Thinking about shutting down

[porpoiseaquatics]

Yep...you read it correctly. I lost control and can't seem to get it back. Nitrates have skyrocketed to 40-50ppm and have been for the past 3-4 months no matter what I do. I thought maybe my test kit was bad so went to an LFS...nope..they got the same result that I got. Occupants seem ok except for my Super Yumas have shrunk. No matter what, I can't get nitrates in line which seems really odd given that I have two large clams and cheato in my sump.

Water changes didn't help so I moved to pond matrix flowing at about 80-100 gph as recommended on the packaging. I removed all of my filter sponges and change my socks once a week. I vacuumed out the sump so there is very little detrius in there and did a little vacuuming in the sandbed during a water change. Still testing at the same number as before. I don't know what else to do but to shut it down at this point and maybe start over in a month or two.

 

[jrhunter0000]

At this point i dont know how big of a water change you did. I would do a massive one vacuuming the sandbed if you have one and live rock. I had this same issue and media didn't help just constant water changes. i started with a 50/50 water change. Dont give up keep trying everything.

 

[Trizzino]

Hey Jeff,
Sorry to hear of these issues. I had a friend with the same issue and they used bio pellets to get there nitrates in check. Have you tried bio-pellets?

Austin

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Trizzino;1078334 wrote: Hey Jeff,
Sorry to hear of these issues. I had a friend with the same issue and they used bio pellets to get there nitrates in check. Have you tried bio-pellets?

Austin

I've not gone the bio-pellet route yet. The LFS suggested Matrix or d-Nitrate first so I went with Matrix as Trial #1.

As for water changes...I was changing 20g every other week then went to 20g every week and now I'm changing 30g every week on a 200g TWV system. I guess I'll move it up some more.

 

[axio]

Other then the Yumas not being too happy. Those nitrates aren't THAT high imo. As long as the occupants look happy we don't really panic unless they are staying at 60+. It is odd that water changes aren't putting a dent into it though. How often are you changing water and how much? Usually on our service tanks we see these issues on systems that are only changed 1-2x a month and changing over to weekly water changes + media almost always solved the issue.

I would agree Bio-Pellets would probably do a much better job then matrix, but in my opinion you should be able to get back on track with the water changes. That is why I'm asking how often and how much do you change?

Jakub

 

[enderg60]

Changing 20-30 gallons at a time on a 200g system wont change your nitrates much at all.

You need to do 2 80% changes. Do one, then wait 2 days and do another. Try to dose the new water to match your alk, calc, mag and temp(within reason) before you do the change.

Not fun, but dont fear large water changes.

 

[axio]

Just read your response. Some our full out reef tanks that we service that size easily get 40-50g water changes every week or more if they need it. As you very well know all systems are different. Is it possible to offset that with media like bio-pellets and matrix? Yes. But i feel it is always better to go the more natural route if you are willing and change more water.

 

[bcavalli]

I have about the same amount of water volume and I have always tried to stay with 25g water changes every week to 10 days. So I end up changing about 40% to 50% a month. Then once every three or four months I'll do three 25g water changes in a week. It seems to have helped keep nitrates and phosphates at bay with me over feeding my tanks. Dont give up you can beat it!

 

[jrhunter0000]

50 percent is where i would start. See if you can take a chuck of it out!

 

[mikesmith34]

WC and vodka dosing

 

[genesis]

Jeff I can only recommend what I've done personally. I started having higher nitrates a couple months ago and I started to use Red Sea nopox. In 2 weeks my nitrates went from 32ppm to 2ppm. 3rd week lowered dosage and sitting at 1ppm nitrates and 0ppm phosphates. The stuff works wonders!

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Genesis;1078343 wrote: Jeff I can only recommend what I've done personally. I started having higher nitrates a couple months ago and I started to use Red Sea nopox. In 2 weeks my nitrates went from 32ppm to 2ppm. 3rd week lowered dosage and sitting at 1ppm nitrates and 0ppm phosphates. The stuff works wonders!

Thanks Brandon!

 

[genesis]

porpoiseaquatics;1078347 wrote: Thanks Brandon!

No problem! I got mine from here, the cheapest price online with free shipping no minimum

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Jeff, if you decide to do bio pellets, I have some all in one pellets your welcome to.

When we started using bio pellets, our nitrates were about 25 ppm after a month or so the nitrates were at 3 ppm and stay there.

 

[axio]

Genesis;1078343 wrote: Jeff I can only recommend what I've done personally. I started having higher nitrates a couple months ago and I started to use Red Sea nopox. In 2 weeks my nitrates went from 32ppm to 2ppm. 3rd week lowered dosage and sitting at 1ppm nitrates and 0ppm phosphates. The stuff works wonders!

I will concur this stuff does really work. And it works pretty **** well at that. Granted I guess it doesn't take care of the "source" of the issue... but I sell it to customers with out hesitation all the time.

 

[terry]

Have you tested the incoming water? I have had problems with that in the past. If that's not the problem a couple massive water changes might be in order. 50% then 50% should equal a 75% reduction in levels. How long have you been using the liverock? They can leach p04 and nitrates if they have lost their ability to cycle.
Just a thought

 

[fishlips]

Sorry you are going through this Jeff .Not that this is the problem, but do you have a sand bed.
Also,for those who are wanting to boost your nitrates, here is your chance.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

To provide some answers ....

Yes, tested the RODI water....no nitrates.

Live rock in the tank and the sand bed are both about 3 years old. This issue started when I sold off some softy colonies back a few months ago. I replaced those rocks with just one "dead" rock from my stash. I didn't really do anything with that piece of rock because it had been cleaned and stored for well over a year. Whether or not it's the original source...I don't know but it's certainly suspicious.

My sand bed is vacuumed every other water change. I do small sections that will fill a 5 gallon bucket.

I did a 40g water change today. Can't do another one until Friday as I'm out of town all week. The most I can make at a time is about 45 gallons unless I have the time to sit and watch my RODI production. I may try to make 50 this coming weekend as I do have a little more free time since baseball is off the next 2 weekends due to spring break.

I appreciate all the feedback.

 

[dball711]

Just a thought...have a BBQ, invite club and everyone brings 5-10 gal of salt water, do a massive water change, nitrates go down and everyone is well fed...

 

[KrisDeitz]

Do i need to take you to the range and let you shoot the .50 so you can come back and make this tank bow down
??? Dont give up!