Nitrate Problem!!!!!

[SaLtWaTerNEWBIE]

Hello Fish Experts!!!
I'm new to the saltwater world! i have a 55 gallon acrylic tank w/ an overflow filter a Lee's protein skimmer, one power head and 85 lbs pounds of live rock and 35 lbs of live sand. i had the tank for 6 weeks with some damsels to break in the tank then later i introduced some tangs,clownfish,blenny,henoichois butterfly fish and some crabs and snails. i'm aliitle scared to start up a reef tank after my attemps on an rose anemone that failed. i was told that nitrate and ammonnia should not be detectable in my tank so i tested my nitrate and it was at 60.0! i've done numerous water changes but it seems not to work, so i even tried those bacteria aditives(Fritz zyme #9, Cycle) and that stuff didn't even work!!!! Please Help!!!!!

 

[wrightme43]

Welcome, glad you are here. In my experince the best way to lower nitrates is, a good protien skimmer. how much dark skimmate are you making a day? Do you use reverse osmosis or deionized water. (some cities have very high nitrates) How many and what size fish. In my opinion 8 fish is a lot in a 55 gallon reef. Are you using a high quality food. I use New life spectrum everyday, and feed dried krill, marine cusine and cycopeze (one of the three every other day. One of the best things I have found is patience with stocking on a new tank. (it drives me crazy too!) I hope that helps. Lots of other people will be answering and asking you questions too. Steve

 

[NaH2O]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!

Good post, Steve. I agree on the amount of fish, especially in the short time your tank has been set up. It takes time for bacterial populations to grow and handle new bioloads. How many tangs, and of what variety do you have? Also, what are your ammonia and nitrite readings? With a large bioload, even if the ammonia and nitrites are broken down quickly, you will still see a lot of nitrates. What and how often are you feeding?

 

[edonato]

i am also new , i have learned something the hard way, take it easy, do not add many fishes at the same time, i know that one desires to see the tank full of fish, but an advice is, buy a couple of fish , wait two weeks, do the measurings and if everything is allright you can add a couple more, never add a lot at the same time

 

[cheeks69]

I would say the reason for the high nitrates is you have a heavy bio-load because of your stocking level and not having a quality skimmer. Tangs grow real big and are messy eaters. Your feeding schedule could also contribute to high nitrates.

 

[SaLtWaTerNEWBIE]

wow such useful information!!! to answer some of the questions the variety of tangs i have is 1 blue tang,1 yellow tang,picasso trigger, 2 green chromis,2 blue damsel,butterfly fish,dwarf lionfish,porcupine puffer and a panther grouper. i feed my fish twice a day (flake,frozen brine shrimp).i think i need to invest in a good protein skimmer, what kind of a protein skimmer should i buy? i have a Lee's submersible skimmer that uses a airstone is that a good enough skimmer or should i invest in something better? thanx to all for your wonderful advice!!!

 

[big t]

Welcome to Reeffrontiers! I am glad you found us. Wow, that is a lot of fish. In the world of salt water that is too many fish, and quite a few that will get BIG. I had a 55, that was idealy stocked for a reef, it had a Yellow tang, six line wrass, and a pair of ocellaris clowns. For the amount of fish you have, I think that a 125 gallon tank would be a minimum, and you would need a good skimmer. The Lee skimmer is just a little toy, and is not suitable for you tank. I think a good one for you would be a Aqua-C remora, or the remora Pro. If you get a sump, a great skimmer is a Euroreef.

So anyway I would take all your fish out and take them back to the LFS. This is important, because otherwise they will all die. You then need to get your tank properly cycled, and get a quality skimmer. Once you get your nitrates down to below 5, it would be ok to add the 2 green chromis back. After about 2 weeks if everything is still good on the nitrate levels, go ahead and add a yellow tang, or a blue tang, but not both. Then a month or so later, you can add something else small, but I can promise you that the amount of fish you have now will not work for long in your tank.

 

[Ritsuko Nashida]

Wow! What a huge bio-Load on such a new tank. Thats way too much way too soon in my humble opinion. I think you are really pushing the ragged edge of a "crash".

The advice you have received in the previous replys should definitely be heeded to avert potential disaster. The first thing that really concerns me other than the fact that the tank is barely cycled at best is your choice of fish and at the rate you stocked them. I am not trying to flame you, just trying to make you smarter, so please dont take this personal. First, that cute little Panther Grouper is going to get big, and get big fast! In the wild your looking at 27 or so inches! This means that those damsels will soon be on the menu! It eats a lot and for a lack of better words "poops" a lot. This will tax your water quality in the near future in a tank that small. Ditto on the Lion Fish although it wont get nearly as big as the Grouper. Its still a gross "poluter" (sp?). Both are very striking specimens to be sure though, but will quickly out grow a 55 gallon tank. Some Tangs...I think 1 is about all a 55 can really handle unless you are going to provide lots of algae for them to eat. Even then, room wise your dealing with a pretty good sized fish that needs some swimming room. A RBTA as hardy as BTA's are...is best reserved for an experienced reefer with a mature tank. The fact that your tank is so new probably has a lot to do with why it didnt make it. They require a mature and stable tank with excellent water parameters and lighting. Even experienced reefers sometimes have trouble with these guys.

As suggested...I would get a better skimmer, if you dont have a refugium might wanna give some thought to this concept. While not a neccessary addition to your system it can be very benefical none the less, the advantages are many, but dont think that its a magic bullet! Its just a peice of the big picture that can help. Dont add no more live stock until the nitrates come down, even then I would add very cautously if at all on a tank that small. This is one of those hobbys where patients really is a virtue in no uncertain terms. And that is probably one of the hardest things to learn in this hobby. We all want an "eye popping tank" but truth is most that have a tank like that spent a couple of years or more getting it there. The last paragraph in "big t" post is a really good idea. I only recommend that as a lot of people jump into this hobby, get in too much of a hurry and have a disaster and get out of the hobby becuase its "too hard" or a "waste of time and money". Its not that hard or difficult, but it is unforgiving and it can get expensive really fast if your not careful.

Pateints is everything in this hobby. Please start out slow, build a solid foundation, and you will not only avoid "suprises" but before you know it you will have a really nice tank to boot too!

Just some food for thought...take what you will and toss the rest, just remember that the best mistakes to learn from are the ones someone else made, at least that way you dont have to feel the pain too....

 

[NaH2O]

You have received some excellent advice. What sized water changes are you performing and how often? Are you interested in having this as a Reef Tank or a Fish Only With Live Rock?

I'm curious as to which fish you have again? You have conflicting posts, so I want to be clear on your livestock....that way we can offer you the best advice.

Your first livestock listing:

some damsels to break in the tank then later i introduced some tangs,clownfish,blenny,henoichois butterfly fish and some crabs and snails.

Then...

have is 1 blue tang,1 yellow tang,picasso trigger, 2 green chromis,2 blue damsel,butterfly fish,dwarf lionfish,porcupine puffer and a panther grouper

 

[Scooterman]

Wow what a rush of information, at this point, I'd think about taking a step back, slow things down, & lets help get your system the way you want it, in a safe friendly manner, this is all great information but really, like Nikki said, for us to be helpful we need a good through break-down. This means things like, what are your intentions, do you want fish only or would you like to support a reef? If you want a reef, or plan to have one, then things needed to be considered is, equipment, types of corals you would like, also this would mean getting compatible fish for a reef, lots to think & talk about, if your just starting out & want to stick with some really cool fish for now, with plans of a reef at a later time, we can work with what you have and help plan for later. One thing also to consider, is the cost, once set-up it isn't too bad but at times it can be costly, loosing fish isn't cheap. So we have some information, if your willing to break down your entire system, your husbandry, source of water for your tank, equipment etc, we can examine what you have, and do our best to guide you to a more successful path, the really great thing about all this is, look at all the people willing to help, one of the reasons I guess so many of us also had help in this manner & just want to share the knowledge & help another into our community, I think that is a really neat thing to be a part of!

 

[wrightme43]

You have recieved some great advice, I have a question for you? Did you buy all of those fish and the tank from the same store? There is a book that is great for new comers to the salt water hobby called (The Consientious Marine Aquarist) by Bob Fenner. It will save you terrible heartache, and money to boot. Subscribe to a quality aquarium magazine. If you bought your tank and skimmer and fish and live rock from the same store, you might of failed to tell them the facts or they may of just wanted to make a quick sale. I like prizim skimmers low price, convienent, and has a drain port that you can use for over flow while you are getting used to it, I also like the adjustable surface skimmer. Get the pro model if you choose, it is 200$ and supposedly works to 300 gallons. Steve

 

[plack]

Some simple things to try:
1) vacum the sand and try using cheese cloth at the Ø3/4 tube end where it fits onto the harder larger plastic tube used for sticking in the sand or gravel (to stop all the sand from filtering out) and do 1/4 to 1/3 of all of the sand at 1 water change (25% water change) do this weekly for a month.
2) Reduce the amount of food given get it as minimal as possable for now
3)Instead of returning all the fish figure out wich ones you can easily return like possably the damsels? then after 1 month and all this re-evaluate
4) check your water before adding it to the tank to make sure the test kits says its good first.

? do you have any lighting for the rock ?

 

[FinsReef]

After reading your first post. I think that you have some Misunderstanding of the Nitrogen Cycle, and are mistaking Nitrate needing to be Zero.The goal you should have is the Ammonia(NH3,NH4), and Nitrite(NO2)at Zero(0). First cut back on how much you are feeding. Test your Ammonia, and Nitrite and tell us the readings. Nitrate is not deadly to fish.Ammonia and Nitrite can be. Please supply me with the following info, and I will try to help you dial your tank in.
1. PH
2. Alkalinty
3. Ammonina
4. Nitrite
5. Nitrate
6. Brand and Model of Overflow Filter
7. How long has tank been running since first introduction of fish.
8. List of every fish in your tank.
9. Brands and Quanity of any products you are putting in your tank.
10. Are you wanting to keep a reef tank, or a Fish Only tank?
If you do not know some of the answers, no problem just say so.

In a nutshell, Yes you do need to upgrade your skimmer, especially with your fish load.
But a new skimmer will not fix everthing until we get the basics own first.