Nitrates too high??

[Ab129]

Over the last couple months I’ve noticed green algae growing on my rocks. During this time I have also observed my nitrates rising from around 10 ppm to over 20 ppm.
I do 15% wc s every week.
The only conclusion I can come up with is that maybe I am overfeeding?
I have 6 fish
2 oscellaris clowns
2 wrasses
Royal gramma basslet
Valentini puffer
I feed one time per day and I alternate between one frozen cube of food or about a 1/2 inch square of reef frenzy which I chop up with a razor blade.
Should I cut back on the food or is there a better way of reducing my nitrates?
I would like to start adding coral but want to lower my nitrates first.

[homer1475]

Once a day is plenty if not overfeeding a small bit. I have gone to every other day feeding and all my fish are still fat and happy. The only difference is I see them picking at the rocks more now, and they don't look like homeless people begging for feed every time I get near the tank.



Carbon dosing and more WC's are about the only ways I know to effectively get rid of high nitrates.


EDIT:
I have 7 fish in an 80 cube. 2 midnight clowns, starry blenny, yellow eye kole, flameback angel, yellow coris wrasse, warpaint goby, and green mandarin.

[mcgyvr]

How old is the tank?
For a fish only or soft coral tank those nitrate levels are not a problem..
It can help fuel nuisance algae growth and can be an issue for more demanding corals though..

If your nitrates are rising then input > output..plain and simple..
That might just be because the tank is newer and doesn't have a suitable bacterial population to take care of itself or because you are overfeeding slightly..

As stated carbon dosing is a good way to help with that if you don't want to increase water changes or decrease feeding..
All it takes is dropping some vinegar into the tank daily..

[Ab129]

Tank cycled one year ago. First fish added last December.
Adding vinegar sounds easy! What are the drawbacks?
Where can I read up on that?

[homer1475]

I found the info I needed here... But there are several threads here on r2r about the process.


http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/116-vinegar-dosing-methodology-for-the-marine-aquarium




Hopefully this link makes it through(never know what links will or won't).

[homer1475]

hmm.... we change r 2 r to clay-boa now? Never typed clay-boa.


Kind of funny we censor that site, yet they do not censor this sites name in their forums. Afterall we are just reef junkies trying to get a fix or info for that fix.

[mcgyvr]

hmm.... we change r 2 r to clay-boa now? Never typed clay-boa.

Kind of funny we censor that site, yet they do not censor this sites name in their forums. Afterall we are just reef junkies trying to get a fix or info for that fix.

That site has been "censored" for a long time now here..
The reefkeeping link/article is all one needs.. Just follow chart and enjoy...

**my thoughts on the matter have been self-censored here to protect the innocent and weak-willed*** :D

[hkgar]

Good write up of Vodka dosing (http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php). For vinegar multiply the vodka dose by 8.

[mcgyvr]

Yes you can use Vinegar or Vodka or a combination of both..
From what I've seen/calculated,etc.. Vinegar seems to be less costly and there seems to be some evidence that you are less likely to have cyano problems from using Vinegar vs Vodka.. So pick up a $3/gallon distilled white vinegar bottle at the grocery store and start adding some to the tank each day and see how it goes..
Except a couple weeks to start to see results..

If you start to see clear bacterial "snot" in the tank back the dosage down and maintain it at that level..