Nitrates

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kmacc99

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
May 3, 2008
Messages
49
I started cycling my sw aquarium with live rock 3 weeks ago. My ammonia and nitrite readings went up and came down to 0mgl. I did a PWC removing 5 gal from my 30 gal aquarium. My nitrates are currently at 100mgl which I believe is high. What should I do??? My specific gravity is at 1.022, pH is 7.8, and the temperature is at 78F.
 
Time for a huge water change. It's pretty normal once the cycle is finished to do an 80% water change or a couple of 50% water changes. If your cycle is complete then all the bacteria are on your rocks, not in the water.

Once the initial water change is done, you can start doing more normal 10 to 20% water changes every couple weeks or once a month depending on your bio load.
 
Just a FOWLR. I will do more water changes to get the nitrates down. Do I have to be at 0 for fish to be added? Could I make my tank a reef in the future?
 
You want to get as close to 0 as you can. Less then 10 is more realistic. For a Reef you will have to increase your SG to 1.023-1.025. My SG is 1.025 Also you will have to have the right amount of light to support corals.
 
I didn't see any mention if the tank has fish in it or not, but I'm assuming it doesn't. If it DOES... then I wouldn't do more than 25-30% water changes, every other day or so, to get the nitrates down. If fishless, then yeah... as big of changes as you can physically do. 80-90% sounds great. Remember... the vast majority of the bacteria don't live in the water, so big water changes are not going to impact the biological filter.
 
I would do about a 50% PWC and frequent smaller PWC`s after that. I agree with Allen that 0 is the goal but just sometimes it doesnt work out. What is your first fish going to be?
 
The tank doesn't have fish in it yet. I will perform a 50% water change and see where my nitrates are. I am also interested in purchasing a cleaner crew. Should I go with snails, crabs, or a mix of both??.....Thanks
 
Just remember the hermits will probably kill the snails for their shells. If you do go with hermits (and I do) you might want to buy some extra shells for the hermits to move into when they want a bigger home. If you dont want to go with hermits then I would suggest some Astrea snails and some nassarius snails
 
About an hour ago, I took out 1/3 of the water in my tank and replaced it with fresh salt water. I retested the nitrates and see no appreciable difference...it's still 100mgl. Should do another water change??....Thanks
 
Maybe I missed it but where is your water coming from. Is it tap or RO or RO/DI? Here is what I would do. Let it go today so it can mix good with the water in the tank and check it again tomorrow. Prepare another batch of SW and let it age about 24-48 hrs and do a nitrate check on the new batch of SW before you add it to your tank. You might be adding the nitrates back into your tank. I`ve seen it before.
 
It's an API master saltwater test kit. I checked my treated water with this kit prior to introduction into my aquarium and found 0 nitrates. I made another huge water change and dropped my nitrates to 20mgl. My ph, sg, and temp are also good. I will let the tank rest for a few days before adding fish. I would like to start by adding 2 clownfish. I also have to purchase a cleaning crew. I would appreciate anymore comments and/or suggestions....Thanks
 
Nitrates below 40ppm is fine for FOWLR. You want to get below 5 for a reef tank. You can reduce nitrate with partial water changes a/o macro algea a/o dsb a/o a denitrator.

As for a cleaning crew, you should start with a small crew of snails (nasarius, cerith, astria) and add more as you build your livestock. You may also want to add a bittle star fish (I have 2).



Astrea Snail-most common of all saltwater tank snails. They are excellent algae eaters and will forage all over the rock, sand, and glass. These guys fall very easily and can not right themselves up and die easily.

Cerith Snails (Cortez) - Good algae and detritus eaters that forage rock, glass, and sand. Some can pick themselves up and some cant.

Cerith Snails (White)- Good algae and detritus eaters that seem to stay in the sand more than the cortez, but can be found on the rock and glass. Once again, some can pick themselves up and others cant. These guys are good sand bed snails to shift the substrate around.

Fighting Conch Snails - These guys are all about the sand bed and are very cool to watch. They usually dont get flipped over, but if they do, they can kick around and turn themselves back upright. They very hardy too. Get one per 2 sq. feet of tank is what was recommened to me. They tend to disappear behind the rocks for a few days then come back around to the front again.

Mexican Turbo Snails - super fast grazer that will knock out some algae in no time. They mostly stay on rocks and glass, but will work the top of the sandbed too. These may be cold water snails that dont do so well in a reef. But, once they are adjusted... they seem to be very hardy and active. Mine are going on two years and are huge now. I originally got them for a hair algae problem. They do tend to knock over anything that is not glued in place (corals, clams, rocks, etc.) Well I just ahd one knock a coral off the the plug it was glued to, so they can knock over just about anythng.

Nassarius Snails - They mostly stay in the sand, but will sometimes make short trips up the glass. They are mainly detritus eaters and do an excellent job cleaning and shifting the sand. I think these are also some of the most hardy snails out there. These guys can flip themselves upright very easily and quickly. They are fun to watch as they come bursting out of the sand bed at feeding time.

Nerite Snails - Mostly a rock and glass snail that are all about the algae. The dont move very fast but the areas they have been in are clean as a bell. These guys like to crawl outta the water some. These are great snails, but also have trouble turning themselves back over. Mine usually end up in the sump where they can get above the water line and come back down when they want to.
 
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