Everyone has a different tale on nitrates

[jan4scuba]

So I have this 9 gallon nano reef that was started with 14 lbs of live rock and 3 lbs of live sand and real ocean water from Petco.

I it's been running for about 8 weeks and there was never really any cycling. Never had Ammonia, Nitrites or nitrates until recently.

I found a bunch of guys who sell corals either from their own tank or are importers for LFS and sell some on the side to a few buyers at great prices.

I've added some beautiful coral over this time and my nitrates have shot up to abt 40ppm. When I do a water change they go back down to 20ppm.

The guys I buy the coral from say 20 is fine. When I research it "the experts" say it should be 0-5ppm.

I don't know enough abt coral to tell how they are acting but nothing smells and they open and close routinely.

So I'd like to know what this forum has to say. You guys have helped in the past.
Is 20 ppm too high? And if so how do I lower it without taking out my critters.

PS- how do you vacuum your coral bed when it's mostly covered with Live Rock. If I start moving everything around it will be chaotic in the tank and I'm afraid it will never go back to looking as good. Besides a lot of it is epoxied.

Thanks for reading this long winded post. I feel I needed to get it out.
Jan


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[Sniperhank]

For 1, you never actually cycled your tank. That is why you saw a spike most likely.

In terms of nitrates being acceptable...well, that depends on what kind of corals you are keeping. Softies and even some LPS can be pretty tolerable of 'less than favorable' conditions. When you enter the SPS world, things can easily get more difficult and water needs to be pristine. This is especially true with acropora.

When it comes to nitrates, and also phosphates that go hand in hand as well, you will also have algae growth. If the algae is growing faster than the coral can, it can easily get over run smother it out. I have a handful of LPS frags that ended up with some algae on the skeleton that I've been fighting back and forth during a period where work took over and things went on autopilot. Things can recover, but it isn't a favorable thing. Hence why it should be recommended to aim for as close to 0 as possible.

When it comes to your sandbed, if you have proper flow in your tank then there isn't a need to vacuum anything up. That and you should leave your sandbed be simply for bacteria growth in it to continue assist your reef system. You are also correct that continued moving of the sandbed can cause the rocks to shift, and can sometimes lead to disaster. This shift can come from either your doing or even a sand sifting fish like an engineer goby, for example.

 

[jan4scuba]

Now that sounds like expert advice. Do you think it could be the end of the cycling stage?

So how do I get the Nitrates down without destroying my coral bed and LR formation and without getting rid of critters.

Doing a 1 gallon water change a day is not working. All the other parameters seem to be in order. Phosphates are 0.5-1.0
PH -8
Salinity-1.023-4
The rest in line with standards.

I hate putting chems in the tank. Cleanup crew diligently working hard.
Thanks again.


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[Mattyfelts]

do larger water changes...

 

[jan4scuba]

I will try doubling down to 2 gallons a day. I'll keep you posted.



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[Mebbid]

What fish do you have in it? Inverts?

 

[mr_X]

How are you feeding? Cut back maybe.

 

[jan4scuba]

This be a dumb question but how would I know if I had an algae problem with a reef tank?

I just removed a finger coral. It looked bad and when I sniffed it phewww it stank. Maybe that was the cause???

No fish yet.
Cleanup crew
1 Small hammer coral
1 small torch coral
1 toad stool
5- 6 Zoa frags/rocks
1 small bubble tip Anomone
1 medium long tentacle Anomone
1 small flowing leather I don't know name of.
1 feather duster
1 sea fan
That's it.
Good lighting and filtering
Strong wave maker

Thanks again for the help




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[jan4scuba]

Oh yeah feeding mysis 1-2 times a week and reef snow I think it's called.


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[mr_X]

2 anemones in a 9 gallon tank? What fish are you planning on adding? I would be concerned about losing fish to the anemones in such cramped quarters.
As for the algae problem, if there is algae to the point that it's interfering with the aesthetics or covering corals, I would say it's become a problem.
What lighting is "good lighting"?
yes, it's possible a rotting coral could have been the cause, but why did it fail? Any possibility of seeing a picture of this tank?

 

[jan4scuba]

The only fish I plan on adding is a clown and a firefish. Here's the tank.


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[BigRedsReefs10]

2 nems in a 2 month old tank is a recipe for disaster...


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[jan4scuba]

Ok. I should have asked beforehand. But since I don't want to give them away, is there a way to control the situation on an ongoing basis? I've seen pictures of nanos filled to the brim with corals and inverts and they seem to be doing great.

Everyone says a skimmer is ridiculous for a tank so small. Does that mean I'm maxed out on coral? If so I need to get a bigger tank. I love this stuff. I can sit and watch for hours even without fish.

As I thought you guys are the best. Keep it coming. Anyone out there mind if I PM then or email them when things come up. Hate to bother everyone all the time.

Thanks
Jan

 

[mr_X]

I would ease up on the leathers. They fight for real estate chemically, and grow large pretty quickly. No skimmer is necessary on a tank this small because nutrient export via water changes is easy, plus, where do you have room for a skimmer?

 

[Sniperhank]

I'd also be concerned with you saying you are feeding with 'reef snow'. Liquid coral food is all algae in a bottle that will mess up parameters in your tank. You don't have any coral that needs fed. Just keep the water pristine and stable. Then make sure the lighting is sufficient.

 

[jan4scuba]

Got it. No more leathers. Pristine water. So when the nitrates come down what can I add?


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[mr_X]

Whatever will fit! What lighting did you say you had?

 

[jan4scuba]

Eheim Led white & blue came with tank and I added a deep blue Solar 3x5 115 watts


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[mr_X]

You mean this one....
Amazon.com : Deep Blue Professional ADB42891 Solarflare LED Lighting Strips for Aquarium Light, 15-watt : Solar Flare Deep Blue Led : Pet Supplies
Right? That's 15 watts, not 115 watts.
And I'm assuming this is the other one-
Eheim Power 7 Watt LED Fixture

Well, I think SPS is out, but any LPS or softy should work.

 

[jan4scuba]

Yep. Those are the ones. I don't plan on keeping LPS in this tank. But thanks for the advice.


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