wolfthefallen
Active Member
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- Oct 21, 2018
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Fighting Nitrates in new tanks is rough; When I first set up my tank and added fish after the first cycle it was rough to keep Nitrates under control. I am still fighting with them but nearly as bad now. I manage to keep my between 15-20 ppm.
First thing first is to continue to do 20-25% water changes, as this is the quickest way to reduce Nitrates at this time. I know you have said at this point you have do 100% water change over the past month, the thing you have to remember is doing 20-25% reduces the Nirates in the system by that much at that point in time. Here is an example
Lets say we have 100ppm Nitrates and it goes up by 10ppm every week due to feedings.
So we do are first water change on week one when we hit 100ppm this will drop it to 75ppm. by the time we start our next water change it is at 85 ppm so after the 25% water change we get roughly 64ppm .. so forth and so.. This is why we recommend doing 20-25% every day until you hit your goal, nitrates will rise a little every day after a water the change so it will take more changes then you think. Even Fish poop will eventually add nitrates to the water after the bacteria starts to break it down. Don't panic just keep on top of it.. Once you hit your goal keep an eye on it to get an idea of your bioload.
Second I would recommend choosing a method for Nitrate export such as Carbon dosing (NO-POX, BioPellets, Vodka, Vinegar, ect) , Macro Algae export, algae scrubber, ect.. It does not matter which, the big thing you have to keep in mind is any of them takes TIME to start working. NOPOX can start to take up to a month or two to full get it to start exporting Both Nitrates and Phosphates, same with BioPellets, both which require a Skimmer! The macro Algae primarily Chaetomorpha (commonly Referenced as Chaeto) requires a refugium or Algae Reactor, and takes time too, but you have to remove all the grown Algae about once a month or so..
Research which would work best for your system pick one and run with it for about 4 months and see if it is working for you. Either way reduce the Amount you are feeding, and stay on top of your water changes. This is a game of patients and staying on top of maintains and remembering a little goes a long ways in food.
Test and Test often during the first 6 months of your tank, all parameters, if think it is wrong tank water samples into your LFS they will generally test it for you, or buy another brand kit for testing and compare. Remember these are hobby grade test kits and have an error range. Once you get everything stable you can ease off the testing to every week to two weeks, and eventually once a month.. Watch your coral and fish, they will show signs when something is out of balance and if you keep a log of all the test results you will get to the point of knowing your tank and understand what is out of balance and how to slowly adjust things to not but your livestock under more stress ;)
First thing first is to continue to do 20-25% water changes, as this is the quickest way to reduce Nitrates at this time. I know you have said at this point you have do 100% water change over the past month, the thing you have to remember is doing 20-25% reduces the Nirates in the system by that much at that point in time. Here is an example
Lets say we have 100ppm Nitrates and it goes up by 10ppm every week due to feedings.
So we do are first water change on week one when we hit 100ppm this will drop it to 75ppm. by the time we start our next water change it is at 85 ppm so after the 25% water change we get roughly 64ppm .. so forth and so.. This is why we recommend doing 20-25% every day until you hit your goal, nitrates will rise a little every day after a water the change so it will take more changes then you think. Even Fish poop will eventually add nitrates to the water after the bacteria starts to break it down. Don't panic just keep on top of it.. Once you hit your goal keep an eye on it to get an idea of your bioload.
Second I would recommend choosing a method for Nitrate export such as Carbon dosing (NO-POX, BioPellets, Vodka, Vinegar, ect) , Macro Algae export, algae scrubber, ect.. It does not matter which, the big thing you have to keep in mind is any of them takes TIME to start working. NOPOX can start to take up to a month or two to full get it to start exporting Both Nitrates and Phosphates, same with BioPellets, both which require a Skimmer! The macro Algae primarily Chaetomorpha (commonly Referenced as Chaeto) requires a refugium or Algae Reactor, and takes time too, but you have to remove all the grown Algae about once a month or so..
Research which would work best for your system pick one and run with it for about 4 months and see if it is working for you. Either way reduce the Amount you are feeding, and stay on top of your water changes. This is a game of patients and staying on top of maintains and remembering a little goes a long ways in food.
Test and Test often during the first 6 months of your tank, all parameters, if think it is wrong tank water samples into your LFS they will generally test it for you, or buy another brand kit for testing and compare. Remember these are hobby grade test kits and have an error range. Once you get everything stable you can ease off the testing to every week to two weeks, and eventually once a month.. Watch your coral and fish, they will show signs when something is out of balance and if you keep a log of all the test results you will get to the point of knowing your tank and understand what is out of balance and how to slowly adjust things to not but your livestock under more stress ;)
