[idrum]

Have a 72g with 25g Sump and top fathom skimmer. My ammonia and nitrite read zero, but my nitrates are around 50. Why so high?

The sump was a wet dry, but the bio balls have been out for over 2 months. Currently have a toadstool, some polyps, colt,finger and a plate. Is the nitrate a problem - how do I eliminate it.

I'm in the process of adding a refugium to the sump - what to do?

Adding a refugium for nutrient exporting is a good idea. Be sure to export the macros in the refugium routinely to remove the nutrients. In the meantime perform some water changes.

Are you using a LDSB?

Scott

[Mobious]

Something could have died in your tank.. Or you could be feeding the tank to much..

I would do several water changes to help deal with the problem. Get the refugium setup and put some calerpa(grape) in there.

Is your skimmer pulling out much stuff?
How deep is your sand bed? A DSB would help out.

[golfish]

how many fish do you have?

[idrum]

My sand bed is only about 2-3" so I'm in the process of deepening it.

I have 3 fish (Small Yellow Tang, small flame wrasse (2") and a Bangaii) - could this be causing it?

I just dont understand how I can show zero on nitrite and ammonia, but so high on nitrate.

The skimmer seems to be pulling out lots of gunk and a feed very lightly.

Are high nitrates detrimental to corals? I have a toadstool leather that closed and hasnt opened it polyps in a couple of days but that might be because I moved him.

[Ninong]

Originally posted by idrum:

My sand bed is only about 2-3" so I'm in the process of deepening it.

Is your sand bed made up of fine particle sand or is any part of it crushed coral?

I have 3 fish (Small Yellow Tang, small flame wrasse (2") and a Bangaii) - could this be causing it?

No.

I just dont understand how I can show zero on nitrite and ammonia, but so high on nitrate.

Happens all the time. If you were getting readings on ammonia or nitrite it would indicate something had just died.

Are high nitrates detrimental to corals?

Yes, anything over 10ppm could be considered detrimental to invertebrates, 50ppm is definitely detrimental to inverts but not to fish. For a reef tank, you need to shoot for less than 5ppm.

Ninong [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

------------------
"There are some monuments where the land is so widespread, they just encompass as much as possible. And the integral part of the—the precious part, so to speak—I guess all land is precious, but the part that the people uniformly would not want to spoil, will not be despoiled. But there are parts of the monument lands where we can explore without affecting the overall environment."—George W. Bush, Media round table, Washington, D.C. March 13, 2001

[reefhead]

HAAAAAAAAAAAA Thats a good one Ninong
his signature)

joe

Reefhead.Com

[This message has been edited by reefhead (edited 05-29-2001).]

[cwa46]

Not everyone agrees with Ninong on the effects of nitrates. Here is a thread from Dr. Shimek that addresses safe levels of nitrates. http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin...threadid=20836

[idrum]

Thanks for all the replies.

OK, so no I now that high Nitrate levels are a bad thing. Question is how do I get them down and quickly?

I'm gonna do a 15g change (on a 72g tank)today. I am converting my sump to a refugium, but that wont happen for a week or so.

My sand bed is crushed coral, not fine sand (arag or southdown). Was FO before I converted. I there a good way to convert to DSB (what should I add - Southdown and the detritivore kit from Inland?)

Help!

[Ninong]

cwa46 ~

I can handle 95 degrees Fahrenheit with 95% humidity (I have to in Louisiana), but I am more comfortable at 75 degrees Fahrenheit with 75% (or less) humidity. [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

Since the nitrate average on the 1,000 coral reefs that were studied is 0.25ppm (Kleypas et al., 1999), I would think it would be a worthwhile goal to shoot for <5ppm nitrate (20 times the 0.25ppm average) in a reef aquarium, regardless of what the tolerance levels of any particular species may be.

According to Eric Borneman in his new book, Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry and Natural History, "Nitrate levels in the aquarium should be well below 10ppm, preferable much lower or undectable using conventional test kits." This is a book which Dr. Shimek highly recommends; in fact, he reviewed it for accuracy prior to publication. [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

Ninong [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

------------------
"There are some monuments where the land is so widespread, they just encompass as much as possible. And the integral part of the—the precious part, so to speak—I guess all land is precious, but the part that the people uniformly would not want to spoil, will not be despoiled. But there are parts of the monument lands where we can explore without affecting the overall environment."—George W. Bush, Media round table, Washington, D.C. March 13, 2001

[scubadude]

Ways to get nitrates down:

1. W/C's (fastest way, especially if you do large volumes 40-50[img]/ubb/spineyes.gif[/img]

2. Macro Algae growing in the tank and/or a refugium for nutrient (nitrate) export, which you will periodically have to trim back.

3. Make sure you are using RO and/or DI water, otherwise its like peeing in the wind [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

4. Cut back on your feedings

Good Luck HTH [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by scubadude (edited 05-30-2001).]

[Ninong]

Originally posted by idrum:

My sand bed is crushed coral, not fine sand (arag or southdown). Was FO before I converted. I there a good way to convert to DSB (what should I add - Southdown and the detritivore kit from Inland?)

The crushed coral substrate is the most likely source of your nitrates. Crushed coral traps detritus and generates nitrates. The only solution is to completely remove all of your present substrate and start over. Anything short of this will not solve your nitrate problems. If you were to simply add fine grain sand on top of your present crushed coral substrate, the crushed coral would eventually rise to the top and trap detritus. Also, crushed coral is not conducive to providing the proper habitat for the various interstitial microcrustaceans and polychaete infaunal populations necessary for the proper functioning of a deep sand bed.

Yes, the Southdown Tropical Play Sand from the Caribbean is an acceptable fine grain sand that would make an excellent deep sand bed (4"+). Detrivore kits from www.ipsf.com and/or www.inlandaquatics.com would be an excellent idea.

Ninong [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

------------------
"There are some monuments where the land is so widespread, they just encompass as much as possible. And the integral part of the—the precious part, so to speak—I guess all land is precious, but the part that the people uniformly would not want to spoil, will not be despoiled. But there are parts of the monument lands where we can explore without affecting the overall environment."—George W. Bush, Media round table, Washington, D.C. March 13, 2001

cwa46

Nitrate levels higher than 10ppm usually contribute to undesireable algae. Sure there are coral species that can live in nutrient saturated water but providing conditions with less than 10ppm gives all of them the conditions needed to thrive. Ninong's temperature analogy is right on.

Regards,
Scott

[SPasse]

Hi All,

The subject of nitrate tolerance is another one of those subjects where there is some difference of opinion.

Some believe that certain species of LPS corals, such as goniopora might actually prefer a certain level of nitrates in the water.

But…

1 Keeping nuisance algae under control, with an elevated nitrate level, especially if additional nutrients like phosphates are present, is very difficult.

2 Natural SPS reef crest environments, exhibit very low, almost undetectable levels of nitrate.

3 The effects of nitrates on the long-term health of higher order critters such as fish are TBD.

4 With a properly functioning DSB, this is a moot point in any case. Nitrate readings in these systems are often below the range of most test kits.

Regards,

Scott

------------------
The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure.
You can see my reeftank at http://www.homestead.com/spasse/

[Neal359]

the nitrates in my tank have been alway around 15ppm an i have never hade any problem with the corals. i can see nitrates in the up 20ppm to start stresing but i havent herd of anyone loosing corals because their nitrates were between 10-20ppm i am no expert.