uh..nitrates.....

Papadovak · Mar 13, 2014

So I've been doing a fishless cycling in my first tank.....its been about a few days shy of a month the ammonia has gone up then back down. The nitrates got to about 5 ppm now down to .25 but the nitrates seem to just keep going up and down. It usually fluctuates between 20ppm to 80ppm. I'm definitely a noob to the hobby but is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

Today's testing:
Salinity-1.025
Ph- 8.2
Nh4- 0ppm
No2- .25ppm
No3- 80ppm

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

mike007 · Mar 13, 2014

How are you cycling your tank? What are you using dead shrimp, bacterial additive etc.?

Papadovak · Mar 13, 2014

Well I have about 40 lbs of LR and have been adding fish food

Papadovak · Mar 13, 2014

I'm under the impression that I just needed the LR and then i read about using regular fish food so I figured it couldn't hurt

mike007 · Mar 13, 2014

What are you using to filter water? Do you have a skimmer?

Papadovak · Mar 13, 2014

The reef octopus nw150

mike007 · Mar 13, 2014

With live rock sometimes you will get some die off which will cause nitrates to escalate a bit. Once your bacteria takes hold your levels should start going down. You also need to start doing some small water changes. If your skimmer is pulling stuff out that's good and you should see improvements soon.

Papadovak · Mar 13, 2014

I did a 10 gallon wc last Sunday.....is that too much ? And the skimmer seems to be working great..

Papadovak · Mar 13, 2014

And sorry to be a bug but do I continue to add fish food as my ammonia has seemed to stay a 0 after I have food in it

SudzFD · Mar 13, 2014

I don't think you need to keep adding food. There's probably a ton in your tank after a month and it sounds like you are cycling with those high nitrates.

I would add a bacteria starter and do a couple 20-40% water changes. Then pick a small hearty fish to see how you do. Watch your levels and don't over feed. Keep up on the water changes. (10-20%).

Bad Company · Mar 13, 2014

Remember that only certain things reduce nitrates: water changes, algae absorbs it when it grows, a de-nitrifier, or a deep sand bed. Nitrates are the end product of the nitrogen cycle, so it means that your tank is doing its thing cycling. The next step is how you plan on managing the nitrates. Google "nitrogen cycle" and managing nitrates in a salt water aquarium.

Papadovak · Mar 14, 2014

So I'm thinking I want to do deep sand in the fuge chamber of my sump as I have the dt the way I like it to look it's probably 12"x12" and 8" deep. How deep is to deep? I think I read somewhere that a dsb can end up badly...

SudzFD · Mar 14, 2014

I don't like DSB personally as it can go bad.

I rely on water changes, protein skimmer, and Seachem denitrate media in my filter. I do 10% water change every 2-4 weeks and maintain nitrates less than 10.

The denitrate media is an anaerobic bacteria matrix similar in principle to DSB but without the risk.

Also if you have a Refugium it will do well to handle the nitrates on its own.

SudzFD · Mar 14, 2014

Also, the fact that you add food and see no ammonia rise means you have cycled. Now you are just adding waste that will increase nitrates.

Papadovak · Mar 14, 2014

So without a filter what would be the best option in your opinion

Papadovak · Mar 14, 2014

.......besides the water changes lol

zforce · Mar 14, 2014

I think a DSB is good for a mixed reef, but if you want a SPS tank with great color it can be a detriment.

Bad Company · Mar 14, 2014

I run a waterfall algae scrubber that is 9" X 9" with 500 GPH down #7 "canvas" mesh lit with two 23W (actual) 100W equivalent CFLS on my 70 gal cube. I scrape the screen once a week, and do 5% water changes every three weeks or so, and have 9 smaller fish. My nitrates are undetectable with the API test Kit.