Nitrates climbing - zoas not looking good.

[ngiovas]

I have been running my 20-gallon nano reef for about 18 months. Things have been very stable and looking great for about 9 months. No algae, happy fish (3) and zoas (3), and stable water parameters. I have been doing ~20% water changes every two weeks. About 3 weeks ago, I started to notice a very dark (almost black) algae on the tops of my rocks, and some green algae started to form on my sand (glass has been clean). About 4 days ago, I noticed that one of my Zoas was not fully opening. 3 days ago, my goby wasn't visible, even during feedings. I usually feed a very small amount of pellets 3 times a week, and I target feed the zoas twice a week with 1/16 tsp of reef roids mixed in tank water using a long dropper. I did a water change and tested my water, and got the following parameters (all with Hanna digital tester):

Phosphate: 0.18ppm
Nitrate: 35.5
Nitrite: 2ppb
Ammonia: 0.19 (Hanna measures total ammonia) **EDIT** - I noticed on the Hanna app it shows the NH3 is 0.07ppm
Salinity: 1.026
Temperature: 78 degrees.

I do use a small bag of Chemi-pure elite in the sump of my tank. I change it about every 3 months. I also have ceramic bio material in one section of the sump.

Today, all three zoas were barely open. I found a dead red knee hermit crab, and after searching the cracks of the rocks with a flashlight (through the glass), I believe my goby has died (I have no way of getting him where he is located because all of my rocks are epoxied together, and he is in a small crack).

I did another ~15% water change tonight. Since everything has been stable for so long, I'm not sure what changed. I am cutting back to feeding twice a week, hoping to reduce the Nitrates. Other than that, I'm not sure where to start to stabilize my tank. I am open to any suggestions others may have.

 

[lmfbs]

I would be more concerned about measurable levels of ammonia than nitrates. There are plenty of people who run much higher nitrates than that and their zoas are fine.

What else has changed since you've noticed the algae? Lights? Water changes? Using anything new in your house? A new food?

 

[ngiovas]

I would be more concerned about measurable levels of ammonia than nitrates. There are plenty of people who run much higher nitrates than that and their zoas are fine.

What else has changed since you've noticed the algae? Lights? Water changes? Using anything new in your house? A new food?

I have been running the same light since I set up the tank. I haven't changed any of the light settings in about a year. I have been pretty consistent with my water changes using water I have stored in a 65-gallon storage tank (I have been using the same batch for a while). I have been feeding the same pellets for over a year as well. I occasionally (once every other week) will feed a partial cube of frozen mysis shrimp (I have done that since I started the tank). The tank is in a closed room, so no one is in there to spray any kind of cleaners, air fresheners, or any other type of chemicals.

Is there anything I can do to temporarily reduce the ammonia? I'm not sure how frequently I can do water changes (or if that will help). I am going to try to test the water frequently until I figure this out, so I can see if there are any changes (good or bad).

 

[lmfbs]

I have been running the same light since I set up the tank. I haven't changed any of the light settings in about a year. I have been pretty consistent with my water changes using water I have stored in a 65-gallon storage tank (I have been using the same batch for a while). I have been feeding the same pellets for over a year as well. I occasionally (once every other week) will feed a partial cube of frozen mysis shrimp (I have done that since I started the tank). The tank is in a closed room, so no one is in there to spray any kind of cleaners, air fresheners, or any other type of chemicals.

Is there anything I can do to temporarily reduce the ammonia? I'm not sure how frequently I can do water changes (or if that will help). I am going to try to test the water frequently until I figure this out, so I can see if there are any changes (good or bad).

Something like Prime.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I think you are keeping your fish on the borderline of starvation. Feeding should not be used as a way to control nutrients. A 10 gallon water change will drop the nitrate by 50% just like that, why starve the fish?

But I think something else altogether is bothering the zoa's, nitrates of 30 shouldn't bother any coral. Some pictures and a bit more info on your tank will help, lets find out what the real problem is, but please feed your fish more.

 

[Tahoe61]

^ I am inclined to think the same. One thing doesn't have to do with the others.

Have you checked for pest?
What's your water source?
How do you measure SG, and have you recently calibrated the method of testing?

Please provide an image of the Zoanthids.

When all else fails I do a diluted hydrogen peroxid dip for the Zoanthids.

 

[lmfbs]

nitrates of 30 shouldn't bother any coral.

Fwiw, my nitrates are currently ~50 and have been over 100 and my zoas have been completely fine.

I also have underfed my fish trying to keep nitrates down, and I know better now. It doesn't work very well compared to basically anything else, and we are responsible for the wellbeing of the animals we keep. We owe them the best lives we can.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Something like Prime.

No. His ammonia is not at any sort of concerning level, and Prime is ineffective at binding ammonia.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree with others that 35 ppm nitrate is unlikely any concern in this context. My recommended nitrate levels 5-50 ppm. :)

 

[gretchenw]

Great questions and feedback about nitrates! I hope to have Zoas in the future!

 

[ngiovas]

I think you are keeping your fish on the borderline of starvation. Feeding should not be used as a way to control nutrients. A 10 gallon water change will drop the nitrate by 50% just like that, why starve the fish?

But I think something else altogether is bothering the zoa's, nitrates of 30 shouldn't bother any coral. Some pictures and a bit more info on your tank will help, lets find out what the real problem is, but please feed your fish more.

This photo isn't great, but hopefully you can see what they look like. Normally, all three are wide open and very bright.

 

[Aquadude1]

My gut says hold of on water changes for a month, run a little carbon, remove chemi pure, feed fish daily and see if things start to improve. If you try this monitor nutrients to make sure they dont sky rocket.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

This photo isn't great, but hopefully you can see what they look like. Normally, all three are wide open and very bright.

Notice how the stem is sort of curved, thats what they look like when they are stretching for light. I'm not sure if thats what the issue is, but I also notice the rocks and sand are impressively clean for 18 months. You've had this coral for 9 months? If you've had it that long and it hasn't grown, that would be odd for pally's since they are usually quick growers. To me, so far the signs point towards low lighting.

 

[ngiovas]

Notice how the stem is sort of curved, thats what they look like when they are stretching for light. I'm not sure if thats what the issue is, but I also notice the rocks and sand are impressively clean for 18 months. You've had this coral for 9 months? If you've had it that long and it hasn't grown, that would be odd for pally's since they are usually quick growers. To me, so far the signs point towards low lighting.

Thanks for the input. I have never done any "official" light measurements. I have only used the suggested light settings from online. I also made some adjustments based on some discussions in one of the forums when I got them. I think it might be worth renting a par meter to find out exactly how much light is being put out.

 

[ngiovas]

I wanted to provide an update on my tank issues. I adjusted my lights up slightly since the settings seemed very low compared to the recommended settings for my AI 16 prime on a 20-gallon nano. I am going to borrow a par meter in a few days to correctly adjust the lights.

I also tested some other parameters and found that my magnesium is low and my calcium is high:

magnesium = 1000 ppm
calcium = 600 ppm
alkalinity = 10.5 dKH

As far as feeding goes, I got a lot of different advice, but I increased the frequency of my feeding to once a day, and I am monitoring it very closely. I drop in a couple of very tiny pellets and watch to make sure they are all eaten quickly and then I put a few more in and stop.

I know I am trying to fix a lot of issues at one time, so I am trying to be cautious about the steps I am taking. I'm not sure what is most important to focus on first. I will be doing another ammonia test tomorrow (and a water change after). As of yesterday, my ammonia was at 0.012 ppm.

I am open to advice on what to focus on first/next. I appreciate everyone's input so far.

 

[lmfbs]

I wanted to provide an update on my tank issues. I adjusted my lights up slightly since the settings seemed very low compared to the recommended settings for my AI 16 prime on a 20-gallon nano. I am going to borrow a par meter in a few days to correctly adjust the lights.

I also tested some other parameters and found that my magnesium is low and my calcium is high:

magnesium = 1000 ppm
calcium = 600 ppm
alkalinity = 10.5 dKH

As far as feeding goes, I got a lot of different advice, but I increased the frequency of my feeding to once a day, and I am monitoring it very closely. I drop in a couple of very tiny pellets and watch to make sure they are all eaten quickly and then I put a few more in and stop.

I know I am trying to fix a lot of issues at one time, so I am trying to be cautious about the steps I am taking. I'm not sure what is most important to focus on first. I will be doing another ammonia test tomorrow (and a water change after). As of yesterday, my ammonia was at 0.012 ppm.

I am open to advice on what to focus on first/next. I appreciate everyone's input so far.

How certain are you that your salinity is correct? Do you dose anything? With only zoas and very little in the way of coralline, those measurements for calc and magnesium dont make sense to me. What salt mix do you use?

 

[ngiovas]

How certain are you that your salinity is correct? Do you dose anything? With only zoas and very little in the way of coralline, those measurements for calc and magnesium dont make sense to me. What salt mix do you use?

I have two different salinity calibration solutions and have verified that my spectrometer is accurate. I have used Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt since setting up the tank. I don't dose anything in the tank. As previously mentioned, I do use Chemi Pure Elite in my sump, but I have been using it since shortly after I cycled the tank.

I use a Hanna Marine Master for my testing. I also have some Red Sea test kits as a backup. I may try using those today to see how my numbers compare.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I expect the magnesium result is test error and I do not recommend testing it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have two different salinity calibration solutions and have verified that my spectrometer is accurate. I have used Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt since setting up the tank. I don't dose anything in the tank. As previously mentioned, I do use Chemi Pure Elite in my sump, but I have been using it since shortly after I cycled the tank.

I use a Hanna Marine Master for my testing. I also have some Red Sea test kits as a backup. I may try using those today to see how my numbers compare.

I don’t think you can mean a spectrometer for salinity testing. What device are you using?

 

[ngiovas]

I don’t think you can mean a spectrometer for salinity testing. What device are you using?

I call it a spectrometer. I guess it is technically a refractometer. Below is a picture of what I am using.