PDA

View Full Version : High nitrates question


EricandBrandi
06/23/2011, 09:09 PM
Well I have about a 120 gallons with about 100 or so pounds of live rock. The lights are 2 4ft VHO and a MH in the middle that I believe is 175 watts. My goal is a reef setup. I just tested the water and my nitrates are dangerously high reading about 80 ppm. I am doing a 50% water change as soon as I get home from work tomorrow, but my question is what would cause nitrates to jump like that? I have not had anything die and I only feed what the fish will consume in one minute. My other numbers were nitrites and ammonia at 0, ph at 8.3, salinity at 1.026. It has been set up for nearly 8 months. Any help is appreciated.

TimeConsumer
06/23/2011, 09:14 PM
Well for starters, when was the last time you tested, and what was the level then?

funkejj
06/23/2011, 10:04 PM
Ok here are a few questions, how many fish? So you have and filters on the tank? What is your substrate? How old is the tank? That will provide a good start to find your issues? Also do you run a skimmer?

EricandBrandi
06/24/2011, 10:01 PM
Well I have 6 fish. I do have a filter sock and my setup is berlin style. My substrate is live sand about an inch to two deep. As far as how old it is, my friend had it set up for three years before he gave it to me. For the last year he had it he did not run the light so it literally had just the live rock in it when i set it up. I have been running it for nearly eight months. I have always struggled with the nitrates usually in the lower teens. Then Monday the nitrates had jumped all the way into nearly 80 ppm. I did a small 15 gallon water change and no effect. Tomorrow i plan about 50 gallons and then to recheck. I do have a skimmer but I dont know what size or anything about it. I just dont understand what is causing this spike in my nitrates.

TimeConsumer
06/24/2011, 11:41 PM
Well I have 6 fish. I do have a filter sock and my setup is berlin style. My substrate is live sand about an inch to two deep. As far as how old it is, my friend had it set up for three years before he gave it to me. For the last year he had it he did not run the light so it literally had just the live rock in it when i set it up. I have been running it for nearly eight months. I have always struggled with the nitrates usually in the lower teens. Then Monday the nitrates had jumped all the way into nearly 80 ppm. I did a small 15 gallon water change and no effect. Tomorrow i plan about 50 gallons and then to recheck. I do have a skimmer but I dont know what size or anything about it. I just dont understand what is causing this spike in my nitrates.

From 15(ish) to 80 in a week? Wow. Other than something dying (or someone peeing in the tank), I have no idea what could cause that intense of a spike.

Did you do anything different in your routine during the time this happened? How often do you change water? Have you tested your water source for nitrates? You may need to replace your RO filter (or your fish store).

Edit: What nitrate test are you using? Have you validated the results with a different test?

Andrew17030
06/24/2011, 11:41 PM
Not understanding your skimmer might be a good place to start. Figure it out, what type is it, what is it rated for, is it running right, setup properly, etc. That would not explain the sudden change but would help you in the future. Maybe you had a fish spawning that caused the nutrient spike. Who knows, a good way to learn about your tank is to journal everything that YOU do to it. How long are the lights on, water changes, feeding, type of food, any additions. Same test kit? Did you retest? You can go to most LFS and get a test done for about a buck. It is good when you have a discrepancy and want to get a new source for a test.

EricandBrandi
06/25/2011, 12:13 AM
Thanks for the input guys. I like the journal idea. ANDREW17030 you are correct I do need to get more familiar with my skimmer. I know its working and i clean the cup every two to three days but thats about it. TimeConsumer thanks I will get another test kit and compare results. I do water changes of 15 to 20 gallons weekly and I test weekly. Maybe I just had a faulty test.Thanks again for the input.

vorm
06/25/2011, 01:10 AM
I'm thinking it's a bogus test reading. If it's usually in the low teens and in one week goes to 80, with nothing changing, that just doesn't seem right. Unless you have a large dead fish rotting in there or something. :twitch:

Retest and/or have your LFS or a friend test and see what they get.

sjwitt
06/25/2011, 04:44 AM
+1 to what everyone else said AND make sure the test tube or whatever holding devise the test is performed in is clean. Rinse it and test again. It could be some residue of something in the tube itself. I've had that happen to me before and I rinsed the test tube and everything was fine.

Korrine
06/25/2011, 12:32 PM
Whenever I get a test reading that seems to be weird, I ALWAYS retest. Even multiple times. What test kit are you using?

EricandBrandi
06/25/2011, 05:48 PM
Thanks everyone I retested today and I am at the low side of 20ppm. I am using the API test kit. Is this agood brand or is there a better suggestion? I believe I had a bogus reading but I had made one change that I had not thought of until today and that is that I changed salt to a brand I wasn't familiar with. Do some sats have nitrates possibly? Well thanks for the help.

rayn
06/25/2011, 08:01 PM
Api is fine, but a different test kit can't hurt. Some of the better are salifert or elos. I use and have used all three and they come out about the same. How old are your kits? If I remember right api is good for three years from the date on the bottle. Watch when you buy a master kit with ammonia, nitrite, phophate in there, they aren't always the same date.
Journals are useful tools to tell you what you changed and what did or didn't work. Just make sure you keep up on them, easy to get lazy and not do it.
By says did you mean salts? Possible but they shouldn't. You could always test your water before you dump it in the tank.

fishchef
06/25/2011, 08:30 PM
I find Tetra Nitrate easier to read and more consistant than API. Better low range results. API for me was inconsistent. It compares to Salifert, but still easier to read.

Lynnmw1208
06/25/2011, 08:53 PM
do you have anything currently in the tank to export nitrates such as cheato algae?

tmz
06/25/2011, 10:40 PM
Sounds like a bad test. 20 ppm is not a big worry.ime. Keep th phospahte low. I use api . IME, it's good down to 5ppm or so. Salifert does abetter job in the low ranges.

TimeConsumer
06/26/2011, 12:09 AM
Thanks everyone I retested today and I am at the low side of 20ppm. I am using the API test kit. Is this agood brand or is there a better suggestion? I believe I had a bogus reading but I had made one change that I had not thought of until today and that is that I changed salt to a brand I wasn't familiar with. Do some sats have nitrates possibly? Well thanks for the help.

I have both API and Salifert. They both read the same in the high range. But there's a trick to API. The instructions say to shake bottle #2 for 30 seconds. Shake it for 2 minutes to get an accurate reading, otherwise it will read low. And after both bottles have been put in, shake it till it's dead. At least 2 minutes, and put some elbow grease into it.

Also, make sure you have the nitrate card for saltwater, not freshwater. The saltwater card is essentially the same color scale shifted up one level.

As far as salts having Nitrate, I don't think that would be a wise business decision. Your water supply is a more likely suspect. Do you RO/DI your own water?

tmz
06/26/2011, 10:28 AM
Here is a link to a good article on Nitrate by Randy Holmes.Farley:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

bpledger84
06/26/2011, 06:18 PM
I honestly think you should take your tank down and bring it to my house!

EricandBrandi
06/28/2011, 08:31 PM
Sorry bpledger84 no can do. lol. tmz thanks for that link there was tons of good stuff there. lynnmw1208 no i dont have anything to export nitrates but i hvave been taking note of that option.thanks everyone for the tips. I have a regal tang, yellow tang, sailfin tang, two clownfish, a goby, and a cleaner shrimp. Is this too much for my tank possibly? Again I have 120 gallon tank.