Need help lowering nitrate from 60

[Saisori]

I was having nitrate issues a month back. It was going above 30. So I started dosing white vinegar raising up to 18ML a day and at one point 30 ML. There was a strange odor when I go up to 30ML so I've reduced it back to 18ML. I do a 10G weekly water change and I've been dosing 2 caps full of Microbacteria 7 daily. The tank was cycled and originally had PNS bios/fritz turbo start used a few months back. I feed about half a cube of mysis and a few flakes once a day. Any tips or changes I should make? would like to start getting it down.


Inhabitants:
2 tang purple/powder
2 wrasse corris/flasher
2 clowns
1 bi color blenny

sand sifting star
3 conches
few Nassarius snails.



My tank is a Waterbox 100Gallon total. Running a deltec 1000i skimmer
Nitrate: 62
Phosphate .02/.03
Salinity 37 ppt
temp 78
PH 7.72
Alk 8
Ca 400
Mag 1300

 

[bubbgee]

How old is the setup?

 

[Saisori]

How old is the setup?

cycle finished back in june

 

[Dom]

10 gallons on a 100 gallon tank is 10%. As a general rule of thumb, water changes should be 20% weekly.

You may also consider growing Chaetomorpha in a refugium as an alternative way for exporting nutrient.

 

[KrisReef]

I don’t carbon dose but I believe that the process also consumes phosphorus. Yours is already low, maybe boost it a bit and see if the bacteria get busy.

My general experience is with the nitrogen is that it takes time to get it naturally lower in a tank, but once the microbes kick in it will take care of itself and stay low.

 

[Science/G]

60 ppm seems like a lot with that bio-load to me. What nitrate test are you using?

 

[bubbgee]

60 ppm seems like a lot with that bio-load to me. What nitrate test are you using?

Agreed, something could be decaying (old algae on live rock for example). Or the tank is really still cycling and it seemed finished when it was not.

What worked for me is AquaFores Life Bio Fil. Just add a bag into your sump. Nyos Zeo (zeolite media) also helps. Both keep my nitrates under 25ppm. Just keep dosing PNS Bio or Microbacter 7 to add nitrifying bacteria.

 

[Saisori]

10 gallons on a 100 gallon tank is 10%. As a general rule of thumb, water changes should be 20% weekly.

You may also consider growing Chaetomorpha in a refugium as an alternative way for exporting nutrient.

yeah, im about to up the water change amount.

I consider refugium but the sump configuration isnt great for that.

 

[Saisori]

60 ppm seems like a lot with that bio-load to me. What nitrate test are you using?

hanna high nitrate and salifert

 

[Saisori]

Agreed, something could be decaying (old algae on live rock for example). Or the tank is really still cycling and it seemed finished when it was not.

What worked for me is AquaFores Life Bio Fil. Just add a bag into your sump. Nyos Zeo (zeolite media) also helps. Both keep my nitrates under 25ppm. Just keep dosing PNS Bio or Microbacter 7 to add nitrifying bacteria.

The tank is pretty baron. I just have fish and a few zoa (which are doing great). No real algae like green hair algae so far. I will continue the schedule and see where we are at in a few weeks after upping the water change amount to 15/20 G

 

[Saisori]

I notice my phosphate was at zero last night so I dosed neophos at 12ML. Checker showed 0 this morning.. only 12 hr pass. Bottle say to wait atleast 24 hr. Would it still show 0 at 12hr? and what would consume all that phosphate if its reading right?

 

[Science/G]

I notice my phosphate was at zero last night so I dosed neophos at 12ML. Checker showed 0 this morning.. only 12 hr pass. Bottle say to wait atleast 24 hr. Would it still show 0 at 12hr? and what would consume all that phosphate if its reading right?

Bacteria and algae will take up the Phosphate.

 

[Saisori]

I've been keeping the phosphate at around .05 every night. Been dosing basically every night as well. Cyano bacteria has flared up. Originally there was a small patch of it which I thought would just go away when the beneficial bacteria populated but the phosphate has clearly help with its growth. Going to do a sandbed clean with a filtersock to get most of it out. I think that whats eating up all the phosphate.

 

[Saisori]

This is weird to say but I'm pleased to say nitrate tested 30.9 today. heading in the right direction.

Still doing 20G water change weekly.
Stop adding nori to the tank. (although my purple tang absolutely abolish these things in minutes)
Was dosing microbacteria 7 everyday but have since change to only capful during water change.
dosing 28ML of vinegar daily(as carbon)

I did add sea lettuce, red ogo, pom pom, and chaetomorpha to the sump.

 

[get-salty]

Just bc your tank is cycled doesnt mean your parameters are stabled. depends on what you used to cycle it eg types of rocks dry or live and or medias added from another tank. it takes at least a year if not at least a couple of yrs for nitrate and phosphate to deplete and out of the system.

like one mentioned above, big water changes and add chaeto. you need to export the extra nutrients some how for now until your tank is not only cycled but matured.