NO3 Still Very High :(

[successnowhere]

Despite several water changing for the past 2 weeks, the NO3 detect in my tank still at the peak, I did change the filter media

(Polyfilter, cotton wool, chacoal, sand/coralchips) 2 days ago, looks like not a big difference in result

My 2ft tank now loaded with new corals and fishes, the problems arise is due to there is a power cut off 2 weeks back and all

my old fishes dead in my mature tank, I did use AZ-NO3 for a few days but doesn't seen like and I have stop now. Some people

advise me to be patient cos it will take some time for the things to be back to normal.

Last time I did not test all those water parameter and do have or don't realise such problem and my fish and coral perfectly fine.

HaHa, people are like that the more you test, the more you will worried if the result are not satisfy.

Anyone got expertise in dealing with NO3 problem? Kindly help...

[yikai]

try doing a bigger water change. maybe 40-50%? and maybe u can try nutrient export. get some chaeto or ulva.

[wilsontantw]

i assume u did a proper cycling of ur tank?

if not, it'll take awhile for the NO3 to go down, and maybe some corals will RIP as well;

If u did, then here're some solutions:

1) try doing more water change, i'll recommend 50%

2) Use a "power" protein skimmer.

3) Get some chaeto or mangrove. (both will need light source)

4) Remove any coral that are half-dead or so...

HTH.

[successnowhere]

Really tks for the fast reply, my tank have been with me for over 5yrs(in marine setup), I start using skimmer(Tunze9002) only a week back,

cheato I did buy some a week back from member here but later take out cos not very effective(I don't have a sump tank and I did not place

it at light source).

I have been changing almost 30% of tank water every 3-4days for the past 2 week. NO2 is perfectly ok, is NO3 seriously harmful?

[yikai]

Really tks for the fast reply, my tank have been with me for over 5yrs(in marine setup), I start using skimmer(Tunze9002) only a week back,

cheato I did buy some a week back from member here but later take out cos not very effective(I don't have a sump tank and I did not place

it at light source).

I have been changing almost 30% of tank water every 3-4days for the past 2 week. NO2 is perfectly ok, is NO3 seriously harmful?

only harmful is extreme high concentrations like this. if its 10-20ppm, no cause for concern. but long term exposure is bad.

[successnowhere]

Any commercial media that I can added in the tank or canister to speed up the process and yet does not have adverse effect on my

fishes and corals in the tank?

I heard the only safest and cheapest source is to change water more frequent loh...

[wilsontantw]

Really tks for the fast reply, my tank have been with me for over 5yrs(in marine setup), I start using skimmer(Tunze9002) only a week back,

cheato I did buy some a week back from member here but later take out cos not very effective(I don't have a sump tank and I did not place

it at light source).

I have been changing almost 30% of tank water every 3-4days for the past 2 week. NO2 is perfectly ok, is NO3 seriously harmful?

depends on how high is your NO3... it could cause a tank to crash... (check our Raydiative's thread)...

[TayHongSiang]

Really tks for the fast reply, my tank have been with me for over 5yrs(in marine setup), I start using skimmer(Tunze9002) only a week back,

cheato I did buy some a week back from member here but later take out cos not very effective(I don't have a sump tank and I did not place

it at light source).

I have been changing almost 30% of tank water every 3-4days for the past 2 week. NO2 is perfectly ok, is NO3 seriously harmful?

Yo bro, you got check yr NO3 properly? Any dead stuffs inside yr tank which you dun know about?

Any sign of algae bloom or cloudy water...did you smell yr water? does it smell fresh or stale? You got take out one of yr liverock to smell...sometimes due to dead custaceans on the rocks during recycling.

If you have been changing water, yr nitrate level sure drop one coz you are replacing old water with new water that contains no nitrates.

Did you dose nitrifying bacteria ?... coz u have been changing water....current bacteria in yr tank could have die off causing spike in nitrates and phosphates.

All the best !

[successnowhere]

All the dead fishes have been taken out 2 weeks ago and majority of the corals have also been change, really don't understand why NO3 still so high?

Must I invest in a PO4 removal stuff, saw those hang on the tank type but looks like my 2 ft tank got no space at the back lliao(2 silent clip on fan and protein skimmer). Mine is only a 2 ft tank, will I really need those PO4 removal equipment? Any smaller version of those equipment that I can put in the below cabinet instead, I am running a canister filter. Shall I just give it some time for the water to be stable?

Tks

My new rescapeing tank:

[yikai]

fantastic scaping. looking very good

[successnowhere]

Tks bro for your comments. Still need to learn alot from you all here...

HaHa! I also quite like to the rescapeing work done I Just finish changing my tank water and feed my bubbles, brain, prata with

market prawn. WoW! they love it. I got 2 fish recently who like to spilt sand from the month, the sand just simply cover part of the brain

sometimes, I don't know the brain will damage or not?

Is PO4 reactor that important, mine only 2 ft tank leh, no space at the back to put in additional stuffs...

[yikai]

prolonged sand spitting on the brain coral might stress it....i had this fish and it killed my elegance.

dun feed ur corals too often. if ur feeding market prawn, once a week or once / 2 weeks is enough.

[successnowhere]

So I need to catch out that fish is it? I tot market prawn is good? Btw what is the name of the coral(Green color) that is behind right side my tank?

Need any special care and feeding to it?

[yikai]

market prawn is a very meaty food. thus have a very complex protein structure, making it very difficult for the coral to digest. if u feed it too often, the coral can actually die from over working itself just to digest the food...thats why reccomended feeding of once a week, or once every 10 days or so, and feed it small enough for the coral to eat. if u want to feed it more than once a week, then make sure u cut up the piece of prawn small small. dunf eed those big big huge piece and watch the coral struggling to eat. most of the time if its too big they will just spit it out.

the green coral u mean the big piece that is leaned against the wall? that is a favia coral. its an easy coral to keep. good lighting and moderate/strong flow. they extend their feeding tentacles at night, so if u wish to feed them, u have to do so at night, or u can train to get them to feed in the morning. u can feed them mysis. they have small mouths.

[successnowhere]

Tks Bro. U are my dictionary...

Goodnight

[yikai]

Tks Bro. U are my dictionary...

Goodnight

lol. no la. dun say that.... i just get what ever knowledge i know from more experienced reefrs and the web...thank them. this market prawn thing was shared to me by henry from ML.

have a good night ya? (:

[Gouldian]

Hi Bro,

IMHO, NO3 is the by-product of nitrification. With high bio-load, small pieces LR, recent die off and without a de-nitrification equipments; it is not unusual to have high NO3.

In a typical reef tank, aerobic nitrifying bacteria will be present on the surfaces to convert ammonia and nitrite into nitrate; large LR, deep sand bed and de-nitrification equipments harbour anaerobic bacteria that will complete the cycle by converting NO3 into harmless nitrogen gas.

From my observation, you may not have sufficient de-nitrifying bacteria.

Dosing chemical to reduce nitrate is only a temporary solution, it is still best to look into the root of the problem

HTH

[successnowhere]

So what is the de-nitrification equipment that I need to use in my 2ft tank?

[TayHongSiang]

All the dead fishes have been taken out 2 weeks ago and majority of the corals have also been change, really don't understand why NO3 still so high?

Must I invest in a PO4 removal stuff, saw those hang on the tank type but looks like my 2 ft tank got no space at the back lliao(2 silent clip on fan and protein skimmer). Mine is only a 2 ft tank, will I really need those PO4 removal equipment? Any smaller version of those equipment that I can put in the below cabinet instead, I am running a canister filter. Shall I just give it some time for the water to be stable?

Tks

My new rescapeing tank:

Hi,

Nice gems you have there...yr moon coral kinda in an odd position..haha...

Dose some nitrifying bacteria to help with yr biological filteration.

You can purchase the nitratelock / rowaphos media and place it on the 1st or 2nd compartment of yr cannister.

I'm using seachem phosguard...so far so good. (i'm not promoting the brand..just that i m quite satisfied with their additives so far)

Cheerios!

Dun worry so much bro..LPS and softies can tahan some amt of nitrate so long not consistently high...eventually it will drop once yr bacteria gets cultivated in yr cannister. In fact, some amt of nitrate will "help" yr mishies to bloom...they like some dirt in the water.

[TayHongSiang]

Btw, I noticed you have a large fire coral there....how long have you kept it? Looks pretty healthy to me...is it growing?

Mine din make it...turn brown.

[successnowhere]

My fire coral have been with me for abt 2 weeks, looks ok to me despite the high in NO3, actually all my corals

can tahen although high NO3.

[successnowhere]

Bro AhSiang,

Your Seachem Phosguard is it place inside the canister filter?

HaHa! Sorry me not an expert, which one is moon coral? I can't place my coral in that position is it?

Tks

[TayHongSiang]

Bro AhSiang,

Your Seachem Phosguard is it place inside the canister filter?

HaHa! Sorry me not an expert, which one is moon coral? I can't place my coral in that position is it?

Tks

Yup...place the media inside filter bag..wash a couple of times before you put inside yr cannister...1st or 2nd compartment.

Rowaphos or Nitratelock also can. You may also want to get biohome to cultivate bacteria...this is for yr 2nd compartment.

If you place in 1st compartment...put it between yr filter wool.

It's ok to place yr favia (moon coral) that way...juz that it's kinda in an odd position...no problem..so long it does not topple.

Coz mine topple and fell onto my brain and some polyps die due to "war"...and my brain also injured and melted...dun underestimate favia...their toxic quite power one.

[Gouldian]

Hi Bro,

IMHO, NO3 is the by-product of nitrification. With high bio-load, small pieces LR, recent die off and without a de-nitrification equipments; it is not unusual to have high NO3.

In a typical reef tank, aerobic nitrifying bacteria will be present on the surfaces to convert ammonia and nitrite into nitrate; large LR, deep sand bed and de-nitrification equipments harbour anaerobic bacteria that will complete the cycle by converting NO3 into harmless nitrogen gas.

From my observation, you may not have sufficient de-nitrifying bacteria.

Dosing chemical to reduce nitrate is only a temporary solution, it is still best to look into the root of the problem

HTH

Hi bro, for 2ft tank its quite difficult to have large LRs or deep sandbed thus you have with the below options:

1) Do more frequent water changes - dilution is the solution to water pollution

2) Export nitrate the natural way by growing macroalgae in a refugium or install a algae scrubber

3) Install a nitrate reactor

Nitrates is needed and consumed by corals and even calms to a certain extend but elevated nitrate is a different story altogether.

You may want to take a look at the below link for more information.

http://joejaworski.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/nitrates/

Happy reefing....

[successnowhere]

What is the difference between Nitrate Reactor and PO4 Reactor(can have pic to shown)? For my case now, which is more

important cos don't intend to spend so much on a small 2ft tank. I do not have a sump tank to holding all those reactor, so

any small size reactor can recommend? I will just put it inside the cabinet.

Tks