Nitrates still 160 ppm
- Thread starter gemini9
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gemini9
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dry rock
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gemini9
Newb!
oops. not 80. I mean, 40.
I just bought 2 blue leg crabs from LFS and a pound of live rock cured. Curiously, I tested the nitrate level of the LFS and its the color of blood. The LFS nitrates are 5 times higher than mine. How can their fish survive? Holy cow you would think a LFS levels would be 0 across the board but theirs is horrible. Mine doesn't seem so bad after all. haha. But I bought the 2 blue leg hermits to see if my tank can sustain them. I'm sure if they can live in the LFS 320 ppm they can surely live in my 40-80 ppm readings. WOW... :crossedlips:
vlangel
Seahorse whisperer
I just caught up Gemini, haven't read your thread for awhile. Remember that your tank is still pretty new and its still stabilizing. It can take new tanks 6 months or more to settle. Both WCs and carbon dosing will reduce nitrates. Just be patient and consistently stick with maintenancing your tank and the nitrates will come down when everything is operating at full efficiency. I would choose the hardier clean up crew creatures, (stay away from the ones sensitive to nitrates) and you will get there. When your nitrates come down to 40ppm (which is still pretty high) some soft corals can survive that and will actually utilize the nitrates as food. Also macro algae, (calerpa and cheato) will help reduce nitrates. If you don't like the looks of it in your display you can give it away or sell it when the levels come down. Beware that calerpa can attach to your rock work and be hard to eradicate later though.
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gemini9
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My nitrates are at 40ppm now, after my latest WC and clean up. I bought 2 blue leg hermits and a turbo snail... which I lost!!!! I know I'm flipping out over it. I bought two blue leg hermits and a turbo snail and I CANNOT FIND my snail! 
I think I may have left him at my girlfriends house so he will be dead by the time I get him. Poor snail. Why is it the water at the LFS is so much worse than mine? How do they keep THEIR fish alive???
I think I may have left him at my girlfriends house so he will be dead by the time I get him. Poor snail. Why is it the water at the LFS is so much worse than mine? How do they keep THEIR fish alive???
I would take any advice from that lfs with a grain of salt!
I haven't visited this thread for a bit. I agree with pete in that you will need to carbon dose imo. Your water changes have helped only for a brief period and then they spike back up again - I'm thinking somehow there is nitrate trapped in your rock and possibly sand from when you started the tank using water that was high in nitrates. If you've add live rock from the LFS that came out of a tank with high nitrates then another contributing factor. Fish can tolerate nitrates that are quite high but it's not optimal and corals can not usually tolerate high nitrates over time.
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gemini9
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LR from a tank with High nitrates... oooooo.... I think you hit a nail on that one. I visited my LFS this weekend and bought a pound of live rock and 2 blue leg crabs to see if they would survive. This is day two and cute little crabbies (named Poopsie and Sam) are still moving around! They hide allot but I can sometimes catch a glimpse of one of them. But I tested the water from the LFS that I brought it all home in and the nitrates in that LFS water was a flipping 320ppm. Has to be. My kit only reads up to 160 but this tested darker than the color on the card. It was more blood red than what I've seen in MY tank! No more LR from that place. I bet a handful of my nitrates came from there. The nitrates from my initial water wasn't too bad, but had some in it. But I think it's all a mixture of nitrates from the dry rock from BRS, the horrible LR from LFS and perhaps some of it from the initial water used for setup.
My skimmer is pulling out some crud so that's good. If crabbies are still alive by this weekend I'll probably purchase a couple more. I did, however, take a risk at something and I added the Instant Ocean Natural Nitrate Reducer to my tank. I read some good reviews on it and figured I would give it a try and added some to the tank. I'll retest here in a couple of days. I'm gonna pick up some vinegar at the market next time I go.
My skimmer is pulling out some crud so that's good. If crabbies are still alive by this weekend I'll probably purchase a couple more. I did, however, take a risk at something and I added the Instant Ocean Natural Nitrate Reducer to my tank. I read some good reviews on it and figured I would give it a try and added some to the tank. I'll retest here in a couple of days. I'm gonna pick up some vinegar at the market next time I go.
The nitrate is bound in the rock and leach for a long time. Using the vinegar will definitely help you to reduce the nitrate. Even if the rock leached for 2 years the bacteria fueled by the vinegar will consume it in no time. It may be something you will have to do the entire time you have this tank. I personally wouldn't go back to that lfs and support their business. Everything can be bought online and delivered right to your door, including live rock.
They don't have to be live. The mysis I'm referring to was frozen. Using small bits of uncooked shrimp from the deli would work just the same. You could freeze the shrimp and just slice a piece off with a knife.
Yeah, if you buy from an online vendor you can pretty much pick the day. If Saturday delivery is available in your area its normally $15 more. You will want to contact the vendor to check and see if they will work with you. Or, you can always get evening delivery scheduled.
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