Im having Nitrate/Nitrite issues

[Kafer]

Just to catch you up to speed this is a description of my tank
75 gallon FOWLR
1 Seabae Clown
1 Singapore Angel
25 snails and about 10 hermits
Eurreef skimmer
Little giant external pump as my return from my wet/dry filter

Water parameters as of tonight
Temperature – 86 – it’s normally about 82 but for some reason it was high tonight. I have eggcrate in the garage and its going on tomorow.
Gravity – 1.025 – using one of the floating type hydrometers. Waiting to buy a refractometer
Alkalinity – 5.0
Ammonia - <0.25 – Using a salifert test. The results were white but the lowest readout on the color chart is <0.25
Nitrite – 0.1 – using a Nutrafin test
Nitrate – 50 – using a Salifert test
Calcium – 440 – using a Salifert test


I can’t seem to get my nitrates and nitrites to get to 0. I had tested my water about a week ago and came up with results of 0.1 nitrite (Nutrafin test) and 50+ (salifert test). I did a 20 gallon water change on Sunday night and tested tonight with the same results. My question to you is, what can I do to lower the nitrites/nitrates to a level of 0? Are high nitrates a direct result of poor circulation? I know if I build a refugium I can use macro algae to help combat against nitrates but I don’t have that option yet. What do you suggest?

[Sk8r]

First thing I scanned your list for was "filter". Filters fight your live rock and sand. But if you pull it now you will get one bad nitrate spike.

Do this: when you change your filter (and do so often) take out only 1/10 of the media, put in new, leave the rest, repeat every few days until that level drops.

Nitrate/trite/ammonia is a problem with any filter. The bacteria in your filter rises to a certain level, can't handle the load, which then hits your sand/live rock and the sand/live rock is too weak to take it on. The sand/live rock start multiplying bacteria like crazy to handle the load, and meanwhile you've changed out your filter media and it's come live again, removing food from the sandbed just as it got enough bacteria going to handle the food it was getting. A dieback, repeated endlessly.

The best cure would be to very gradually---VERY gradually, withdraw filter media from the filter altogether, and then cut the filter out of the loop: I'm talking about enough live rock and sand to handle the total bioload of the tank, and taking out about 1/20th of the filter media a week (while changing 1/10 out for fresh) until your sand bacteria have built up enough to handle all of it and the wet/dry filter is totally out of the picture. During this process, feed the fish the absolute minimum you can manage, because the last thing that system will need is any kind of heavy load while you are pulling out pieces of filter.

I know FOWLR tanks do use filters, but when FOWLR tanks are having troubles, often the best cure for a perpetual nitrate problem is to get the filters out altogether, not even a particulate filter in the system, except for rare occasions.

[Kafer]

Thank you for the input.
At this point the only media im using is bioballs and the blue mesh type stuff. I have started to gradually take the balls out. Last week I removed a few handfulls. Do you think that over time with the removal of the balls that the nitrate/trite levels will become acceptable?
Future plans include a real sump system with a refugium and more live rock for the tank.

[bertoni]

Removing the bio-balls might help. If not, there are ways to deal with nitrate. I'd just wait at this point.

[belowthesea06]

yes remove all the bio ball and change the water. This would help alot. Don't try to add any chemical, they are bad for your reef.

[Sk8r]

The method I gave (designed to try to let you get out of this with no additional 'cycle' in your tank) can be adapted to that situation: use a scissors to 'strip' the blue pads and just let that intercept less and less of the water. Likewise just slipping a few bioballs out until there are none. Water changes likewise help, as it takes some of the waste out. Don't go crazy with it: everything slowly---just sneak your way into a filter-free tank. Anytime you get a spike, just let the status quo ride a bit, then push toward filterless as much as it will let you. Remember those delicate fish of yours are tolerating the status quo, and you don't want to jostle them with too much change too fast, either.

Your program (getting a sump, etc) is a good one, and I think you will be very much happier once you have gone all the way over.