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80cent 
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Joined: January 16 2013
Location: Orem, Utah
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 Topic: Water Parameters
Posted: July 17 2013 at 9:13am |
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So I ordered a water test kit from Amazon and tested my water last night. PH was at 8.3. Ammonia was at zero, nitrites at zero, but nitrates were between 5-10 ppm. What can I do to help lower that aside from water changes (since that's all I know to do right now?)
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AcroNem
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Posted: July 17 2013 at 9:43am |
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Water changes are one guaranteed method to help lower them. Your water is fine besides nitrates and it's not very high so it should be very fixable by water changes.
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ReefdUp
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Posted: July 17 2013 at 4:28pm |
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That'll help with the current status, but that won't solve the root cause.
How much are you feeding?
How often are you doing water changes...and how much?
Are you using ro/di?
Do you have a refugium with algae?
How old is the tank?
Are you running a skimmer, gfo, or carbon?
What's your bioload?
How big is the system and how much rock & sand do you have?
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www.reefdup.com
Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987
200g, 75g, & 15g Systems
PADI Advanced Open Water
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: July 17 2013 at 8:29pm |
Honestly that Nitrate level is just fine. No need to worry. No need for an extra water change. I'm sure the coral are all doing good, right. That's the real indicator of problems. The tank is still new enough that as it matures the Nitrate level may lower a little, unless as ReefdUp is suggesting, you may be feeding more than the biofiltration (Algae, LS, LR and LW) which has grown to this point, can handle. Mahalo, Mark  808-345-1049
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80cent
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Posted: July 18 2013 at 9:29am |
Let's see...
How much are you feeding? I feed the fish twice daily. A pinch of flakes around noon and a fifth of a square of frozen food at around 6.
How often are you doing water changes...and how much? I've been doing 5 gallons weekly.
Are you using ro/di? No. I know it's better, but the amount of top off I need really prohibits me from making runs to the store for water, and I don't have an RO unit. I do use Prime to treat the water before putting it in the tank.
Do you have a refugium with algae? Nope.
How old is the tank? Tank is around 2-3 months.
Are you running a skimmer, gfo, or carbon? I have some carbon in a filter sock as the water goes to my sump. No GFO, no skimmer, although I intend on getting one soon.
What's your bioload? I have 5 chromis, 2 clowns and one firefish. For a cleanup crew I have around 40 snails, five hermits, and one skunk shrimp.
How big is the system and how much rock & sand do you have? It's a 75 gallon tank. I have about 80 pounds of rock, and 70 pounds of sand.
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Ann_A
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Posted: July 18 2013 at 9:46am |
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Nitrates don't seem too high but I personally wouldn't like them at that level. If you can afford it, I really recommend a Korallin Biodenitrator. I was first introduced to the idea by another member here about a year ago an have been running one for nearly 8 months now. So far I've not run into any problems besides a slight sulfer smell in my tank stand which was due to the effluent being too slow from the reactor, which was quickly and easily resolved. My nitrates are usually right around 0-0.25ppm using a RedSea Nitrate test kit. My corals love the low nutrient level I have (I also run bio pellets and a skimmer) and I can feed a ton without running into problems (not that I'm recommending over feeding just because you can).
In your setup (assuming you have a sump) I would recommend the following:
1. Weekly 10 gallon water changes
2. Setup a refugium compartment in your sump (macro algae)
3. Get a good skimmer
4. Run biopellets (must have a good skimmer)
5. Get a biodenitrator
Running a calcium reactor, a biopellet reactor, and a biodenitrator I don't do water changes very often. When ido they're pretty small too (I know I'll get crap for it but it works for me). I do however dose strontium, molybednum, iron, manganese, and reef snow. I have 7 fish (4 of which are around 4") and tons of corals with no problems. Keep in mind that you don't want to load in too many fish or fish that will outgrow your tank without planning on upgrading in the future.
One other thing I just thought of was that good water flow can help with filtration. If you have plenty of water flow through your rockwork and sandbed your biological filtration is increased and the overall health of the tank will increase as well.
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Akira
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Posted: July 24 2013 at 3:34am |
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Also a 5gal water change a week sounds good in theory but a 10gal every 2 weeks takes more volume out at 1 time thus lowering your nitrates faster assuming they aren't building up that fast. Think of it this way , a 40g water change should lower nitrated by about 50% , but do a 5gal water change everyday for 8 days and every water change only removes a small amount of nitrates as you are removing such a small volume at 1 time. Hope that makes sense.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: July 24 2013 at 8:38am |
Disclaimer: This is my opinion based on my experience and what I have
learned over many years from other hobbyists, experts and professionals. It is not
intended to force anyone to do it my way but only to share knowledge
and give
helpful information/ideas.  Aloha Jack, I was just thinking about macroalgae and how great it is for so many reasons. In the wild there is algae all over the place, and herbivores to eat it so it doesn't [typically] get out of control. Algae eats up this N pollution extremely well. That is why I recommend plenty of macroalgae be placed in bright light somewhere in the system. I'm a lazy reefer. I like to grow organisms that do the work for me. I prefer living organisms rather than equipment. I use algae and herbivores to their fullest extent. Rarely ever do I have N pollution problems. Mahalo, Mark 808-345-1049
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