High Nitrate!

[ScottyMac]

Hey Guys, First time AA Poster here...

I have a new 33 gallon tank that has been cycling for about 2 1/2 months now... with 40 lbs of Live Rock, and a small cleaner crew of various Snails, and blue / red hermits...No fish.. my local fish store has said that the tank is fully cycled..but that my nitrate is through the roof.

2 days ago I did a 70 % water change in hopes of lowering the Nitrate levels... it kind of worked..but Im wondering what else I can do to help lower the nitrate? Thanks in advance!

 

[steve-s]

At this stage of your tanks developement, there is little else you can do but water changes. NNR takes quite a while, many many months. Sometimes over a year depending on the setup. As far as the cycle, if ammonia and nitrite are no longer detectable, the cycle is complete.

What you are refering to is a complete nitrogen cycle. Technically speaking, enough facultative/anaerobic bateria form to consume the nitrate and leave nitrogen as a by product.

An interim "fixes" other than water changes is setting up an algal scrubber/refufgium. These algae when harvested after some growth will also remove the waste products with them Simpley growing them is not enough, they must also be removed.

Cheers
Steve