Problem with nitrates

[Kay tank]

New tank for fish with new sand cleaned refugium and nitrates are still off the charts

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[vetteguy53081]

New tank for fish with new sand cleaned refugium and nitrates are still off the charts

What kit are you using? Have you added denitrifying bacteria? If not Microbacter XLM or Fritz turbo start 900 will get your cultures established quickly. Additionally, get a second verification by taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at

 

[jsker]

 

[paragrouper]

 

[Dan_P]

New tank for fish with new sand cleaned refugium and nitrates are still off the charts

Hi! Is nitrite still present? it screws up the nitrate test.

 

[Kay tank]

Not sure didn't check that

 

[jda]

Yup. Nitrite interferes with most nitrate test kits. Don't even worry about nitrate for a month or two. Just make sure that ammonia is being handled at enough of a rate to keep your fish's gills in tact - this is the start of the first phase of the cycle. Make sure that nitrite is coming down - not for the fish, but to make sure that the second part of the cycle is starting. If the nitrite is at or near zero nearly all the time, then there is nitrate. It does not matter how much nitrate that you have for a while. You need some nitrate for the anaerobic bacteria to start to grow and turn nitrate into nitrogen gas which is the third part of the cycle.

 

[Kay tank]

Hope I'm doing this forum right don't quite understand how it works

 

[jda]

Did you make sure that nobody needed to use the phone and then dial up to the reef2reef modem phone bank? Kidding - that is the way that it used to be. :)

You just respond, ask questions and reply and stuff. You are doing it right.

 

[Kay tank]

Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Aside from nitrite interference in a new tank, which is likely,, what does "off the charts" mean to you?