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kkil4life
10/18/2009, 01:41 PM
I really need some help here guys.
I finally managed to get my po4 in control with GFO and po4 minus(lanthanum chloride based), but my nitrates are still over 50.
I have a 75g system with about approx 75lbs of live sand. Tank has been up and running for 10 months now.
when my nitrates were above 50-60 last time, i did massive water changes of 60% + 60% +30% to bring the nitrates to about 10.
But 2 weeks later, I'm back where i started.
what can I do?

the only thing I'm doing wrong is using a canister filter. But I run crushed coral substrate in the bottom chamber, gfo and carbon in the middle, and bio-rings on the top chamber.
Middle and top chamber have a layer of filter wool.
I clean out the filter every week, but to no effect.

will taking out the wool completely help?
I'm on day 2 of vodka dosing

I hope I can keep the nitrates in check.
help me out guys

Billybeau1
10/18/2009, 03:49 PM
Are you running a skimmer ? They can help quite a bit. Especially when dosing vodka.

That said, you are either feeding too much or your tank is overstocked. Fill us in with the details. :)

Have you read Randy's nitrate article ?

MrRub
10/19/2009, 08:55 AM
I have been having problems with my nitrates being way too high. Nothing was helping. Then I realized my problem was my filter socks. I have been changing them every other day and the nitrates are going down I think you need to change the filter wool more often, or do away with it.

sharrison
10/19/2009, 09:17 AM
the deep sandbed, maybe?

bertoni
10/19/2009, 01:11 PM
The crushed coral and bio-rings in the canister could be adding nitrate. If the system has enough live rock, you might be able to remove them slowly (over a period of 4-6 weeks). I agree that feeding is another critical issue.

DocG
10/19/2009, 01:29 PM
Never underestimate the power of a good skimmer. I used to have a nitrate problem similar to yours and spent a lot of money in salt and fancy gadgets (sulfur denitrator, remote dsb) that never seemed to help. I had what I thought was an good beckett skimmer on the tank that was pulling out a ton of dark skimmate.

Then I bought a significantly better skimmer. The skimmate that was produced by the skimmer did not look appreciatively better then the skimmate produced by the old skimmer, but the nitrates just dropped dramitically over the course of 2 or 3 months. It has been at least 2 years since and my nitrates haven't been over 1 since. I have since switched skimmers again, not due to performance issues but due to noise issues. I made sure to get a similar skimmer to the old one and still have had no nitrates.

reeferoo
10/19/2009, 02:16 PM
Water changes will bring down nitrates, but slowly- perhaps not quickly enough to overcome how fast they are being made.

Socks are a good thought- any other sponges in the system.
Skimmer would def help- even a nice cheap ASM Mini G
I had massive massive nitrates and I think what really got them under control was adding a HOB fuge with chaeto as well as much less feeding. No more pellets. None! :-)
Also, you need to do lots of storming. Storm and then water change. Storm and then change sock later. Get a turkey baster and blow in holes on rocks and stuff or move a powerhead around. :-)

Lots of luck!

kkil4life
10/19/2009, 02:48 PM
thanks guys for your advices, and sorry for not listing my specs

I made a mistake in the first post, I meant I have a 75g with approx 75lbs of live ROCK, and about 50lbs of sand (makes about 2 inches thick)
I clean my canister with crushed coral/bio ring (not bio balls), gfo/carbon and filter wool.
I clean my canister once every week.
I might consider REMOVING my wool to see if it makes any difference.

I have an aquac remora skimmer and I feed flakes twice a day (about 2 small pinches)

my live stock is
2xmaroon clown (approx 1inch)
1xvalentini puffer (approx 1.5inch)
1xbicolor angel (approx 2-2.5 inch)
1xblue tang (approx 2.5 inch)
1xfalse perc (approx 1 inch)
1xdesjardni sailfin tang (less than 0.75 inch)

I know I'm slightly overstocked, but considering the sizes I think I'm ok (btw I saved the sailfin in the lfs)

I do between 10-25% waterchange weekly. I've just recently added the sailfin and false perc, but even before that my nitrates were way too high

I really want to get a sump, but right now I can't cuz I need to custom fabricate an overflow (we don't get any here, plus I cant order online as I have approx 2.5-3 inches of space between the waterline and the tanks rim)

what are my other options? or what am I doing wrong?

arredondojason
10/19/2009, 03:14 PM
i only feed every other day. sounds to me like you are overfeeding.
also there are mods you can do to those skimmers to make them work better look into that.
if you order and overflow box off the internet and setup a sump just add water till you get the siphon going you should be fine i switched over to sumps like 6 years ago and will never switch back.
good luck to you and also with vodka dosing you have to be patient for it to lower your nitrates and phos.

bertoni
10/19/2009, 10:03 PM
I think that skimmer is inadequate for that size tank, personally. I had a Remora Pro and wasn't all that impressed. You might look in the equipment forum for further recommendations.

kkil4life
10/20/2009, 11:38 PM
after 3 days of vodka dosing, my cyno is starting to grow back.
Should I stop vodka?
should I reduce?
what can I do?

njdevilsfan
10/21/2009, 03:05 AM
erm 2 inch sand bed seems like a big problem with that fish bio load

PRDubois
10/21/2009, 03:14 AM
1 - Better Skimmer
2 - Replace CC & Bio rings in Canister with Rock Rubble
3 - Stop using Flake and get some frozen food
4 - As long as you are going on Randys article on the Vodka dosing you are OK. Keep it up till nitrates drop to 0 then cut it back as the article states.

Veosk
10/21/2009, 11:44 AM
I had a nitrate problem a few years ago, as soon as I replaced the cpr fbio media w/ more live rock in my tank the nitrates were lowered

bertoni
10/21/2009, 02:43 PM
A fair number of people report some initial problems with cyanobacteria when dosing vodka. I might keep dosing unless the growth starts covering a significant part of the tank. Scaling back the dose might help a bit.

Haksar
10/22/2009, 10:44 AM
Hey mate,

Suggest below,

1)Get a good skimmer
2)Reduce your live stock and feed as less as possible.Try pellets.
3)Do you have a reactor for the GFO and what GFO are you using.
4)Get rid of the wool.
5)Since you are using the Vodka method continue the same otherwise try the Denitrator.
6)Canister filers are an issue always with nitrates but there are people who have kept successful tanks with canfilters.

Do you have any pics of yourtank.What are your other parameters.

PM me if you have any issues.