Nitrate level rising

[suomi411]

I just tested my parameters and my nitrate is up at 20 ppm while the ammonia and nitrite are at 0 ppm. From what I understand the nitrate level shouldn't really exceed 20 ppm, so if this level persists what should be done? I do biweekly water changes and have a eheim pro. wet/dry canister filter in which I rinse the ehfisubstrat/clean filter biweekly with used aquarium water. I also use a bakpak skimmer. As for fish, I have a dwarf lionfish, snowflake eel and saddle valentini puffer all of whom I feed twice a day. I try and remove as much of the uneaten food as possible. Any suggestions?

[Beemo]

while zero nitrates are best, 20 ppm isnt exactly deadly
keep up with the water changes, try to feed less if you can

[sir_dudeguy]

first off, do you have any live rock? if you do, then get rid of the media in the eheim...even when cleaned regularly, nitrates can still get high w/those...thats what happend w/my fluval.

if you dont have live rock, then obviously keep the filter, but maybe switch to smaller, but weekly water changes and filter cleanings.

nitrates are not toxic to fish just so you know...so 20 ppm isnt really anything to them...it is however toxic to inverts, which in turn if dead, can make it bad for fish.

[suomi411]

I have about 30 lbs live rock and 15 lbs or so base rock. Once I remove the bio substrat from the eheim wet/dry is there anything else I should watch out for...possible the biobale in the skimmer?

[Holmie_D_Klown]

What do you feed your eel and lionfish and how often? Twice a day is probably excessive for them. My zebra eel gets a 2-3 shrimp once/week if he's lucky.

[suomi411]

I feed my dwarf lion and eel either frozen krill, silversides, squid or food combination cubes. The dwarf won't eat anything but krill yet, but the eel will take anything. I feed them twice a day.

[Beemo]

you can try a nitrate sponge, that along with water changes should keep it from getting any higher

[littlemannin]

How big is your tank? I'm guessing with the fish you listed, it must be about 70 or so. If this is the case you should get more LR. I would caution you about just removing the canister filter. This needs to be done overtime because even if it is a "nitrate factory" as you probley have read, it still has bacteria in it to process nitrate. If you remove it all at once you will have a nitrate spike.

[suomi411]

My tank is a 55 gallon with about 30 lbs live rock and 15-20 lbs base rock (all my fish are relatively small: fuzzy dwarf lion, saddle valentini puffer and snowflake eel). My canister filter is a wet/dry filter and the only media used is biological. Should I still remove the media or leave as is and just keep with the biweekly water changes to see if it lowers??? I will also reduce the feedings to once a day. I plan to add more live rock, but am searching to find good pieces and plan on adding probably one or more fish (possible leaf fish or angler).

[cheeks69]

Should I still remove the media or leave as is and just keep with the biweekly water changes to see if it lowers???

You have enough bio filtration with the LR you don't need the canister filter, these will only trap detritus and lead to nitrate problems and they're also a pain to clean. If bi-weekly W/C's aren't lowering the nitrates then do weekly and increase the % of the water change. I would also consider getting a better skimmer.

[sir_dudeguy]

well, you would still need the canister...just not the media in it...just use it for flow only. Or you could sell/trade to get a good powerhead, but i'd prolly keep the canister..you never know what you might need it for.

and when you take out the media, do it slowly..take out one basket at a time...do that over about a 3 week period i think, and you shouldnt have any problems.

[cheeks69]

You could use the canister to put GAC or Po4 reducing media but it would still need to be cleaned regularly and unfortunately the Fluval just isn't made to be opened constantly mine fell apart after about a year and was a pain to prime.

[suomi411]

Thanks for help...I will slowly remove the bio media. Is there any other type of media that should be added in place of the bio media (i.e. mechanical)

[RobNJ]

i took all the sponges and ceramic media from my fluval and run phosban or carbon or both when needed to polish or clean water

[ZoeReef]

FWIW, I have been collecting zoanthids from some really seasoned growers of fairly exotic corals. I ask them what's going on in their tanks. Some of them have nitrates at 20.

A refugium is among your best bets in reducing nitrates.

Mysis shrimp and other frozen foods tend to increase nitrates more then the dry. When you use frozen, feed the meat but don't pour the liquid into the tank (assuming you add water to thaw the frozen cube). It just adds bioload without providing useful nutrition.

Regarding dry foods: Dainichi makes an extraordinary dry pellet (get the baby size) that has caused my fish to thrive in size and color. I feed it almost exclusively and I add a little extra frozen when feeding anemones, sun polyp's etc to give the fish a treat.

[ZoeReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7717041#post7717041 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy

and when you take out the media, do it slowly..take out one basket at a time...do that over about a 3 week period i think, and you shouldnt have any problems.
Say what??? Where in the world did you get that from? Nothing personal here but that is just nonsense.

dudeguy, I applaud your desire to help, but come on, don't mix good advice with junk science or feelings. That's kind of like saying, "If you swallow poison, take it out slowly..perhaps over a 3 week period I think.." :D

[silversnake]

i like the fluval filters ive never had to prime mine just fill it with water and make sure inlet and outlet are under water.

[suomi411]

I decided to remove the bio media in both plates and add LR rubble to one and carbon to the other...is there any problem with this setup??

[cheeks69]

There's no problem as long as you clean regularly, even carbon can become a bio-filter if left in there too long.

[cheeks69]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7718593#post7718593 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ZoeReef
Say what??? Where in the world did you get that from? Nothing personal here but that is just nonsense.

dudeguy, I applaud your desire to help, but come on, don't mix good advice with junk science or feelings. That's kind of like saying, "If you swallow poison, take it out slowly..perhaps over a 3 week period I think.." :D


sir_dudeguy is right, there's alot of nitrifying bacteria in that bio-media and if removed can lead to an ammonia spike particularly if there isn't enough mature LR or you have a heavy bio-load. YOu have to allow the bacterial populations adjust in the main tank, always good to be on the safe side and remove it slowly. Also nitrate isn't harmful unless it's very high but it certainly is algae fuel.

[suomi411]

Should carbon also be cleaned biweekly? How often should it be replaced?

[cheeks69]

Yes I would clean it regularly, weekly should be fine. AFA how long is the carbon effective that I'm not sure, I replace mine monthly when I use it.