emergency help please

[Weyou]

My hope in this thread is to get the best advise&knoledge.
the history begins when I notice 100 ppm nitrate in my tank.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/np-bacto-balance-tropic-marin.html
then begin to additives the product in the link.
Bacteria bloom starts to appear, so adding an 18-watt UV sterilizer what definitely clears the water perfectly. In all of this time, I saw that my nitrate doesn't go down. i drive to the local fish store to do double-checking that show that the nitrate won't go down, and also, i have 2 ppm of nitrite in brand new test kits of tropic Marin.
i also checked my RO water, showing 0 No3.
24x24x24 cube with 20x20x20 sump
Deltec skimmer tc 1455
maxspect gyre 330
real reef rock
10% water change per week
tropic Marin salt
6-month aquarium age.

 

[Deep]

My hope in this thread is to get the best advise&knoledge.
the history begins when I notice 100 ppm nitrate in my tank.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/np-bacto-balance-tropic-marin.html
then begin to additives the product in the link.
Bacteria bloom starts to appear, so adding an 18-watt UV sterilizer what definitely clears the water perfectly. In all of this time, I saw that my nitrate doesn't go down. i drive to the local fish store to do double-checking that show that the nitrate won't go down, and also, i have 2 ppm of nitrite in brand new test kits of tropic Marin.
i also checked my RO water, showing 0 No3.
24x24x24 cube with 20x20x20 sump
Deltec skimmer tc 1455
maxspect gyre 330
real reef rock
10% water change per week
tropic Marin salt
6-month aquarium age.

first questions to ask is what are your phosphate levels ?

 

[Weyou]

first questions to ask is what are your phosphate levels ?

i didn't check

 

[DC Reefer]

I suggest you perform 20% water changes 3 times over the next week and reduce the amount you are feeding. This should show a reduction in your nitrate. May need to continue water changes going forward until Nitrates are where you want them. May be sufficient after the 1st week to reduce to one 20% per week water change.

Also check to make sure that something didn't die in the tank which could spike nitrates also. Good luck

 

[Weyou]

I suggest you perform 20% water changes 3 times over the next week and reduce the amount you are feeding. This should show a reduction in your nitrate. May need to continue water changes going forward until Nitrates are where you want them. May be sufficient after the 1st week to reduce to one 20% per week water change.

Also check to make sure that something didn't die in the tank which could spike nitrates also. Good luck

only have in my tank is 1 blenny

 

[TriggersAmuck]

I would recommend that if possible you do some really sizable water changes (like 50-80%) to knock the NO3 down, but that depends on how carefully you can match temperature and salinity between old and new water (and allowing the new water to mix overnight before attempting any such change).

Have you tested your Alkalinity, Calcium or pH recently?

 

[JAC-]

Do you have a historical "normal" reading for the nitrate level on your tank or did you just start checking it?

 

[Rybren]

If I recall correctly, if you have 2ppm Nitrites in your tank, it will give you a false high reading of Nitrates - I don't recall the exact amount, but I believe that it can be significant.

@Randy Holmes-Farley thoughts?

EDIT: In another post, Randy has said that " 1 ppm nitrite will read as 100 ppm nitrate with some hobby kits. "

 

[Weyou]

i have only one fish, and i don't feed heavily; before all of this, my nitrite was 0,

 

[Weyou]

If I recall correctly, if you have 2ppm Nitrites in your tank, it will give you a false high reading of Nitrates - I don't recall the exact amount, but I believe that it can be significant.

@Randy Holmes-Farley thoughts?

EDIT: In another post, Randy has said that " 1 ppm nitrite will read as 100 ppm nitrate with some hobby kits. "

Dont understand

 

[TriggersAmuck]

The good news is that Nitrite (NO2) will not be toxic for your Blenny. (Read here for further info on that: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.php).

 

[Weyou]

You missing the point....
I dont have any No2 in my tank before...
It happend sudendly...
No heavy feeding...
Only one small fish...

 

[Bon Koo]

My hope in this thread is to get the best advise&knoledge.
the history begins when I notice 100 ppm nitrate in my tank.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/np-bacto-balance-tropic-marin.html
then begin to additives the product in the link.
Bacteria bloom starts to appear, so adding an 18-watt UV sterilizer what definitely clears the water perfectly. In all of this time, I saw that my nitrate doesn't go down. i drive to the local fish store to do double-checking that show that the nitrate won't go down, and also, i have 2 ppm of nitrite in brand new test kits of tropic Marin.
i also checked my RO water, showing 0 No3.
24x24x24 cube with 20x20x20 sump
Deltec skimmer tc 1455
maxspect gyre 330
real reef rock
10% water change per week
tropic Marin salt
6-month aquarium age.

There is no magic solution. Replace 50 percent water change and then dosing nopox. I tried all kinds of carbon dosing, chateo.
Etc. Only nopox dosing worked for me

 

[ScubaFish802]

My first question is you stated Nitrates are not going down. So, to follow that, what are you doing to export the build up of nitrates over time? Basically, what’s your water change schedule look like? Any macro algae? Skimmer? The nitrates only can be lowered by being “exported” out of the tank in various ways.

Also, I see the tank is still young. You mentioned the bacterial blooms (completely normal in a new tank still cycling) what struck me was you put a UV in to basically kill off the bacteria in the water column that your tank needs and is trying to create. (The blooms will subside when the excess nutrients are used up, or as the bacteria on surfaces grows).

 

[Weyou]

I already write everthing...
Google up....
10% every week water change
Deltec skimmer 1455 tc

 

[ScubaFish802]

I already write everthing...
Google up....
10% every week water change
Deltec skimmer 1455 tc

I know you mentioned only one fish, but are there any inverts in the tank? (snails, crabs etc..). If you are doing regular water changes, and not over feeding the huge amount of nitrates has to have a source somewhere

 

[TriggersAmuck]

It is unusual for the Nitrite/NO2 to come back like that under the circumstances, but it can take awhile for the bacteria which perform the second step in the nitrogen cycle (Nitrobacter) to become truly stable. It took my little 14 gallon tank with lots of rock about 6 months before I saw my Nitrite drop and stay at 0. Once again, since nitrite isn't toxic in saltwater to the majority of species you would want to keep, it is more important to focus on the Nitrate. But as one writer already noted, any nitrite tends to show up as a positive in the Nitrate test. (The indicator used in nitrate tests responds to both nitrite and nitrate, and in a laboratory one has to measure NO2 in one test and NO2+NO3 in another and then subtract the NO2 to get the true NO3. More info then you probably wanted to know). I'm not aware of Nitrate tests responding disproportionately as someone wrote above, but if Randy is saying that some current NO3 tests do behave that way I would certainly trust his knowledge on the topic.

As to reducing Nitrate (assuming it really is as high as it is and isn't due to some disproportionate test result as was implied) there are basically a few methods:

Large (>50%) repeated water changes. (10% isn't going to do it)
Carbon dosing using either vodka, vinegar, or biopellets.
Natural consumption via macro algae like either Chaeto or Sea Lettuce in a refugium.
Use of an algae turf scrubber (a bit similar in method to the macro algae).
Use of a deep sand bed that is well established.
Use of a Sulfur Denitrator, which doesn't seem to be as common practice anymore what with all of the other possible solutions.

Since you only have one fish in the tank, I would be really tempted to do a protocol of large water changes for a few weeks to take it down rapidly and then implement one of the other methods for ongoing maintenance, either use of a refugium or carbon dosing.

It would also be good to test pH and Alkalinity at a minimum to see where the tank is at there. I wouldn't expect there to be much Alkalinity consumption in a new tank with no corals, but if there is something dying off producing that Nitrate, your pH could be getting on the low side.

When you started the tank, how did you seed the ammonia? Did you use liquid ammonia, or did you use a dead shrimp (or just fish food)?

 

[JAC-]

So, first off. Are you sure your test kit isn't wrong? I've seen some be pretty far off.

Secondly,

I'm quite sure this is NOT your problem, but...

I have seen before where a pesticide got into a tank and showed sky high nitrate levels. It also showed even higher Phosphates. (I don't know if this was a chemistry thing, or from die off)

Again, I doubt that is the case so much so that I am struggling to post this because I don't want to mislead you.

In the case that I am mentioning, it was freshwater and the indivadual knew the pesticide got into the tank due to a cross contamination issue using a jug that still had some of it in it. A whole bunch of activated carbon was added to try and absorb as much of the pesticide as possible, it seemed to help. Massive water changes, and it took a while to get the levels back down.

There were also many livestock deaths, I think nothing actually ended up surviving and ultimately the tank was shut down.

I highly doubt this is your issue, if it was your fish would probably already be lost.

I would suspect your test kits way before that.

I also agree with the recommendations from @TriggersAmuck and others. That would be my first course of actions.

 

[Weyou]

I was dosing the product in this link below; as i say earlier
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/np-bacto-balance-tropic-marin.html

i appreciate all your help, but I already mentioned all the details.
i measure No3+No2 3 times!!! , once in the local fish store, and then i buy brand new test kits of No3+No2 by tropic Marin to be sure. i also have salifert test kit in my home before that indicates No3.
i don't have a book of date&details, but i remember that in the cycle process, there was no no2 in the tank

 

[TriggersAmuck]

Dry rock or live rock?
Fishless cycle with ammonia, or did you use a food source (table shrimp, fish food)? Or did you cycle with a fish?
Is the Blenny the only fish ever to go into the tank? (I know it is the only one now, but did you have any die on you previously?)

Assuming multiple test kits have shown that sky high Nitrate, besides using some heavy water changes to knock the level down you need to figure out what the root cause was for this. That will in part determine what your courses of action to take after diluting the current level. Get yourself a large clean garbage can (45 gallons or greater) so that you can make some sizable batches of new seawater.