Help Nitrate and Calcium
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: SPS
Forum Description: This is the place to ask questions SPS corals.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=32512
Printed Date: March 02 2025 at 9:00am
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Topic: Help Nitrate and Calcium
Posted By: Roy
Subject: Help Nitrate and Calcium
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 5:11pm
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I just tested my levels and am going to probably do a 40% water change. I have been dosing Kent Marine Tech CB 2 part. PH 8.0 KH 11 Calcium 640 ppm phosphate .5 nitrate 160!!!!!!!!!!! Im not sure why it is so high but both my dip test and API test indacate Nitrate it high! Is it a good idea to do this water change?? Why is my calcium so high am i supose to dose part 1 more than part 2 or visa verse??? Is one calcium and one a buffer??? Thanks for any help! |
Replies:
Posted By: vadryn
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 5:16pm
| How long have you had this tank setup? |
Posted By: Roy
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 5:21pm
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It was one I bought from a lady last week. I haven't done any water changes yet. It has been running for 2 years but was neglected by her only 3 little fish in it. |
Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 5:31pm
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Do a 25% water change and give it a few days. The tank is probably having a mini cycle. My tank is 15 months old and had a small cycle 2 weeks ago. Kind of odd IMO but it is back to normal now. Are you running any macro algae like chaeto?
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Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 5:32pm
| Oh yeah stop dosing everything! |
Posted By: Roy
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 5:34pm
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Amomnia is at 0? Any thoughts on the 2 part Kent marine? I also used prime one day. but just to make sure amonia was in check. Culd it throw of the nitrate test? |
Posted By: sanddune600
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 7:04pm
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I would say that you are good with out dosing anything, I expected this after you moved the tank and made some big changes such as lights and sump do you have carbon in your tank this will help. Prime will help reduce nitrate as well I dont think that is your problem
------------- Andy Jorgensen My number is four three 5 7 six four 8 0 three four |
Posted By: Roy
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 8:18pm
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Ok did 30-40%water change. I noticed a weird slime on the top of the sand real light and clear... as I was gravel vacuming???? Also I tested my RO water and there is no nitrate in it. Coral life salt Heres where im at now PH7.9 KH10 nitrate 90! yay! Corals already looking happier! ??Will i have to keep doing water changes daily or should it clear up on its own? And I gues no feeding eh? |
Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 8:37pm
| I wouldn't change water daily. Maybe every other day. See if the nitrates come back. There is a reason the nitrates are there. Water changes are just covering it up. Give the tank some time to settle back in. If you can, run some macro algae in the tank to help control the nitrates. Chaeto will eat the nitrates up for you also. I am sure moving the tank there was die off and that is what has caused the nitrates to spike. Also if the LS was stirred up it will release nitrates also. I would say be patient and just keep testing and the tank will stabilize within a few weeks. No need to rush it along. |
Posted By: Roy
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 8:48pm
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Thank you for the help! I think the problem was the lady neglected the tank and I saved all the water. It may not have had a water change in 2 months. she said " I just added water to top it off now and then" Im still a learning! |
Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 8:51pm
| We are all still learning! Just remember only bad things happen quickly with our aquariums. Let the tank do its' thing and just monitor it. A mini cylce is nothing to worry about. |
Posted By: sanddune600
Date Posted: April 06 2009 at 11:09pm
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I rushed things once on my way out to work noticed the tank was low on water so I filled my auto top off resivior that I let run dry by the time my wife called me at work 2 hours later my kalk reactor overdosed so much that I used 1 gallon of vinegar to get my PH down becuase I dosed the vingegar so fast the chemical reaction caused low oxygen in the water and I lost fish that I think would have made it if I would have broought it down slower and possably corals sometimes its a tough call though is it worse that I have my PH that high or to bring it down fast
------------- Andy Jorgensen My number is four three 5 7 six four 8 0 three four |
Posted By: Andreason
Date Posted: April 07 2009 at 3:23pm
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I would not vacuum the gravel. You could make the nitrates worse by messing up the sand bed. What size is the tank and what are you using for filtration? ------------- Andreason's |
Posted By: Roy
Date Posted: April 07 2009 at 4:56pm
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32 gal cube 12gal sump I put a XP4 canister filter on it 2 days ago. Prizm Skimmer |
Posted By: Andreason
Date Posted: April 07 2009 at 5:10pm
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Would love to see pics :) As others have said, throw macro algae in the sump and stop dosing. Hopefully it is done cycling now. Are you running carbon in the canister? What kind of corals do you have? ------------- Andreason's |
Posted By: Roy
Date Posted: April 08 2009 at 3:58pm
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Thanks to sanddune I have tons of chatoe! Thanks again! I am running sump light on it 24/7 |
Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: April 08 2009 at 4:03pm
Good job sanddune! I would not run the light on the chaeto 24/7 though. It will start to melt away. Like all plants and our corals, algae needs a resting period. I would run the light reverse of your tank lights. This is called a Reverse Daylight System.
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Roy wrote:Posted By: Jake Pehrson
Date Posted: April 08 2009 at 6:13pm
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To be honest I only glanced over the above posts.....so I may be re-hashing something already mentioned.
Nitrate is usually something that does not "spike" like ammonia and nitrite. Nitrate is the end result of the nitrification process and will usually slow build up in our aquariums.
There are only a few things that remove nitrates from our tanks other then water changes:
So unless you are able to remove all the nitrates by the above methods then you need to do water changes. I think it is very difficult to have 100% nitrate removal without water changes. Whenever someone says they have high nitrates it is almost always an older tank that has lacked in water changes. So I would recommend you do some large water changes until you get your nitrates under control. The larger the better!
I made up this formula ((CNL*WCP)-CNL)*-1=NNL a while back. It is very relevant for your situation....check the bottom of this post:
http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=29956&KW=nitrate - http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=29956&KW=nitrate
Hope that all makes sense. ------------- Jake Pehrson Murray http://coralplanet.com" rel="nofollow - coralplanet.com http://utahbeeranch.com" rel="nofollow - :) |
Posted By: Jake Pehrson
Date Posted: April 08 2009 at 6:28pm
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Oh, a couple more things. Adding chaeto to your sump will help some. You can run chaeto 24x7 if you wish although I prefer the reverse daylight method.
Have a look at this article for Alkalinity/Calcium issues. I use it all the time.
http://web.archive.org/web/20021127040526/http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm - http://web.archive.org/web/20021127040526/http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm ------------- Jake Pehrson Murray http://coralplanet.com" rel="nofollow - coralplanet.com http://utahbeeranch.com" rel="nofollow - :) |
Posted By: Roy
Date Posted: April 09 2009 at 6:58pm
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Thanks everyone! Its looking better  I did another big water change today and now Heres where im at: PH8.0 Calcium 500 Nitrates 20 (Origanally 160!!!!!)I will never stir the sand bed again!!!  Amonia 0 KH 9 My Long tent anemone is looking so much better its unbeleavable! One thing I found out that wasn't helping me lower the calcium with these water changes was the fact that I am using Coralife salt which contains 420 ppm of calcium. I tested it with my kit and it came out at 450-480. I plan on doing 10-20% water changes per week. Is 20 ppm a normal range for Nitrates in a Reef tank? I know 0 is better but just wondering what your guys' levels gets to. |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: April 09 2009 at 7:42pm
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I wouldn't want Nitrate over 20ppm but lower is best.
Mike -------------  |
Posted By: Bluespotjawfish
Date Posted: April 10 2009 at 8:12am
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Instant Ocean is typically lower in calcium if you want to lower that.
------------- Home of the baby Picasso! |
Posted By: Jake Pehrson
Date Posted: April 10 2009 at 9:42am
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I agree with Mike. I like my Nitrates 0, but anywhere under 20 is acceptable. ------------- Jake Pehrson Murray http://coralplanet.com" rel="nofollow - coralplanet.com http://utahbeeranch.com" rel="nofollow - :) |
Posted By: vadryn
Date Posted: April 10 2009 at 9:43am
| What's an acceptable range for a cycling tank? |
Posted By: Jake Pehrson
Date Posted: April 13 2009 at 1:22pm
For Nitrates? A cycling tank should basically have no nitrates (or at least very little). Nitrate is the end result of the cycle people talk about. It slow builds over time. ------------- Jake Pehrson Murray http://coralplanet.com" rel="nofollow - coralplanet.com http://utahbeeranch.com" rel="nofollow - :) |