wegotjs Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 This is my first reef tank, so not sure were to go from here.My nitrate levels are running between 10.0 & 20.0 ppm . How do I get those levels down . First I did talked to a couple of people that said it's not realistic to see the levels at 0.0, on the other hand most books and shops say for reef you must have it at zero.Tank is 30 g hex W/ 20g sump,vho's,85 pounds live rock ,live sand.Been running for 6 months . A few soft corals and two small clowns Plus the cleanup crew.I clean my filter sock a couple times a week and do reg water changes 50% every three weeks . Still no help, I've even done Multiple changes the same day changing 75 % water It does bring it down a bit but never lower than 10.0ppm I have seachems de-nitrate in the sump , no help over 5 weeks. I have even tried feeding almost nothing for 2 weeks to try and help. AM I CRAZY. The corals are not dying, they seem healthy but I would'nt say they were taking off either. DOH! Set me strait were am I going wrong.DOH! Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mbeef61 Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 feed a little less....once a day or every other day until under control...change 20percent weekly instead of 50percent every 3. maybe vaccumm top 1/2 inch of sand bed to pickup extra detritus. start growing some macro algaes....a combo of this put me at untracable levels....i agree there is no such thing as 0 nitrates but there is a point where out pewny test kits cant pickup any traces...which we call 0....if im not mistaking i think clams prefer a little nitrate in the water and can actually clean it up a little... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DChemist Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Have you confirmed your test kit is accurate? Take a sample to your LFS as a double-check. Do you have any other symptoms of high nitrate? Algae growth? It seems to me you have plenty of live rock for the size of your system. How deep is your live sand? What kind of water to you use to top-off and to make up your salt water? Have you tested it for nitrates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mbeef61 Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 oh yes i forgot to ask....are you on ro/di water/ if not do so and i bet that will drastically change things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 I've tried two different test kits , same result . My sand bed is about 3 inches.Always use ro water and no bad algae growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Do you have a wet/dry? Or worse, under gravel filter? Bio balls are nitrate factories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Tell us more about your filtration system, skimmer, anything you use for nutrient export. Do you use bio-balls? Any kind of filter media other than your filter sock? What kind of sand bed? Sugar sized, crushed coral? What test kits are you using? Sorry about all the questions. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 Running a TOP FATHOM 120 protien skimmer, med. grade sand coral w/ a plenum.The only filtration is live rock, sock filter and protien skimmer.Wardley master kit & instant ocean test kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Maybe John might jump in, as he might have more info on the plenum. IMO they just aren't used much anymore. Is the medium sized sand a Crushed Coral? They tend to hold alot of detritus, but then again, I'm not sure how much they would hold in a tank with a plenum. I'm not saying plenums are bad either, there are some long running tanks that use plenums, but I personally would not use one. I like bare bottom, so I can see that all the junk has been removed. Are you using RO/DI water? If not do you know the TDS ( total desolved solids ) of the water you are using? If you are not using RO/DI water, then I would thing this might be the culprit. Test your fresh water and see what the result is. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 I would bring a sample of the water to a store who will test it using salifert kits. Also, what is your nitrite level? Ammonia? test your nitrate the day after you change your filter sock, see if there is any difference int he reading. Is your r/o water also deionized? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DChemist Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 3 inches of med. grade sand (on top of a plenum) doesn't seem quite deep enough for a deep sand bed but deep enough to contribute to nitrates. How often is the filter sock cleaned or replaced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 ammonia & nitrites are at zero. filter cleaned 2 times a week. I put the plenum in on the advice of Woody at Seahorse.The filter really does not get that dirty because i am feeding so little. So what is the suggestions on substrait , none or some or lots?I get all my water at woodys , fresh and salt so all i know is that its r/o. I want to thank everybody for there time and suggestions I really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 test the water from woody's. he has had problems with nitrates in his water before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted October 18, 2006 Author Share Posted October 18, 2006 I tested the r/o water and no nitrates so that looks good .I guess maybe its hidding in the substrate. How much is ok.(substrate) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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