This is gonna sound odd in a 9 month tank but have you got a NITRITE test kit? Just to make sure is is actually nitrate your measuring, not nitrite.
High Nitrate Issue
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Darren in Tacoma
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Did you read the article from Randy Holmes Farley that I linked in post #42? He explains everything you need to know about nitrates in aquaria.
Bottom line, you have a lot of fish that eat a lot of food and you don't have enough exporting methods.
Bottom line, you have a lot of fish that eat a lot of food and you don't have enough exporting methods.
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JIsBusyReefing
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Skimmer is pulling stuff out. I set the water level to the bottom of the cup (not the stem).
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JIsBusyReefing
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I mean I've been testing with a nitrate (with an A) test kit. I have a nitrite test kit as well. It's reading 0ppm.
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JIsBusyReefing
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I did, yes. I'm gonna add chaeto back in and try soaking my biopellets for 24 hours in pure MB7 then see what happens.
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JIsBusyReefing
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Just to be sure, does anyone think I need to upgrade my return pump? It's a Quiet One 4000 and the return height is about 5 feet 6 inches. I use an overflow hang on box that has x2 1 inch tubes. I constantly lose the siphon on 1 of the tubs because the return flow is so slow.
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JIsBusyReefing
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Can't edit the post above, so I'm adding in addition. I talked with someone else and my return is indeed insufficient. There's x3 90 degree angles in the return nozzle plus 5 feet of distance with brings the return head to a total of 8 feet (at least) and the total GPH to around 250-300. Very very low. I'm upgrading to the Quiet One 5000, which will bring my total GPH to 750.
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JIsBusyReefing
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Yah it's all I can afford right now and the general rule of thumb on return pumps apparently is to have x5 to x10 GPH of your aquarium water volume. 150 gallons x 5 = 750GPH, so I'll be at least at the bare minimum in return flow for my size tank.
Edit: Plus, some have said the lower end is more ideal with biopellets so more of the byproduct is skimmed out rather thrown into the tank.
blasterman
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Biopellets require several weeks to ramp up. Once they do they strip nitrate like a boss.
I just throw a media bag in my sump full of them and they work. Typically too well. Last tank I had a two cups of biopellets in a media bag took out more nitrate than pineapple sized chunk of cheato. No reactor needed. They take weeks though to ramp up. Had to pull the bag after a few months because nitrate zeroed out.
I just throw a media bag in my sump full of them and they work. Typically too well. Last tank I had a two cups of biopellets in a media bag took out more nitrate than pineapple sized chunk of cheato. No reactor needed. They take weeks though to ramp up. Had to pull the bag after a few months because nitrate zeroed out.
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JIsBusyReefing
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Good to note. They just aren't doing anything so far for me. I've had them hooked up for 7 weeks and they've made no dent in nitrate. I took them out a week ago and soaked them in MB7 for 24 hours then out them back in. I also increased the flow to my sump because I was mathematically only getting around 250GPH. Now, I should be getting around 750-1000. I also added chaeto to a new compartment I made in the sump and upgrading my fuge light to one of those 600w vipar spectra grow lights since no one is selling the H380 anymore.
Sadly, I've had 4 brand new fish I put in the tank mysteriously die on me this past week and multiple corals aren't doing well. I'm not quite sure what's going but I'm pretty stressed and defeated about it right now. This is obviously not a nutrient issue. Someone in the house shampooed the carpets recently and laid a powder on the ground that smelt really strong everywhere and I'm afraid this issue is chemically related because of that. I'm about ready to just call it quits with reefing because I just keep losing fish and corals, several thousands at this point down the literal drain, and non-stop issues with this tank for months. I just don't know if I'm cut out for it anymore.
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JIsBusyReefing
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Ok. Everything seems stable now. One of the fish I thought I lost, to my amazement, survived and popped out one day after believing it to be a goner. Everything else seems ok as well. I ran carbon to get anything bad out. Also checked my po4 and it's down to .2ppm now. Chaeto is growing rapidly so I assume it's helping decrease it. I can't believe how fast that stuff takes off. No3 is at 80ppm though. Not quite sure why it increased that much. I've decreased feeding, so it should've gone down, and anything that died, I removed immediately.
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JIsBusyReefing
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Ok I started carbon dosing with vinegar this past week. I saw one other guy have activation issues as well with biopellets and he did some carbon dosing to get a bacteria bloom and his pellets took off after that. My nitrate last week was 60ppm. It's now 20ppm. God I hope I'm not jinxing it.
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