Nitrate probs

[clown]

Hi all im new to saltwater but do know a lil about it
i have done cycled the tank and all i have a 14Gal biocube with 15 pound
of live rock and crushed coral for the bed i have a sallylightfoot crab ,2x Blue damsel's a camel shrimp and a banded shrimp and a small starfish its a hitch hiker from the rock its not even as big as a dime. ok for my question in my tank for the last month i have seen some yelowish color stuff on my rocks can see in pic that is starting to turn to a greenish color now and im having probs with the nitrate level going up to 40 and cant seem to get it to drop i have done 10% water changes and the last was a 25% water change and still the same .

ph is 8.2
ammonia is 0ppm
nitrite is oppm
nitrate is 40

can anyone tell me what to do about this ?
or should i worry about it?
I do plan on puting in some soft coral,leathers,Shrooms and a anemone
and a clown fish or 2 at a later time.
i plan on taking out the 2 blue damsel's as i just put them in to
make sure the tank was ready and able to put in the live stock
thanks for taking the time to read about the problem i am having
any help would be greatfull

 

[clown]

pics

here are the pic's

 

[atte]

I can't answer everything but I can tell you that the crushed coral is most probably contributing to the excessive nitrates. Have you been cleaning it regularly? Crushed coral is often known for being a "nitrate factory" because food and waste that sinks in can't be reached by your clean up crew. You might want to look into replacing the substrate with aragonite sand if regular cleaning is not working.

As for the yellow algae, is it hard and tough like coralline or is it powdery? It could very well be coralline, which comes in colors other than just purple. If not, addressing the nitrate issue should take care of nuisance algae. Just a few general questions, how old is your tank? And are you using RO/DI water for top offs, etc or tap water?

You can very well keep a clown or two in there if you remove the damsels, but I think your tank is too small for an anemone.

Almost forgot to mention, WELCOME to AA!!

 

[clown]

yea i clean the crush coral with every water change and i was planing on changing out the crush coral with live sand this weekend but was going to get some info befor i did the change to see what other's think.

my tank is about 2 1/2 months old

i am using Ro water for top offs

it is tough like coralline

and thanks for the welcome

 

[melosu58]

As far as your PWC`s do some water test results on your PWC water to make sure you are not adding it to the tank yourself.

 

[clown]

ill test my PWC water today to see if im adding it .dont thank that i am but hey anythang is possible ..thanks for the reply

ok just did a test on the PWC water here are the tesults

ph is 7.8 on low side

ammonia 0ppm

nitrite 0ppm

nitrate 0ppm

 

[ryshark]

ill test my PWC water today to see if im adding it .dont thank that i am but hey anythang is possible ..thanks for the reply

ok just did a test on the PWC water here are the tesults

ph is 7.8 on low side

ammonia 0ppm

nitrite 0ppm

nitrate 0ppm

You are right, PH is a little on the low side. How long are you letting the PWC water mix/aerate for?
As far as reducting nitrate, if you do enough PWC with that water that has 0-nitrate it has to come down. How much are you feeding. Do you have bio-balls or sponges anywhere in your filtration system?

 

[clown]

Im leting the water sit for 24 hours to make sure that it is mixed well

IM feading 1/2 cube of brine shrimp every other day

No bio balls took them out and put in LR in its place
i do have a sponge by the pump

 

[thincat]

By PWC water do you mean the water coming out of the Tap? I think that is what Mike wants you to test...

 

[ryshark]

By PWC water do you mean the water coming out of the Tap? I think that is what Mike wants you to test...

What difference does it make what it tests coming out of the tap as long as the RODI unit gets the Nitrates to 0?

 

[ryshark]

Im leting the water sit for 24 hours to make sure that it is mixed well

IM feading 1/2 cube of brine shrimp every other day

No bio balls took them out and put in LR in its place
i do have a sponge by the pump

Get rid of the sponge or clean it very often. The sponge could be your problem.

 

[thincat]

What difference does it make what it tests coming out of the tap as long as the RODI unit gets the Nitrates to 0?

No where in the OP's link so far has he said he is using RO/DI water!

 

[ryshark]

No where in the OP's link so far has he said he is using RO/DI water!

You are right. I read over post #4 too fast. I saw "RO" but it says for top-offs and did not mention PWC. I'd imagine if he has a RO unit he would be using it for pwc, but you never know.

 

[clown]

The PWC water out of the RO/DI unit is what i tested. The water out of the tap has chlorine and high nitrate levels

and for the sponge i have been rinsing it out 2 times a week.
should i be cleaning it more often ?

one other thang will the ph level in the tank go up as the nitrare levels' go down ?

If not what would you recommend to help raise the ph level to 8.2 - 8.4

 

[ryshark]

The PWC water out of the RO/DI unit is what i tested. The water out of the tap has chlorine and high nitrate levels
Thats what I had assumed.
and for the sponge i have been rinsing it out 2 times a week.
should i be cleaning it more often ?
That should be often enough, but why do you feel you need it?
one other thang will the ph level in the tank go up as the nitrare levels' go down ?
That should not make a difference
If not what would you recommend to help raise the ph level to 8.2 - 8.4

Is the water in your tank low PH too or just your new pwc water?
Try doing a 30% pwc once a week, that has to lower your Nitrate.

 

[thincat]

I agree with ryshark on the PWC. As far as the ph try pointing a power head at the surface of your tank and that should help with your ph. Without surface aggitaion there is now way to remove CO2. As you eliminate CO2 you make room for O2 being taken up into the water.

 

[clown]

both ph level's are low in tank and the pwc water.

i just aimed the powerhead at the surface will test the ph agin in 24 hours to see if it has went up any.

i also did a 30% water change on the tank today and the the ph is 8.0 and the nitrate lvl has droped to 20 but still need's to drop a bit more

As for the sponge dont feel that i do need it i just left it in there to catch debri that gets past the rocks is all.

 

[ryshark]

both ph level's are low in tank and the pwc water.

i just aimed the powerhead at the surface will test the ph agin in 24 hours to see if it has went up any.

i also did a 30% water change on the tank today and the the ph is 8.0 and the nitrate lvl has droped to 20 but still need's to drop a bit more

As for the sponge dont feel that i do need it i just left it in there to catch debri that gets past the rocks is all.

Sounds like you are headed down the right path now. Keep doing those 30% weekly water changes and keep up that surface aggitation and you will be where you need to be pretty quickly.

 

[clown]

i hope so been fighting the nitrate prob for a few weeks hope it gets better soon.

 

[Jimbo7]

Unfortunately, nothing is a quick battle in SW. Sounds like you are doing what it takes though, good to hear. Good luck!