High Nitrates

J

jprice

I have a 144 gallon tank, I change 20 gallons of water every week. My Nitrates are 80 ppm, do I need to do more on water changes. If anyone has any suggestions. My Ph 8.2, Ammonia 0 ppm and Nitrite is 0 ppm.

Thanks,
Johnny
 
How many fish do you have and what are they?
How often do you feed?
What type of food do you feed your fish?
what kind of protein skimmer do you have?
How often do you clean your skimmer and pump?
How do you clean your skimmer and pump?
 
I have 3 Tangs, 3 Anthias, 1 Foxface. I feed frozen Spirulina with garlic one time a day. I have a Aqua Euro USA skimmer, I clean my skimmer every week when I do my water change, I clean my skimmer at the sink.
 
If you'll do a 75g water change, nitrates will measure 40. Do another 75g a few days later, nitrates will measure 20. Do another 75g two days later, they will measure 10. Every 50% water change will cut them in half.

And once they are down, it will be easier to keep them down.

The question is, how did the number get so high? Is this an ongoing situation or did they creep up and you are now wanting a solution? Do you have anything in your system that generates nitrate (bioballs, biobale, sponges, biowheels, filter socks)?
 
I'm sorry to hear about your nitrate problem, as I'm new to saltwater I'm learning a lot fast. I have a bio bale and sponge that is coming out ASAP! I'm continuously fighting nitrates and hopefully this will help me out too.


Jason
 
Till you get your nitrates under control, cut back on your feeding to every other day. I strongly recommend getting setup with a Biopellets reactor added to your setup. If you can't afford it, alternative would be vodka dosing everyday. You will be feeding the hetrotrophic bacteria which will consume nitrates in the process. While you are battling the high nitrates, I recommend dosing hydrogen peroxide at the same time to help oxidation of organics to prevent Red Slime Algea outbreak.
 
digital, could you explain the dosing of hydrogen peroxide please. I am getting back into the hobby after being out for 6 yr.s and have never heard of this before. appreciate the help.
 
The water changes will bring down your nitrates as suggested above, but lets see if we can figure out how they are getting so high. So what kind of tangs do you have and how big are they? How many cubes of food do you feed the fish once a day? I'm guessing you are saying that you clean the collection cup once a week when you do your water change and that is great. I don't clean mine that often, I just clean the collection cup when I see the riser getting gummed up, but my collection cup has a drain in it that goes to a separate container. Be sure to wipe down the riser on the skimmer body when you clean the collection cup.

When you have allot of tangs its important to keep your skimmer working well. I'm suggesting that you clean the skimmer pump at least once every 3 months. You need to take out the pump and disassemble and soak in vinegar. Clean all the parts and put it back together. This will ensure you are getting optimal skimming.
 
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