Nitrate Abuse

[jcook54]

I've neglected my 70g tank for the last year or two (new daughter) and have now gotten back into the hobby. It turns out that my Nitrates are through the roof. Off the scale high. I added two caps of Prime to relieve some of the stress on the current inhabitants. There are plenty of causes and solutions that I've found posted but I was wondering about the timing of changes.

I pulled the bioballs from my wet/dry about two weeks ago, added a Seachem Purigen (100mL) pouch in the drip tray and a media bag of Kent Nitrate sponge where the balls used o be. Last night I pulled the ceramic rings from my Rena Xp3 and put Seachem Matrix in it's place. These changes should help with nitrates when combined with frequent water changes but I'm worried about going too fast. I don't want to disrupt my system too much b/c I know that stability is important and the fish & polyps have made it this far. I have 50+ lbs. of live rock for bio breakdown but I'd hate to put them under a bunch more stress by causing an ammonia spike or something worse. Let me know what ya'll think about my pace and if I should do/not do anything else. Thanks!

 

[flyingarmy]

I would definitely slow down on the changes. It's better to go slower and have your system adjust. With 70GAL the changes are not as bad, but smaller volumes of water it would be disasterous. I would definitely keep up with daily water changes to help mitigate this spikes you are going to get. Good luck and let us know how it's progressing!

 

[jcook54]

Am I correct in thinking that the Prime will help ease the transition? I know it doesn't correct the underlying problems but I think it should help. Also, how much should I add? The directions mention adding up to 5x the normal amount for nitrite but when taking into account the water changes as well as the fresh carbon, how much should I dose?

 

[flyingarmy]

I wouldn't add the prime. I'd just keep doing water changes and over time, slowly, you'll reduce your nitrates.

 

[jcook54]

I use Seachem's nitrate test. It seems to work well. I tested the sample they gave to check accuracy and it was correct. I do have a sump and have looked into mangroves but my sump is too small. I posted on the WTB forum and am trying to upgrade to a larger sump. I have checked the ammonia daily and haven't seen any spikes yet but keep looking for one. At this point I'm going to keep up with water changes and get back on a regular maintainance schedule to prevent it from getting this bad again in the future. Anyone have a sump they're willing to part with? I currently have a "Slimline" model that is 19" x 16" x 8" and that's just not enough room for what I want to do.

 

[ralph atl]

unfortunately, you r getting too many conflicting answers. I'm sorry, but I'm going to give you a short term answer & a medium long term, an a long term.

Let's concentrate on just nitrates for right now.

1. Do large water changes every 2 or three days for the next few weeks, slowing adding another day or two imbetween. Lower the amount changed as time goes on.

2. Temporarily buy a rubbermaid recycle bin or similar shape to make a temp sump.
Get a good skimmer, cheato, 55k to 65k flourenscent bulb, clip on fixture, cheap powerhead, and your good to go.

3. Get permanent sump

4. Get two little fishes reactor and put GFO in there for phosphate control. Water changes don't do much for phosphates as phates bind to live rock, sand, etc, unlike nitrates which stay pretty much in water column.

 

[stephenamsler]

i had the same problem, then i did a 50% water change, the next day 25% then another 25% and then a 10% and it has been fine ever since.