Nitrates and a Few Other Tank Problems

sanders2469 · 12/21/2016, 08:46 AM

Hello everyone!

I really need some advise. I have had a 55 gallon tank set up since July. We let it cycle for a few months before we started adding fish. To start the process, I did add some live shrimp at the beginning. We have a yellow tang (yes, I know 55 gallons is a little small for a tang but we will upgrade before then), two clownfish, and a diamond goby (messy little fish but he is fun to watch). We have never had any problems with ammonia or nitrites. However, our nitrates stay around 20 ppm. This has caused "ugly tank syndrome" and I have this ugly brown algae that keeps growing in my tank. I am hesitant to use an algae remover because I feel like that is not getting to the root of the problem and also I do not want to disturb any of the good bacteria. We are running a Fluval canister filter (which I know can be a problem for nitrates). When we cleaned the filter last time, the nitrates did not seem to improve. In fact, nitrites spiked a little after we messed with the canister. So, I am now scared to do anything with the filter. Also, we seem to have problems keeping snails. We do have a few hermit crabs which seem to be fine and a few cleaner shrimp. As I said, we do up to 50% water changes and it does not seem to help the nitrates at all.

So, here are my questions:

1) What can I do about the nitrates?
2) Is it safe to blow the rock with a turkey baster/stir up the sand bed? I have been told that you should blow the rock to get the crap off it. I have heard that you should not stir up the sand bed too much because it can cause spikes. Others say that it is OK and encouraged.
3) Would the nitrates be causing the problem with the dying snails?
4) I have read about vodka dosing. I assume that you should not add vodka directly to the display. We are running a decent skimmer. However, we do not have a sump. We use the CoralVue BH-2000 Octopus with External 2000 Pump for Aquarium Filter, 125-Gallon.

I really do love the tank and I want to do the best I can for the animals in it. I appreciate any help/advise that any of you can provide. Thank you!

RobZilla04 · 12/21/2016, 09:02 AM

One option is to start syphon vacuuming the sand bed during water changes. Start with small sections at a time. That should pull a lot of the trapped nitrates from there. Increase the frequency of water changes. If you are doing every two weeks, do weekly. If weekly, try twice weekly.

Reduce the lighting period and/or try long periods of black outs.

What results is the skimmer producing weekly?

Nitrate levels around 20ppm are not bad. The algae thrive mostly on excess phosphates. IMO the best option would be toss the canister filter system and upgrade to a sump. There you will have the ability to add phosphate removing pads, or a reactor with GFO.

Keep in mind battling algae is not an over night ordeal. It can take weeks or months so pack some patience.

kevin21 · 12/21/2016, 12:00 PM

What he said. ^

Drop the canister filter all together. If you have enough live rock and a sand bed, your tank has good natural filtration already. Weekly water changes, dropping the canister filter, and keeping the skimmer going should help. Also, if you have a lot of detritus settling on your rocks, where you feel inclined every day to blow them off, you may need to increase the flow in your tank. I dont believe you will ever eliminate all dead spots, but it could help with detritus building up.

On the other hand, it could be your live rock leaching phosphates into the water. If this is the case, your algae battles will continue for a while. I am not an expert of the phosphate leaching, but I am sure a few guys can touch more upon this. Sometimes your rock leaches phosphate, this causes constant algae blooms and issues. I am pretty certain if you keep up with your weekly maintenance, over the course of time it should eventually stop leaching phosphate.

timnem70 · 12/22/2016, 11:25 AM

If you are reading nitrates, at that level, it's just your detritus trap, the canister filter not able to remove the nutrients and Poo. The snail thing and such? What are your water parameters? Using RO/DI? I'm glad you came here to ask for help and hopefully we can get answers for ya. Please post all parameters. If you don't know what they are, that's another issue you will need to address.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Tooboot · 12/22/2016, 12:40 PM

are the snails dying after having added the fish. were the fish medicated in any way (through a QT).

tzylak · 12/22/2016, 01:06 PM

All good suggestions. Here is mine:
Are you planning to upgrade to a larger tank to accommodate the yellow tang? If so, then start with adding a sizable sump.
Having sump will give you room for adding a fudge to contain chaeto, or such.
The plant GROWTH removes the nitrates from water and your regular PRUNING of that growth removes nutrients out of the system.
IMHO WC is tedious and is inefficient way to address the problem of nutrient removal. . . Skimmer (and DSB) is a little bit better but still far behind fudge effectiveness.

12/21/2016, 08:46 AM	#1
sanders2469 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 1	Nitrates and a Few Other Tank Problems Hello everyone! I really need some advise. I have had a 55 gallon tank set up since July. We let it cycle for a few months before we started adding fish. To start the process, I did add some live shrimp at the beginning. We have a yellow tang (yes, I know 55 gallons is a little small for a tang but we will upgrade before then), two clownfish, and a diamond goby (messy little fish but he is fun to watch). We have never had any problems with ammonia or nitrites. However, our nitrates stay around 20 ppm. This has caused "ugly tank syndrome" and I have this ugly brown algae that keeps growing in my tank. I am hesitant to use an algae remover because I feel like that is not getting to the root of the problem and also I do not want to disturb any of the good bacteria. We are running a Fluval canister filter (which I know can be a problem for nitrates). When we cleaned the filter last time, the nitrates did not seem to improve. In fact, nitrites spiked a little after we messed with the canister. So, I am now scared to do anything with the filter. Also, we seem to have problems keeping snails. We do have a few hermit crabs which seem to be fine and a few cleaner shrimp. As I said, we do up to 50% water changes and it does not seem to help the nitrates at all. So, here are my questions: 1) What can I do about the nitrates? 2) Is it safe to blow the rock with a turkey baster/stir up the sand bed? I have been told that you should blow the rock to get the crap off it. I have heard that you should not stir up the sand bed too much because it can cause spikes. Others say that it is OK and encouraged. 3) Would the nitrates be causing the problem with the dying snails? 4) I have read about vodka dosing. I assume that you should not add vodka directly to the display. We are running a decent skimmer. However, we do not have a sump. We use the CoralVue BH-2000 Octopus with External 2000 Pump for Aquarium Filter, 125-Gallon. I really do love the tank and I want to do the best I can for the animals in it. I appreciate any help/advise that any of you can provide. Thank you!

12/21/2016, 09:02 AM	#2
RobZilla04 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: St. Augustine, FL Posts: 1,857	One option is to start syphon vacuuming the sand bed during water changes. Start with small sections at a time. That should pull a lot of the trapped nitrates from there. Increase the frequency of water changes. If you are doing every two weeks, do weekly. If weekly, try twice weekly. Reduce the lighting period and/or try long periods of black outs. What results is the skimmer producing weekly? Nitrate levels around 20ppm are not bad. The algae thrive mostly on excess phosphates. IMO the best option would be toss the canister filter system and upgrade to a sump. There you will have the ability to add phosphate removing pads, or a reactor with GFO. Keep in mind battling algae is not an over night ordeal. It can take weeks or months so pack some patience. __________________ 90g Mixed Reef

12/21/2016, 12:00 PM	#3
kevin21 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 2,208	What he said. ^ Drop the canister filter all together. If you have enough live rock and a sand bed, your tank has good natural filtration already. Weekly water changes, dropping the canister filter, and keeping the skimmer going should help. Also, if you have a lot of detritus settling on your rocks, where you feel inclined every day to blow them off, you may need to increase the flow in your tank. I dont believe you will ever eliminate all dead spots, but it could help with detritus building up. On the other hand, it could be your live rock leaching phosphates into the water. If this is the case, your algae battles will continue for a while. I am not an expert of the phosphate leaching, but I am sure a few guys can touch more upon this. Sometimes your rock leaches phosphate, this causes constant algae blooms and issues. I am pretty certain if you keep up with your weekly maintenance, over the course of time it should eventually stop leaching phosphate. __________________ Kevin Current Tank Info: Waterbox 50g, Tunze 9004 dc skimmer, Vortech mp10, Kessil ap700

12/22/2016, 11:25 AM	#4
timnem70 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 462	If you are reading nitrates, at that level, it's just your detritus trap, the canister filter not able to remove the nutrients and Poo. The snail thing and such? What are your water parameters? Using RO/DI? I'm glad you came here to ask for help and hopefully we can get answers for ya. Please post all parameters. If you don't know what they are, that's another issue you will need to address. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

12/22/2016, 12:40 PM	#5
Tooboot Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Eastern Ontario, Canada Posts: 198	are the snails dying after having added the fish. were the fish medicated in any way (through a QT).

12/22/2016, 01:06 PM	#6
tzylak Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Oceanside, CA Posts: 457	All good suggestions. Here is mine: Are you planning to upgrade to a larger tank to accommodate the yellow tang? If so, then start with adding a sizable sump. Having sump will give you room for adding a fudge to contain chaeto, or such. The plant GROWTH removes the nitrates from water and your regular PRUNING of that growth removes nutrients out of the system. IMHO WC is tedious and is inefficient way to address the problem of nutrient removal. . . Skimmer (and DSB) is a little bit better but still far behind fudge effectiveness.