Nitrogen off Charts

[rab21w]

I have read a lot about cycling, carbon dosing, skimmers, fuges, etc... I just bought a new to me tank. By this I mean It was set up for 2 years, abandon for 6 months and sold to me for dirt cheap. I have all the parameters just right except for the nitrogen I believe. It is at 160 if not higher. I'm wondering if this is a normal part of the cycle for a neglected tank or if I should be doing something about it. I did a 75% water change today and it had NO effect.

The inhabitant that had their lives spared by this negligence seem to be unphased by the high nitrates. That would be one small crab, a handfull of nassarius snails, one or two turbo snails(I think) a green and red flourescing mushroom and a possibly dying(or not) leather coral(thick finger I believe). I don't believe anything on earth can kill the bristle worms and I did see a small starfish on the glass(3/8").

That being said, I cleaned it as best I could and dug handfulls of empty shells out, so there were plenty of casualties(which explains the bristle worm population). I have no fish and will not be buying anything until I have a more stable environment. The first thing I want is a reef cleaning package. I don't know when to buy it though.

[Sgt Jonny Cat]

When you nitrogen do you mean nitrates??? If so water changes and watching what you feed is key to lowering them. You could also look at carbon dosing. Check out this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjFJKawT37U

[rab21w]

Yes, Nitrates. There has been no food put into the tank for 6 months. I've looked into carbon dosing and just want some opinions before I start doing it. There are no fish to feed and I can fit all of the inverts in one hand.

[pyithar]

so is there any coral in the tank? are you also running skimmer? i'd just do water change and test it again. the nitrates should come down when you do a water change. are you using ro/di water? if you're using ro/di water and nitrates don't come down after water change, it means the test kit is off.

[Stevenliu9]

You mentioned the tank but what are your equipments for nutrient export? what is your skimmer and filtration situation? just wondering if they aren't keeping up to export excess nutrients to cause the nitrate spike

[rab21w]

I bought it two days ago, so it's been set up for two days. I did a fifty percent water change yesterday and a 75% change today with no difference in nitrates. It does have one thick fingered leather coral and one mushroom. I don't have a skimmer yet. It's 36 gallons and I'm running a marineland canister rated for 55. It has bioballs, those ceramic cylinders, filter floss, some rough black plastic sponge, Phosguard and Matrix Carbon. If it matters I also have two powerheads in the tank, the temp is 78F, Salinity 1.024, Calcium is 340ppm, PH is 7.8 and the rest is in the picture.[IMG]C:\Users\Randy\Documents\20150329_225630[/IMG]

[rab21w]

[IMG]http://*******.com/r/op9wgj/8[/IMG]

[rab21w]

Obviously I'm getting my behind kicked by this forum, Nitrite is 0ppm, Ammonia 0ppm and Nitrate is still off the charts. I took a picture in case I'm reading it wrong but can't figure out how to post it.

[pyithar]

Originally Posted by rab21w

I took a picture in case I'm reading it wrong but can't figure out how to post it.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1905405

check that out to post photos ^^

[rab21w]

[IMG][/IMG]

[pyithar]

Originally Posted by rab21w

I bought it two days ago, so it's been set up for two days. I did a fifty percent water change yesterday and a 75% change today with no difference in nitrates. It does have one thick fingered leather coral and one mushroom. I don't have a skimmer yet. It's 36 gallons and I'm running a marineland canister rated for 55. It has bioballs, those ceramic cylinders, filter floss, some rough black plastic sponge, Phosguard and Matrix Carbon. If it matters I also have two powerheads in the tank, the temp is 78F, Salinity 1.024, Calcium is 340ppm, PH is 7.8 and the rest is in the picture.[IMG]C:\Users\Randy\Documents\20150329_225630[/IMG]

bioballs, ceramic cylinders, floss, sponge all those could trap detritus and will produce nitrates if not cleaned/changed out regularly. they are good at converting ammonia>nitrite>nitrates but the process ends there. that's when you're left with excess nitrates in the system. you'll need a skimmer if you want to dose carbon.

[rab21w]

[IMG][/IMG]

[rab21w]

I'll probably buy a skimmer on Tuesday. LFS said that he would sell me one half off because I'm a veteran and new to the hobby. The skimmer is rated for 65 gallons so it should work great in here. I did clean out the canister today as well, it was horribly full of gunk. Took me about an hour to clean.

[tkeracer619]

You're doing fine, this is typical of a neglected tank.

Don't worry so much about getting it in check immediately. It will come back in line with proper husbandry.

Thank you for your service!

[BigCountry74]

the nitrate is flowing from the pads/bio balls in that canister filter I bet. take the canister filter apart and clean it real good, clean the pads, rinse the balls etc. i bet that alone will bring your nitrates down 1/2. you might see a bio bloom (cloudy water) after, but it will go away fast.

nevermind i just read you cleaned it.

[Sgt Jonny Cat]

Get rid of that canister, the live rock and skimmer are the main source of filtration. I started with a canister and after about 1 month I sold it on criags list. As far as your skimmer, make sure and go +1 on the size rating for that tank. Your tank is very new and will take a bit to get going.....Good luck...

[jminick2]

looks like you just went through a cycle and there is still some nitrites in that pic hard to tell given I cant really see the liquids cause its laying down. If you have nitrites it will interfere with nitrate test and be very inaccurate, and that liquid definitely looks purple. Im saying that's your issue.

[Dan_P]

Originally Posted by rab21w

I have read a lot about cycling, carbon dosing, skimmers, fuges, etc... I just bought a new to me tank. By this I mean It was set up for 2 years, abandon for 6 months and sold to me for dirt cheap. I have all the parameters just right except for the nitrogen I believe. It is at 160 if not higher. I'm wondering if this is a normal part of the cycle for a neglected tank or if I should be doing something about it. I did a 75% water change today and it had NO effect.

Nitrates are produced from ammonia and can accumulate if not convered to nitrogen gas or by bacteria or consumed by plant and bacteria. I would assume since the large water change did not reduce the nitrate level, it may have been way above 160. Another idea is that there is still a lot of organic waste being metabolized to ammonia and nitrate. I am not found of that idea but you be the judge about the likelihood of a lot of organic matter being in the system. I assume at a minimum everything was at least vigorously rinsed in saltwater before setting it up, otherwise there could be enough junk dying off and being converted to ammonia and nitrate. Filters and bioballs are good placed ro clean thoroughly.

That being said, I cleaned it as best I could and dug handfulls of empty shells out, so there were plenty of casualties(which explains the bristle worm population). I have no fish and will not be buying anything until I have a more stable environment. The first thing I want is a reef cleaning package. I don't know when to buy it though.

I would add nothing to the aquarium until you see the nitrates coming down. Do another water change. You don't have to do one 75%, you could do 5 gallons each day for a week. That should give you about a 70% reduction in nitrates. If it does not, I suspect there is still a lot of organic matter still decomposing.

Dan

[Dan_P]

Originally Posted by rab21w

I have read a lot about cycling, carbon dosing, skimmers, fuges, etc... I just bought a new to me tank. By this I mean It was set up for 2 years, abandon for 6 months and sold to me for dirt cheap. I have all the parameters just right except for the nitrogen I believe. It is at 160 if not higher. I'm wondering if this is a normal part of the cycle for a neglected tank or if I should be doing something about it. I did a 75% water change today and it had NO effect.

Nitrates are produced from ammonia and can accumulate if not convered to nitrogen gas or by bacteria or consumed by plant and bacteria. I would assume since the large water change did not reduce the nitrate level, it may have been way above 160. Another idea is that there is still a lot of organic waste being metabolized to ammonia and nitrate. I am not found of that idea but you be the judge about the likelihood of a lot of organic matter being in the system. I assume at a minimum everything was at least vigorously rinsed in saltwater before setting it up, otherwise there could be enough junk dying off and being converted to ammonia and nitrate. Filters and bioballs are good placed ro clean thoroughly.

That being said, I cleaned it as best I could and dug handfulls of empty shells out, so there were plenty of casualties(which explains the bristle worm population). I have no fish and will not be buying anything until I have a more stable environment. The first thing I want is a reef cleaning package. I don't know when to buy it though.

I would add nothing to the aquarium until you see the nitrates coming down. Do another water change. You don't have to do one 75%, you could do 5 gallons each day for a week. That should give you about a 70% reduction in nitrates. If it does not, I suspect there is still a lot of organic matter still decomposing.

Dan

[rab21w]

Thank you all for your help. My levels are still the same. In the past couple days I have done smaller water changes, installed a protein skimmer, changed from laminar to turbulent flow, installed a type of filter pad that supposedly helps with nitrates and cleaned the filter daily. The filter is acquiring brown goo quite quickly so I am assuming the tank is simply saturated with decomp. I will keep everyone appraised and any more advice is definitely appreciated. I think the only thing left is to wait and see what happens.