nitrates

[hebes6]

hello all my nitrates are going up what do i do????? sorry 55 gal saltwater i will do a water change tonight. My tank has been up for 2 years i have about 15 fish all non aggressive. i don't know what to do.

 

[cheeks69]

To better help ya will need more info. Are you using tap water ? How large is your tank and how many fish do you have ? How often do you do water changes ? Are you using a protein skimmer ?

 

[LakeEd]

How long has your tank been setup? What are your Amonia & Nitr"I"tes doing? Are you using Live Rock? If so, how much?

The more you can tell people about what your setup is like, the better information they can try and help give you.

 

[hebes6]

55 gal saltwater 2 years old 15 non aggressive fish i am doing a water change tonight.

 

[cheeks69]

Wow 15 fish in a 55 gal is alot of fish and the nitrate problem is a direct result. The general rule in a SW tank is 1" of adult size per 5 gal. How high are your nitrates ? My suggestion would be some large water changes and thinning out your fish population. That's just my 2 pennies

 

[LakeEd]

Still not knowing quite enough to give specific information about your setup, I would also recommend you do water changes. Hopefully, you currently use RO/DI or at least RO water for your changes, so you aren't using tap water... which could be adding to your Nitrates. I would still check your Ammonia & Tr"I"te levels tonight possiblly both before, and AFTER you do that water change.

The more you know, the better you can help find ideas to help!!!

 

[dnjan]

Did it go up suddenly, or has it been creeping up? If it went up suddenly, you might have had a fish die. A single fish death could impact a system 2-3 times your size. If you can't find one of your fish, try looking behind rocks, etc. for the body, and try to remove it.

And, if that is the case, sorry for your loss.

 

[Angelscrx]

How often do you do water changes and how much water do you change? In my 55g I do bi-weekly water changes with about 7g of water changed. Sometimes a little more but all you need is 10%. My set up is still pretty new at 8 months and I only have 5 fish, 2 shrimps, and a lot of janitors. It is an upgrade from a 29g. 15 fish is a lot for a 55g :shock:

 

[Krish]

Do you have bio-balls in your system? I've been doing countless hours of reading lately and found out they are a no no. Nitrate factories big time!!! If so, you may want to start pulling the out slowly.

 

[plack]

Basic question do you have any corals or just fish only if so what level of nitrates do you have as fish can handle more than corals can.

 

[NaH2O]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers hebes6!!! Hope you enjoy the site!

There are some good questions above, which the answers may help determine where the problem is coming from. Tell us as much about your set-up as you can (equipment, amount of live rock, substrate, etc), with water parameters. Hopefully, we'll be able to help you out!