Moved Tank, nitrates and nitrites sky high

[borillion_star]

It's been about a month since I moved an established Biocube 29. The first 2 weeks I did daily 50% water changes and for the 2 weeks 20% twice a week.

I am not seeing a lasting drop in nitrates, it will go down to almost zero and be 80 to 160 ppm on the API test at the end of the week. I thought it might be because of the bioballs so last week, I took out half cleaned a fourth and put the rest of them with the cleaned ones into a intank acrylic fuge. I checked my RO/DI and everything is at zero out out of the filter, so what is going on!? Please help ;(

I moved the ammonia and nitrate absorption pads into an intank acrylic filter rack, adding one more layer of each. After this I did another 50% percent change.

[bertoni]

What animals are in the tank, and how much food is being added? Also, how much live rock is in the system?

I would remove the rest of the bioballs and the ammonia and nitrate pads over some period of time, if there's enough live rock. Both are likely to produce nitrate in the water column. The nitrate pad probably won't work in saltwater, and I doubt that the ammonia pad does, either.

[borillion_star]

So I have 4 cerith snails and 5 tiny hermit crabs that I just put in 2 days ago.
There is about 25 lbs of live rock, and 25 to 30 lbs of live sand. I have not added
any food at all.

The previous owner was using the pads, and they say they are for both fresh and saltwater oddly.
Would changing them out slowly with filter floss, bags of carbon and phosban type chemical help?

[Ocean envy]

+1-"I would remove the rest of the bioballs and the ammonia and nitrate pads" .

It seems to be the above or a full blown cycle in progress.

You could take the animals out, stop the water changes and let the tank cycle without the above pads and bio balls. Which is probably the best route.

Once the pads and balls are out see what happens in the next few days. If the readings are still out of whack, and you want to take a shot at a shortened cycle, I have had luck with putting floss and chemipure elite in the filter( which you should rinse well with rodi water) and adding a good source of helpful bacteria. I have had good luck with fluval cycle, shake it well and dose it according to bottle, I think for about 3 days. That might do it. Good luck.

[Art13]

I would also get a decent nitrate test kit, salifert makes one, I never got a good reading with api. It may be reading properly, and you might have other issues going on, but it's always good to double check before you start doing anything drastic.

[bertoni]

The filter floss likely will dump nitrate into the water column, as well. Carbon and GFO are useful in many systems. I didn't see a phosphate result for your tank, but I probably wouldn't bother until there was a problem.

[bertoni]

Oops, I meant I wouldn't bother with GFO.

[borillion_star]

The reason that I want to keep some filter floss and there is that I have very cloudy sand any time I touch anything or make any water changes it becomes a sandstorm in there. Yesterday I noticed a very fine silt or amlost sludge like layer of sand at the bottom of the first compartment, that has the inlets for the intake. If I were to take it out and wash it with ro/di water on a daily basis would that be okay?

So far this is the worst of the three tanks that I've owned I have never experienced anything like this. :(

[bertoni]

Using a small amount of filter floss is fine. I might clean it once or twice a week and see how that goes.

[borillion_star]

I had the lights out and added purigen and tried a 4 day light out period, when that didn't work.

I tried a second week long period, but it seems like its just getting worse. It's not the top off water of the water made out out of the mix. Does having blue LEDs on during this help plant growth, I didn't think it would.

Is it from the rocks and arylic barrier that is leaching from?
I never had issues like this before. It's been about 2 - 3 weeks with the purigen.

Phosphates read look like they are zero to me.

[bertoni]

Most any light will fuel some photosynthesis. I would turn off the LEDs for a lights out experiment.

[CStrickland]

I wonder if the silt isn't sand, but detritus.
If you kept old sand and didn't remove accumulated crud from the rocks I think that would kick off an event in the new tank.
If it were my tank I'd try to vacuum as much of that out as possible. Maybe also use a turkey baster or small powerhead to blow it into the water column with a filter sock running, then remove the sock after an hour or so.
Just a thought

[borillion_star]

Its been 2 weeks now that the lights where out. I would say 90% of the stuff is gone. Some of the thickest patches are still green kicking but I guess all of it won't go this way.

So far I did a 20% water change at 1 week in, one today end of the second week/ I had heavy layers of canvas over it. Suppose it wasn't enough light blockage or its just super stubborn. Getting a box to put over it like I should have in the first place.

[borillion_star]

It looks like sand to me, its very fine like powdered sugar. I got most of it sucked out that I could see. I don't think this was originally live wet sand, but unwashed dry sand.

I wonder if the silt isn't sand, but detritus.
If you kept old sand and didn't remove accumulated crud from the rocks I think that would kick off an event in the new tank.
If it were my tank I'd try to vacuum as much of that out as possible. Maybe also use a turkey baster or small powerhead to blow it into the water column with a filter sock running, then remove the sock after an hour or so.
Just a thought

[bertoni]

If it's sand, it should bubble when a bit of vinegar is added.