Perplexed by high nitrates

Junkmail · 08/05/2018, 05:44 PM

Got a 90g going for a month now. Bought it from a guy that had it running for 7 years. Has about 100 lbs live rock in it. I saved a few cups of the sand that was in there, washed it, and then put it in with new sand. Problem is that my nitrates are reading maxed out on both API and Salifert test kits. Phosphate is at 1. But, no algae growth in tank. Thought it may have went through mini cycle so tested for ammonia and nitrites. Both 0. Have done 4 30% water changes and no change. The rocks were kept alive in saltwater with powerhead going during move. Plenty of bristleworms and hitchhikers in tank so I know the rock is in good shape. Just put some chaeto in the sump which is 30 gallon. Any ideas on what problems could be? Have a tang that has been in qt for a month that came with tank. Would like to get him back to DT. thanks in advance.

kfisc · 08/05/2018, 08:13 PM

Just some guesses: You may not have any lights on and it may not be receiving any sunlight, which may keep algae growth from taking off sooner.

Another guess is the cycling may have just reached the spike in nitrate, and all heck is going to bust loose algae-wise very soon.

Also, perhaps your tank parameters are actually in quite good shape for this stage in the process, and your clean-up crew and chaeto are really doing their jobs. Sure hope that's the case.

Junkmail · 08/05/2018, 10:16 PM

Hope so.

mcgyvr · 08/06/2018, 04:37 AM

Did you fill it with all new water when you started the tank? Or did you use the old tank water?
Did you keep the live rock wet the whole time when you moved the tank from the other guys house?
So you reused all the sand but washed it? How well?

What were the parameters of the tank when the guy had it?
I'd bet he had horrible levels too..

Junkmail · 08/06/2018, 09:28 AM

The tank was disgusting when I first got it. It was obvious that the guy stopped taking care of it. I did use about half of the old water. I washed the sand that I did use very thoroughly. The rocks were transported in a trashcan full of the tank water it came out of. Common theme is the old tank water. Would you recommend a 100% water change or is there some other way to transport the nitrate out of the tank? And the previous responder was correct. My LFS told me to keep the lights off. I turned them back on yesterday and it is already starting to fuzz.

mcgyvr · 08/06/2018, 09:58 AM

Water changes are a great way to reduce nitrate levels..
Typically a 50% water change "should" reduce nitrate levels by 50%...

I would never use "old tank water" when starting a new tank like that....
Very little of the beneficial bacteria is free floating in the water column and most is stuck to the surfaces (rock/glass/sand,etc...).. The old water though has all the rest of the "crap" dissolved in it so its best to not use it at all..

Carbon dosing can also be a good way to reduce nitrate levels.. I've used vinegar many times in the past with excellent results..

High nitrate levels though are fairly common in new tanks..
I always use carbon dosing for the first 8-12 months or so then after that time the nitrate levels seem to get much easier to manage.. I believe that its the denitrifying bacteria that takes that long to get "properly/fully" established.. Nitrifying bacteria gets established much quicker..

Junkmail · 08/08/2018, 12:20 PM

Tried everything to see if I could figure it out. Two things came up. 1 was that using the old water sabotaged new water when it was transferred. And, 2 is that there are some nitrates leaking from older rock. Took new freshly mixed water and tested for nitrates...none. Took some rocks out of tank and put it in new mix. After 1 hour had about 10 ppm. After 24hrs it was up to 40ppm. This was with a powerhead circulating and water at 78 deg. Looks like I will swap out 100% and then do weekly water changes until levels get down. Nothing in the tank anyway, but I do like watching the bristleworms and pods.

mcgyvr · 08/08/2018, 02:14 PM

Rock does not leach nitrates like it can phosphates..
But its pores,etc.. can be filled with "crap" that will convert to and show up as nitrates..

Typically its not a bad idea to take a turkey baster and blast the heck out of your rocks to attempt to blow that "crap" out of the pores/crevices,etc... of the rock..

You are basically just running up against the very typical problem of using old stuff that has been in a tank with nitrate problems before and was never properly solved..
Its just dirty man

billdogg · 08/10/2018, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Rock does not leach nitrates like it can phosphates..
But its pores,etc.. can be filled with "crap" that will convert to and show up as nitrates..

Typically its not a bad idea to take a turkey baster and blast the heck out of your rocks to attempt to blow that "crap" out of the pores/crevices,etc... of the rock..

You are basically just running up against the very typical problem of using old stuff that has been in a tank with nitrate problems before and was never properly solved..
Its just dirty man

^^^This^^^

I would go a step further - mix up some new water and then, using a few 5g buckets full, take the rocks out and swish them around real well (even scrub lightly if needed) in bucket #1, rinse in #2 and place in #3 while you do the rest of the rocks the same way. If you run out of room in #3, then start returning them to the tank. After you've done all the rocks, do the largest water change you possibly can. I am assuming that at this point there is no livestock in the tank other than some bristle worms and assorted microfauna/CUC?

08/06/2018, 04:37 AM	#4
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Did you fill it with all new water when you started the tank? Or did you use the old tank water? Did you keep the live rock wet the whole time when you moved the tank from the other guys house? So you reused all the sand but washed it? How well? What were the parameters of the tank when the guy had it? I'd bet he had horrible levels too.. __________________ Who me?

08/06/2018, 09:58 AM	#6
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Water changes are a great way to reduce nitrate levels.. Typically a 50% water change "should" reduce nitrate levels by 50%... I would never use "old tank water" when starting a new tank like that.... Very little of the beneficial bacteria is free floating in the water column and most is stuck to the surfaces (rock/glass/sand,etc...).. The old water though has all the rest of the "crap" dissolved in it so its best to not use it at all.. Carbon dosing can also be a good way to reduce nitrate levels.. I've used vinegar many times in the past with excellent results.. High nitrate levels though are fairly common in new tanks.. I always use carbon dosing for the first 8-12 months or so then after that time the nitrate levels seem to get much easier to manage.. I believe that its the denitrifying bacteria that takes that long to get "properly/fully" established.. Nitrifying bacteria gets established much quicker.. __________________ Who me?

08/08/2018, 02:14 PM	#8
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Rock does not leach nitrates like it can phosphates.. But its pores,etc.. can be filled with "crap" that will convert to and show up as nitrates.. Typically its not a bad idea to take a turkey baster and blast the heck out of your rocks to attempt to blow that "crap" out of the pores/crevices,etc... of the rock.. You are basically just running up against the very typical problem of using old stuff that has been in a tank with nitrate problems before and was never properly solved.. Its just dirty man __________________ Who me?

08/05/2018, 05:44 PM	#1
Junkmail Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Posts: 4	Perplexed by high nitrates Got a 90g going for a month now. Bought it from a guy that had it running for 7 years. Has about 100 lbs live rock in it. I saved a few cups of the sand that was in there, washed it, and then put it in with new sand. Problem is that my nitrates are reading maxed out on both API and Salifert test kits. Phosphate is at 1. But, no algae growth in tank. Thought it may have went through mini cycle so tested for ammonia and nitrites. Both 0. Have done 4 30% water changes and no change. The rocks were kept alive in saltwater with powerhead going during move. Plenty of bristleworms and hitchhikers in tank so I know the rock is in good shape. Just put some chaeto in the sump which is 30 gallon. Any ideas on what problems could be? Have a tang that has been in qt for a month that came with tank. Would like to get him back to DT. thanks in advance.

08/05/2018, 08:13 PM	#2
kfisc Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 2,020	Just some guesses: You may not have any lights on and it may not be receiving any sunlight, which may keep algae growth from taking off sooner. Another guess is the cycling may have just reached the spike in nitrate, and all heck is going to bust loose algae-wise very soon. Also, perhaps your tank parameters are actually in quite good shape for this stage in the process, and your clean-up crew and chaeto are really doing their jobs. Sure hope that's the case.

08/05/2018, 10:16 PM	#3
Junkmail Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Posts: 4	Hope so.

08/06/2018, 09:28 AM	#5
Junkmail Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Posts: 4	The tank was disgusting when I first got it. It was obvious that the guy stopped taking care of it. I did use about half of the old water. I washed the sand that I did use very thoroughly. The rocks were transported in a trashcan full of the tank water it came out of. Common theme is the old tank water. Would you recommend a 100% water change or is there some other way to transport the nitrate out of the tank? And the previous responder was correct. My LFS told me to keep the lights off. I turned them back on yesterday and it is already starting to fuzz.

08/08/2018, 12:20 PM	#7
Junkmail Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Posts: 4	Tried everything to see if I could figure it out. Two things came up. 1 was that using the old water sabotaged new water when it was transferred. And, 2 is that there are some nitrates leaking from older rock. Took new freshly mixed water and tested for nitrates...none. Took some rocks out of tank and put it in new mix. After 1 hour had about 10 ppm. After 24hrs it was up to 40ppm. This was with a powerhead circulating and water at 78 deg. Looks like I will swap out 100% and then do weekly water changes until levels get down. Nothing in the tank anyway, but I do like watching the bristleworms and pods.