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Nitrate won't stay down!!!

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Cowan View Drop Down
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    Posted: October 06 2014 at 8:12pm
I can't figure out this nitrate issue....I was at a military training for about 3 weeks, my wife was taking care of the tank. I was able to test the levels with the quick strips, nitrate was at the top of the chart. Did a 20% water change, the next week same story....told my wife to cut back on feeding....25% water change....a week later I checked with the Red Sea Algae control kit....somewhere between 12-16, did a 33% water change, started adding NO3-PO4- from Red Sea. Today my electric flame scallop died, nitrates are high again. I cleaned out the filters, replaced the carbon, cleaned the skimmer. 

I'm out of ideas....anyone?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 06 2014 at 8:46pm
Originally posted by Cowan Cowan wrote:

...nitrates are high again. I cleaned out the filters...

What filters are those?

Please post a pic, if you can and please describe the filtration of this tank. If you have any difficulty posting the pic, send a phone pic to me at 808-345-1049.

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Mark  Hug
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cowan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 06 2014 at 9:08pm
I cleaned out the black strainer type filters(10&5), replaced the bio-media(7) and replaced the carbon(8) with chemi-pure and have been running sea-gel in a bag on top of the carbon
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 06 2014 at 9:51pm
Thanks for that. I'm fully aware of the design. A pic of your actual tank, with aquascaping and animals, is what I was looking for, please.

You said, "somewhere between 12-16". Was that the Nitrate ppm level?

Sorry, but my request to describe the filtration is kind of a trick question. I mean no offense, but I'm just trying to see how much you understand of reef aquarium filtration. Please don't be offended. Maybe you are already aware that the major part of reef filtration is the four live components described here: http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 That's a very important read if you have not seen it.

LS, LR, Algae and LW do more than 80% and even do 100% of the filtration in some reef aquariums. This is because the natural eating and excreting processes of all the algae and animals are the major way a properly set up reef tank cleans itself. This is the same way it works in the ocean. We can't devise a more perfect system. Besides the enormous pollution eating capacity of algae, the little animals like bacteria, bugs and worms are invaluable to the effective filtration of the tank. Now that we have that little bit of background information behind us, please post a pic or send it to my phone so we can help you get the real filtration working at it's peak performance.

Aloha,
Mark  Hug


Edited by Mark Peterson - October 06 2014 at 10:01pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 06 2014 at 9:58pm

Okay, that's good. It looks like your tanks biofiltration is working perfectly. If the levels above are the Nitrate level then everything is okay. Many beautiful tanks run with levels as much as 50 ppm. You are doing good. The reason for the Scallop death is because they die quickly in our clean tanks. To survive, they need a lot of crud flowing past them. Sorry, they are one of the animals that I advise we stay away from.

Not that it's needed but, if you would like to bring the Nitrate level down just a little more, I'd be happy to describe how to tweak the filtration.

Aloha,
Mark  Hug


Edited by Mark Peterson - October 06 2014 at 10:03pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cowan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 06 2014 at 10:26pm
I've not had it over 2-3ppm before this point, so this was a new thing for me. I've also had a few corals go down with rapid tissue necrosis, which I would guess could be caused by the higher nitrate levels, but I don't know for sure.....the latest is the long tentacle fungia in the bottom right corner of the picture, it is usually about 4-5 inches across and is looking pretty rough. I appreciate any advice you can offer
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 06 2014 at 11:20pm
Please explain how the deaths proceeded. If any of this is happening right now, please post a pic of that coral. (RTN is a vague explanation some people use for saying that their SPS died, yet sometimes the coral flesh simply goes white by expelling a lot of it's zooxanthellae. The coral later colors back up as conditions improve and the zooxanthellae reproduce back to normal numbers.)

Let's look at the four most important levels for tank health:
Salinity?
Temp? (morning and evening)
Alk?
Ca?

Next, what is the PO4 level? (SPS can suddenly die in a couple days when PO4 gradually rises too high and on the other side, coral can suffer when the PO4 level is too low.)

Those filters that were cleaned. What do you think would happen if they were removed so water could flow freely through? (Mechanical filters and bioballs often become "Nitrate factories")

What do you think would happen if you removed the Chemipure? (Chemipure has been known to cause issues with continuous use.)

Seagel is simply a mix of AC(Activated Carbon) and AA(Activated Alumina). Did you say that you have an additional bag of AC? What do you think would happen if you removed the Seagel and left the bag that contains just AC?

Water changes of 20%, 25% and 33% were done on three consecutive weeks. Before that, what was the water change amount and frequency? What do you think would happen if you stopped water changes and just did 10% in 30 days and 10% monthly thereafter. (Frequent large water changes are cause for coral stress.)

Looking forward to your answers and input.
Aloha,
Mark  Hug
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cowan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 07 2014 at 8:12am
I don't have the coral any longer, after they turned all white I got rid of them. One was a purple and green brain maze, another was a dotted chalice and a montipora that branched out. I'm not too good with the names of them all.
 
I have been checking the phosphate levels as well, going off of just the strips, the nitrite and phosphate are still on the lowest level. I will get the water tested today and post more accurate numbers. Temp is running at 78.6, salinity is 1.024.....as for the filtration, I have no idea what would happen if I were to remove the filtration system. I would have to guess that it would turn into an algae haven.
 
I have been running chemi pure for about 3 months or so. I replaced the AC that was in the tank with the chemipure. I have the seagel on top of the chemipure in the filter compartment.
 
Prior to these issues, I was doing about 15% water change every 2-3 weeks. This is my first tank and I've only had it up for about 7 months, so I have no idea what would happen if I were to do less water changes and remove filtration.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 07 2014 at 9:10am
I would be happy to help. PM sent.

Aloha  Hug
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