raeh1 Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 I checked today 80 ppm. Thats high I think.. I do 15% water change per week so how else can I get it down?? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 WOOO thats high what you done hmm water change but it will up up again if you dont know what as caused it.no dead fishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 thats high but still on outside range (from memory) for fishies. how long has your tank been running? what was your reading last time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Water change.... There are charts on RC about this. But you will need to do approx 18 50% water changes to get the Nitrates down from 50pp to under 5. So although a water change is always a good idea, 1 minor water change has done very little. Stop feeding the tank frozen food completely and reduce feeding overall. Remove any bio balls and filter wool and sponge filters anywhere in the system. Is the tank over stocked and under skimmed? Crank up the skimming or add a bigger skimmer or remove stock. Got enough rock for the size of the tank and its stocking level? Add rock, to the sump or the display. How old is the tank, is it still cycling (e.g. is it under 9 months since setup? If so, then what did you expect?). Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Hi Raeh1 I saw somewhere that you were looking for an anemone. Can i suggest that you dont put it into your tank until you sort this problem out? You will be wasting your money as it will not last long with water chemistry issues such as this. Good luck. Pies is right - definitely get rid of any bioballs and/or canister filters (if you are using them) as they are nitrate factories. Are you over-feeding ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBlog Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Remove any bio balls and filter wool and sponge filters anywhere in the system. Pie Can they all be removed at once or do you have to do it slowly to avoid shocking the tank? When I finally removed my trickle system, I believe someone (LFS??) told me to take out the bioballs in fourths, or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 at 80ppm of nitrates, i dont think they will come down quick enough to worry!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Joeblog, yeah......depending on how many you have. I took mine out all at once and reduced feeding for a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Can they all be removed at once or do you have to do it slowly to avoid shocking the tank? No you should not remove at once as you could get ammonia problems due to removing you bacteria. Best to take a handfull a week out. Bioballs dont cause nitrates. the dirt that gets trapped inside the bioballs does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raeh1 Posted March 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 The tank has been going 14 months. I have about 100 kg of live rock. I think I will cut down my corals. Skimmer is a deltec and removes heaps. I will cut down my feeding levels. This maybe the problem. I did not end up with Bio balls in the end. I also have now changed my filter wool. Thanks for the advice guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 I think I will cut down my corals. ???? on the contrary, INCREASE the number of corals. more corals the better as they compete for nutrients against bad algaes. if anything reduce the number of fish. I will cut down my feeding levels. This maybe the problem. very likely if you overfeed, feed as much as fish consume within 2 minutes, no more. make sure no food goes uneaten. turn off powerheads when feeding. I also have now changed my filter wool. VERY likely to be a source. i use filter wool once every 2 months for only a few days at a time, simply to remove crap floating in the water column or when i stir up the sandbed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raeh1 Posted March 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 The nitrates have dropped overnight to 60 ppm. I am getting 60 litres of sea water this afternoon. (luck I surf aye).. Two trip in one. $15 gas or $15 worth of salt... Either my salt is free or my surfing costs nothing. I will get some RODI water from slappers as I can dilute the sea water as in Rags it is generally around 1.026-1.029 depending on the day. (I think this is kind of movement in salinity is strange ah) My fish stock has not changed for about 4-5 months. when it was about 10-20 ppm I have been feeding to much i think.... I also started using coral food again... that always seems to be a problem maker so in the bin it goes.. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 soundsike slappers or someone should test your tank for u, 60 overnight is hard to believe??? Def stop the coral food, how often are u feeding yr fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 go the probio, that will sort it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 check the expiry date on your test kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 it may be up that high, but it would be hard to tell between 60 and 80 color would look the same. Mine was over 50 for about 1 month and i found it hard to tell the correct reading. i used vodka to bring it done, worked sweet. I think in that time i only did one water change. My level is now at 0 (no color on salifert test kit) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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