HELP!! High nitrates with only 1 fish in 56 gal tank!!!!!

[Carey1465]

This tank has been set up since Fourth of July weekend. It's a 56 gal tank with at least 45-60 lbs or more of live rock with a 2-3" sand bed. The only fish I have in there is a lemon peel angel with several hermit crabs. I have plenty of water flow with my QD40 power head and I have a reef octopus classic 110 skimmer.

All of my parameters are fine except my dang nitrates which are reading 20-40ppm with my API test kit. I already know y'all are going to say that the API test kit is not accurate but I'm currently waiting for my Red Sea test refill kit to show up.

What's crazy is I have 4 small chromis's and a large Darwin clownfish in my 20 gal QT and I have about 5ppm and of course that's with no LR. I can do a 15 gallon water change and the nitrates still won't go down. Im getting aggravated with these nitrates cause I'd like to put my chromis's in my display so I can get my Darwin clownfish another mate.

My skimmer isn't pulling out a lot of gunk so I'm thinking that might be the problem. I do have the skimmer set to the correct depth as noted by coralvue.

Note--I've added LR a few times since July and I'm currently adding stability everyday. Also, I just added a 4x4x8 piece of that marine pure bio filter to see if that'll help

[stingeragent]

What's your definition of live rock? Was it from a LFS and already established or what. They can leach over time. Also, are you using RO/DI? I know API test kits aren't the greatest. BIggest problem I have is discerning the color.

[Reef Frog]

Your tank is still very young. Since the cycle may have really only ended a few weeks ago, I would imagine this is normal. It takes a while for the bacteria populations that turn nitrate into nitrogen gas to grow. I'd just keep up with the water changes, don't over feed & siphon any waste you see during the WC. It can take some time for the biological filter to mature and catch up to what's happening in the tank.

[Carey1465]

What's your definition of live rock? Was it from a LFS and already established or what. They can leach over time. Also, are you using RO/DI? I know API test kits aren't the greatest. BIggest problem I have is discerning the color.


Yes it was LR from the fish store. And yes I have a RO/DI filter.

[alexgoffxi]

Refugium will fix that quick with chaeto.

[Dkuhlmann]

I used a 1/4 teaspoon of regular granulated sugar every other day to get rid of my nitrates that were early after my cycle but mine were over 80. Sugar is a carbon that binds with the nitrates and removes through the skimmer, under normal operation skimmers do not get rid of nitrates. It makes sense that you don't have much skimmate with having only one fish. Skimmers remove organic waste that is created by over feeding.

I was also doing the 20% or more wc's to try and get the nitrates down but wasn't helping. After 3-4 weeks using the sugar they were down to 10 or less and have been there ever since. All you have to do is take the measuring spoon with the sugar on it and sprinkle it in a heavy current area of your main tank and it does it's job from there. Some people also use Vodka for this but I found the table sugar easier and cheaper to use

I also added chaeto to my sump and it took over after it started growing.

[entropygain]

+1 on the chaeto and sugar
However, sugar acts by promoting bacterial growth that can then be skimmed out.
add a bit more (eg 1 tsp) and your skimmer should go crazy that night....

[E Rosewater]

I find that fewer fish can be trick due to feeding. Is it possible that he's not eating all the food you're putting in and some of it is left to decompose in the tank?

[Carey1465]

Refugium will fix that quick with chaeto.


I tried a refugium on my old tank a few years back and I killed off a 5 gallon bucket of chaeto that I got from a fellow reefer. I tried different types of lights and couldn't keep that stuff alive.

[Carey1465]

I find that fewer fish can be trick due to feeding. Is it possible that he's not eating all the food you're putting in and some of it is left to decompose in the tank?


My lemon peel eats like a pig. I'm sure there's a little left over but you never know. I keep my QD40 powerhead on high. It should keep everything afloat.

[Carey1465]

Do you think my little chromis's could handle my 20+ nitrates or should I wait and keep them in the QT?

[TylerVT26]

They should be fine in 20 PPM of Nitrate IMO. Just make sure you start lowering that number in the near future.

[Dkuhlmann]

20 ppm nitrates are acceptable in a FOWLR tank they can adapt. Now for you killing chaeto I don't get it, that stuff is so easy to grow. You have been doing something wrong. Show a pic of your sump and what do you have for lighting in the sump

[Carey1465]

I've tried several types of lights at different heights above the chaeto. Only thing I could think of is my tank was a FOWLR and was I lacking the coral supplements. Heck, I thought all you need is a decent light and high nitrates to grow that? I'd like to try it again but I would need a small refugium to go under this 56 gal stand. I do have a octopus bio reactor in my spare room. I thought about hooking that up.

[Cdodge1]

Um, I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I've seen cheato being grown with a cheap bulb. Just do a WC and see where ur nitrates are

[Cdodge1]

Any updates? Was the issue resolved??

I always like to know the outcome...and methods used to solve the issue.

Good Luck!

[Carey1465]

Sorry everyone. Been busy between work, family and the tank. So I did about a 50% WC Sunday. I took all the LR out and shook all the detritus off with the water I took out. I had a big accumulation of detritus in the bottom of the tote. I changed my sock filters 1 day later and waited another day to test the nitrates. My nitrates are still around 20-30ppm. I'm thinking about contacting Coralvue about this skimmer. I have it set at the recommended water level but it's hardly filling the collection cup (.25").

I put a request out to my Atlanta reef club members that I'm looking for a refugium but no responses yet. I do have a octopus bio pellet reactor but I really didn't want to use it for 1 fish. I'll give it sometime and see if the nitrates start to drop.

Any other ideas??

[Dkuhlmann]

Sounds like you did a great job! I want to let you know that a skimmer doesn't remove nitrates. If you have room in your sump I'd put in some chaeto, it collects the nitrates and grows quickly. You need to remove chaeto as it grows and this is how you get rid of the nitrates. I would try another wc in a week of 20% and your nitrates will come down even more. It would be a good idea to check nitrate levels before you do the next wc and again after. This way you will know how much you are producing weekly. After this wc you should be able to go to a wc every two weeks. It all depends on your tank and your feeding habits.

[ColinAbi]

Sorry everyone. Been busy between work, family and the tank. So I did about a 50% WC Sunday. I took all the LR out and shook all the detritus off with the water I took out. I had a big accumulation of detritus in the bottom of the tote. I changed my sock filters 1 day later and waited another day to test the nitrates. My nitrates are still around 20-30ppm. I'm thinking about contacting Coralvue about this skimmer. I have it set at the recommended water level but it's hardly filling the collection cup (.25").

I put a request out to my Atlanta reef club members that I'm looking for a refugium but no responses yet. I do have a octopus bio pellet reactor but I really didn't want to use it for 1 fish. I'll give it sometime and see if the nitrates start to drop.

Any other ideas??

Can you build a sump/refugium? Saves a lot of money and petco has 1$ per gallon sale.

[Carey1465]

I do have some silicone/aquarium safe caulk in the garage. I'm just worried that the baffles will give and collapse on me. What size aquarium? 30 gal breeder?

[ColinAbi]

I do have some silicone/aquarium safe caulk in the garage. I'm just worried that the baffles will give and collapse on me. What size aquarium? 30 gal breeder?

Biggest one you can fit down there. Make sure the silicone is safe. If its done right, it shouldn't collapse.

[Carey1465]

I guess I'll do some research on how to build one this weekend. I'll keep everyone updated

[Fish Keeper82]

Have you tested with the red sea test kit yet just curious if its showing the same as API. My API was showing 20ppm... and red sea was showing 1ppm

[oseymour]

I guess I'll do some research on how to build one this weekend. I'll keep everyone updated

Here is one I built myself using a 20 gallon long from Petco.

https://goo.gl/photos/6KS7iFXCuAatUvQZ9

[Carey1465]

Sorry for the late reply. I just tested the nitrates again. Here are the results:

API nitrate test: 40+ppm

Red Sea test: 48ppm (give or take)

So the test are pretty close in results.

I took the filter socks out the other day to see if that'll help but I don't see any improvement. I'll take pics of the tank tomorrow when the lights are on so y'all can see the setup. I basically have my rock setup so the water can flow easily through the rocks. Not sure what else to do but use my bio pellet reactor or possibly set up a refugium and hope I can keep the chaeto alive.