Such high nitrates.

[Afreed1]

Do you have corals? If so, you could be harming them if you cut back on feeding the fish. Ammonia is the only sure way that corals get nitrogen. Some corals cannot use nitrate and those that can use nitrate have to convert it back so ammonia at a high energy cost.

You have high no3 because you have not completed the real nitrogen cycle. Cycles never end and they certainly are not over X days after adding bottled bacteria. Plants, physical export or anoxic bacteria turn no3 into N gas - this required undisturbed sand or effective rock (usually real live and not dry/dead at least not for a while). If you have a good skimmer organic carbon dosing can lower nitrate, but there are risk - Dr RFH has good artilces on this and you can use vinegar, vodka or sugar and not have to buy a bottled reef product at quite a high markup.

I do have corals a lot of them. 6 euphyllia corals. 1 acan, various shrooms, 3 diff types of zoanthids, and a capping montipora. What i dont understand is everythings doing fine and even the capping montipora it was in worse condition when i bought it like very little color. Its blue polyps with a green base. When i bought it tho there was barely any green on the base and barely any blue polys. Now the base is very green and way more blue polyps so im so confused.

 

[Afreed1]

It sounds like you are not filtering/exporting enough for the size of the tank.

You are getting a protein skimmer, good start.

Are you using RO/DI water....noticed you mentioned something about not knowing the source?

I don't think one cube of food for 5 fish in a 40 is too much. When my 29 with three fish was bottomed out I was one cube a day and barely got readings until I used reef roids. I filter heavy with lots of coral biomass, so my tank conditions are different.

What is your cleaning/WC practice? Do you siphon out detritus, algae, vacuum sand bed?

I do vacuum the sand bed, I do a 10 gal waterchange every week, and I have a very hefty CUC. My CUC is 3 emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp, 8 nerite snails, 5 astrea snails, 4 black margarita snails, 10-15 nassarius snails, 10 florida cerith snails, around 10 hermit crabs, and 40-50 dwarf cerith snails.

 

[Afreed1]

proper biological filtration IMO is the best thing. you can keep doing water changes all day long but if your system isn't able of consuming the nitrates its an endless battle.

I do have tons of live rock.

 

[Garf]

I do have tons of live rock.

Is your nitrITE, defininately at zero(ish)?

 

[Afreed1]

Is your nitrITE, defininately at zero(ish)?

Yeah they are.

 

[Garf]

Yeah they are.

And topping off evaporation with RODI, not tapwater?

 

[Luckyduck]

Man your way over feeding for a 40 gal tank.

Rinse the food before you use it. Get another test kit like a hanna.

Do a 20 gal WC then do another 10 gal a week later and see where your at.

Over feeding with a 1/4 of a cube??? Ummmm...

Definitely good advise about rinsing the food though

 

[jda]

If you leave that sand alone, it should start to lower the nitrates in a few months, or so. It might not be as good as a deeper sand bed, but the parts near the rocks and where there is lower flow can still have anoxic areas.

 

[JCOLE]

I would recommend not to carbon dose until you have a skimmer and a different test kit. A skimmer is needed for export and I would recommend the Hanna high range tester. Need to double check your levels and confirm they are that high before thinking about carbon dosing.

 

[doubleshot00]

Over feeding with a 1/4 of a cube??? Ummmm...

Definitely good advise about rinsing the food though

I assume he doesn’t have large fish. So a 1/4 cube may be a lot.

 

[Afreed1]

And topping off evaporation with RODI, not tapwater?

Yeah i dont use my tapwater and i cant get RODI water so i buy purified drinking water from walmart for water changes and topping off.

 

[Afreed1]

Over feeding with a 1/4 of a cube??? Ummmm...

Definitely good advise about rinsing the food though

What do you mean by rinsing it? Just like running it through some water?

 

[Garf]

Yeah i dont use my tapwater and i cant get RODI water so i buy purified drinking water from walmart for water changes and topping off.

You checked the nitrate on it?

 

[Afreed1]

I assume he doesn’t have large fish. So a 1/4 cube may be a lot.

1 sand shifting goby, 1 dotted hawkfish, 2 snowflake clowns, and a neon dottyback. All relatively small atm.

 

[Afreed1]

You checked the nitrate on it?

No i have not checked the nitrates on the gallons im using.

 

[doubleshot00]

1 sand shifting goby, 1 dotted hawkfish, 2 snowflake clowns, and a neon dottyback. All relatively small atm.

Yeah 1/4 cube still may be a lot. As long as the food doesn’t just float around and they stop eating then continue.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Yeah i dont use my tapwater and i cant get RODI water so i buy purified drinking water from walmart for water changes and topping off.

I wouldn't assume anything about the chemical composition of purified drinking water from Walmart.

Mix up some fresh salt water using it, and test immediately for Nitrates

 

[FUNGI]

Yeah i dont use my tapwater and i cant get RODI water so i buy purified drinking water from walmart for water changes and topping off.

Wrong water.....you should be getting Distilled water.

 

[CKW]

Yeah i dont use my tapwater and i cant get RODI water so i buy purified drinking water from walmart for water changes and topping off.

Purified drinking water may vary well be the issue. I use distilled water from Walmart and have no issues.
Also suggest trying a different test kit. Not all kits are alike. I have noticed, for example, API results are often different than say Siefert.

 

[schooncw]

What brand or type of vinegar do you use?

I would use a prepared carbon source from either Red Sea, Fauna Marin or Tropic Marin and not vinegar.