Super high nitrates help

Ippyroy

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API is notorious for being off for Ammonia. Other than that it is a reliable test kit. All test kits we use are hobby grade. The main thing we should be looking for are trends and stability. With these things we can figure out what we are doing wrong and be able to figure out if we are doing the correct thing to fix the problems. The OP needs to figure out a better export method. Large fish in a small tank are going to have high NO3 and PO4. They eat and poop a lot. Heavy in and Heavy out are imperative in this situation. I'd use a roller mat, large fuge, and a big skimmer as well as carbon dosing.
 

jaxteller007

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Rinse your mysis and get rid of the "juice" and "oils." That will help some. Drop the nori and use some pellets - usually less waste and the fish can get greens from the spirulina in good pellets.

Water changes will help. You can run some activated carbon, but you have to change it often - this can remove organics before they break down into the N cycle... if you don't change it every few days, it becomes a bio filter. Good skimmer will help too.

If you have sand, make it deeper. 2-3" sandbed can handle nitrate over time and keep them low, but not too low - perfect equilibrium. This can take months for the bacteria to develop, so you have to do other stuff too.

Whatever you do, don't go so fast that your corals get mad.

Stopping nori feeding is probably the last thing he should do with 4 tangs in a 40 gallon tank. Nori is probably the only thing keeping those tangs from killing each other.
 

jeffchapok

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I battled high NO3 and the resulting GHA until I added a refugium with chaeto. Dropped the NO3 like a rock and the GHA is gone too. I put some it the DT from time to time too - my sailfin and hippo tangs both love to eat it.
 

MnFish1

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PFFT If only it were so easy.
There are calculators out there that will tell you exactly how much water to change - and you can also enter in the amount of nitrate that the system is producing. After doing that - you might have to analyze why your readings are so high? Like you said - test accuracy, some areas of low flow - which is constantly causing an 'input' of nitrate', high feedings, not enough export? I hope you have better luck - but in any case -water changes will solve your problem - until you figure out why its rising. For example - a 100 percent water change will - by definition - lower your nitrates to near 0. Its just better to do multiple daily changes - than one big one IME. (I had this problem due to a problem I believe with vibrant) - water changes resolved it quickly (I also siphoned off detritus, etc - as I was doing them)
 

MnFish1

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API is notorious for being off for Ammonia. Other than that it is a reliable test kit. All test kits we use are hobby grade. The main thing we should be looking for are trends and stability. With these things we can figure out what we are doing wrong and be able to figure out if we are doing the correct thing to fix the problems. The OP needs to figure out a better export method. Large fish in a small tank are going to have high NO3 and PO4. They eat and poop a lot. Heavy in and Heavy out are imperative in this situation. I'd use a roller mat, large fuge, and a big skimmer as well as carbon dosing.
One problem with API (all of them) - is that as levels get 'high' as the OP said - the graduations between colors can be quite high. And - once you're at the top of the chart - (I dont remember with API )- but lets say you're at the color at the top - 100 - your nitrate could be 200 or 101. Thats why one way to 'tell' - is change a larger amount of water. PS - you can also 'dilute' your tank water with new ASW - and re-do the test - and multiply the result by 2. For example - tank 2.5 cc tank water and 2.5 cc ASW mixed - run the test - and whatever teh result - multiply by 2.
 

schooncw

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Anyone use seachem denitrate or matrix. Will be adding it to a hob filter
I am seriously considering using denitrate. My question is, whether to put it in bags in a low flow area of the sump or in a media reactor. I think in the sump may yield the same result, tho it may take longer
 
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