Can not get the Nitrate to drop to zerro.

[aplusbiomarine]

Hello Cliff

Have you read the links about carbon dosing yet ???

The purpose of carbon dosing is to grow nitrate eating bacteria which is then removed by your skimmer. You need a good skimmer for this and a very good knowledge of water parameters.

It sounds like your talking about a algae scrubber

Research will be your key to success

The following is from http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....arine-aquarium that you guys posted

When and how you dose may also impact where they grow. For example, dosing very slowly with a dosing pump just upstream from a large rock filled refugium may encourage growth there, where slow dosing the the display, or once daily bolus dosing anywhere might deliver the vinegar through the whole system and encourage visible growth in the display.

Maybe I should have not mentioned "alage scrubber" to create confusion!
I just think to get the idea from this method by using removable growth media (plastic canvas) instead of dosing against the rocks inside the sump.
I am thinking this would make it easier to clean resulted growth and keep the display cleaner. Of course skimmer is must but regardless there will be growth on the surfaces; I just try to make it on an easily removable canvas.

thoughts please?

[Cliff]

OK, so you want to do both, carbon dosing and have a algae scrubber ?

If that is the case, I would suggest to try the algae scrubber first as it will not effect your other water parameters and is a safe and natural way to reduce nitrates. If that doesn't work, then look into carbon dosing

[aplusbiomarine]

Hello everyone

Update:
I decided to run the system 24hours (sump pump used to be set off during the night). This resulted in drop of nitrate level.

Then I added and mixed some extra sugar size sand.
Also I conducted relatively intense vacuuming of surfaces off the brown algae and some green algae. Next day the Nitrate spiked to 40ppm again.

I believe my tanks problem was partly duo to too much growth of brown algae on the surfaces of rocks which posed competitive disadvantages over nitrifinig flora of microorganisms.

Today I woke up with a problem:
One green chromis is missing, I found one dead red crap and my Blond Naso Tang is not ok!

The Tang was relatively new and little shy but just fine.
Since after two days ago's vacuuming the Tang was mostly cornered behind a rock, Since few hours ago, she started to fall on the sands and hide inside a hole. Her moving gill and fin are the only sign that she is still alive.

My parameter:
pH 8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 40ppm
Carbonate hardness 7.1 dKh
Phosphate: 0.25ppm
Temp: 31C (I believe cause by running the pump non-stop but I am working to decrease it)

I have changed some water, as well, I added seachem Prime to combat nigh nitrate.
What could be wrong with the tang, stress? What should I do now?

Thank you for reading this long post.

[Cliff]

If your nitrate is now 40ppm after dropping, I'm guess that is the cause. Nitrate starts to become toxic to a lot of fish around 40ppm. You have to keep in mind most marine fish we keep in aquariums are found in or near the reefs in nature and should have close to those natural water parameters for them to truly thrive.

I would start by remove the bioballs from your sump and start doing ~15% to 20% water changes each day until your nitrates are around 10ppm or lower.

[aplusbiomarine]

Hello Cliff

I have reduced my bioballs to 50% and I have also started carbon dozing inside my refiugium, which resulted in growth of the chateo in it.
I noticed daily water change drops the nitrate to 10ppm but again nitrate increases and stabilizes at 40ppm. It seems that 40ppm is the equilibrium of my tank!


As of now there are several fishes and two coral in system and they look fine.

Should I try to completely remove my bioballs?

thank you

[Cliff]

As you had very high nitrates for a long time, your live rocks likely soaked up a lot of nitrates into the rock. When you do a water change you'll make the nitrate level in you water lower than what is soaked into your rock so some more will leach out. That is why it is important to keep up with the water changes until it stabilizes a lot lower that 40ppm (at least around 5ppm would be the most I would accept in my tanks)

Removing all of the bio-balls would help a lot was well as I previously recommended

I would also suggest to use RO/DI water if your not currently using it. tap water can have nitrate in it which will not help you.

[aplusbiomarine]

Hi cliff

Do you think by addition of "Seachem Prime" and "Seachem Stability" I could accelerate the sucking of Nitrate out of the system? (In addition to the water change)

In the past prime helped to reduce the tank's nitrate to bellow 10ppm.

[sheamurai]

A better way to reduce nitrate rather than using conditioners which "hide" ammonias would be to use products like Purigen or Chemi-Pure Elite...There is also one called Sea Gel that Jenn has mentioned but I have never used.
My nitrates without these filters sits at 5, when I use them they are 0.

I have never used any conditioners in my SW tank.