problem. Those were two hidden places I learned about by myself. Good Luck.

 

[fatboyt123]

check areas like overflows and sump for detritus build up. Sometimes a good overflow cleaning or sump cleaning will solve the problem. Those were two hidden places I learned about by myself. Good Luck.

as for sump i see nothing my turbos walk over my overflows and clean it up.

As for the sump there is a little bit on the fuge side and it usally gets sucked up when i do what changes

 

[DonW]

How long has the tank been running? Did you buy the test kits local?

Don

 

[fatboyt123]

tank has been up for about 5-6months.test kit were bought local

 

[DonW]

Did you happen to get the kits from AP? If so that may be the problem.

Don

 

[fatboyt123]

no not from AP. the date it is good by are still good

 

[DonW]

The date is meaningless. I got a dozen bad kits from api localy so wonder if there was a bad batch. Your tank is old enough to be processing nitrates easily. Is the rock packed tight? Do you blow off your rocks with a powerhead every now and again? Did you use real and or new lr?

 

[fatboyt123]

i was thinking of getting some elos gets anywhy what better time to get some.

Rock is packed pretty tight. powerheads keep all of the sand,dirt,food, of the rocks but yes i do take one of the k3's and blow off the rocks every week or so. i have watched were the food goes when i feed and the powerheads keep it in the water clomun and nothing really makes it underneath the rock work.Everything that the fish dont eat which is really not that much cause the rabbit is a pig gets sucked up buy the skimmer

 

[DonW]

You have rotten food somewhere or detritus somewhere. Its going to be right out in the open thus why you see nitrates. 2 k4s and 2 k3s is not much flow.

Don

 

[fatboyt123]

i will be doing some water changes and trying to suck all of the spot a can.

i will also be changing the k3's for k4's and keeping one of the 3's

so i will have 4 k4's and 1 k3 plus my return

 

[DonW]

If you have a conventional sump with baffles like a berlin it may just be the fact that the mag 12 is flowing to fast for your skimmer.

Don

 

[fatboyt123]

i was think about that to i have been looking for an ehiem 1262

 

[freetareef]

are you geared for sps? if so and you have a good skimmer you might want to think about vodka dosing. i have a 75 dt with a 45 sump, 12 fish and ideal sps conditions. not your norm but i down sized from a 150 and love my fish and my corals. the corals seem to respond well to the low nutrient, high food method. here is a link

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

give it a thought. i couldn't ever get my last 20 ppm gone even with almost no bio-load. this costs me less then 5 bucks a month.

 

[freetareef]

also lots of passive ways too.... like 5 or 10 red mangroves will really suck no3 when mature. coil denitrators have alot of positive feed back and are cheap as well.

 

[freetareef]

hope that helps...

 

[fatboyt123]

are you geared for sps? if so and you have a good skimmer you might want to think about vodka dosing. i have a 75 dt with a 45 sump, 12 fish and ideal sps conditions. not your norm but i down sized from a 150 and love my fish and my corals. the corals seem to respond well to the low nutrient, high food method. here is a link

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

give it a thought. i couldn't ever get my last 20 ppm gone even with almost no bio-load. this costs me less then 5 bucks a month.

i dont have anything in the tank besides my fish.Dont have my lights yet as i am still waiting for my hammertone sheets to arrive so i can make my reflectors.

would these still lower it even with nothing in the tank or would it hurt it in the long run as there is nothing in there that will use it up