8g Biocube nitrates up
 

Hi all,

I have a two month old 8g biocube with a few zoas, hermit crabs, coral banded shrimp, blue neon goby and six line wrasse. Within the last couple of weeks my nitrates have risen a bit (from 0 to around 10 ppm). Regular once per week water changes with r/o - all other parameters good. Last week when nitrates up I did a full 20% change a couple of days early and now four days later they are up again so did a partial 1g change only. If I use a nitrate destroyer without a protein skimmer (not made small enough for an 8g) will I always have to use it?

How long ago did you add livestock.
What do you have for nutrient exportation

Hi Titus 99,

Thanks for responding. The two fish have been in two and a half weeks at least I think. I don't have a protein skimmer as they don't make them for the 8g. I think I may be overfeeding so will cut down or go to a little bit twice per day. The livestock eat washed mysis voraciously and gobble it all up within about a minute. My friend has been doing this for years and just called to chat about it and he's bringing me some cheato later in the week. I'm not going to use the nitrate destroyer after all and will take it back unopened.

I should clarify that I do a 25% water change weekly and the nitrates started rising in relation to the fish addition obviously. They had been zero with just the soft corals in there. I have started a larger tank with a protein skimmer and it's just settling in.

Any other suggestions would be helpful and thanks again.

I would think that new fish and over feeding are the issue
For the cheato from your friend I would use a hob style filter with a reading lamp over it. Just replace the filter media with cheato
There are skimmers or dyi that could suit your needs but are unnessecsary in your case.
Spot feed your fish so you don't have organics going to waste in your tank and keep up with water changes

You could also look into dosing a carbon source but it would have to be very percise with a small water volume

Have you considered a hang on filter like Aquaclear? While its not a protein skimmer it would help in getting rid of some of the larger floaters out

I too would be really careful dosing in a tank that small.. Try just upping your water changes and it should resolve itself.

hi shelly,
i would stick to really small fish like your neon goby
the 6 line needs to swim a lot, i would trade him in for something tiny
(besides they are on the aggresive side imo)
barb
:bathbaby:
i love smilies

Oh Pinkreef, I have already tried to warn her of your sixline problems....:biggrin:

JUST AN :idea:
YOU PROBABLY WANT A PEACEFUL TANK WITH BEAUTIFUL FRIENDLY
CREATURES
:wink:

with a 8 g tank there isnt any reason to have Nitrates. if you have a 5 gal empty pail of salt. do a water change with that 5 gal will really take the nitrates away doing small water changes will not take care of the Nitrates.
I would doing like 75% and then check your nitrates in 1 day to see if you are having it rise again. if it is then start looking at what you have in there for live stock and how much you are feeding.

Great suggestions so far from everyone. I would also add that unless you are growing really sensitive corals (SPS/Acroporas for example), 10ppm nitrates is not necessarily something to panic about. Yes, it would be a good idea to get it down and definitely follow the above suggestions but I wouldn't consider it something you need to stress about. :smile: In other words, don't panic :-)

<a href="http://s22.beta.photobucket.com/user/Amemaru/media/2013-02-17232159_zps392170be.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b311/Amemaru/2013-02-17232159_zps392170be.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2013-02-17232159_zps392170be.jpg"/></a>

Skimmers for small tanks are very easily made. You will need a air flow valve though (not shown in picture).

waste of time and money for a tank that small.

:pop2:

Thanks to all for posting. I am taking all advice into consideration for sure. Yesterday I took a sample in to LFS for nitrite/ammonia test as I don't have these in my kit. They were zero, as were nitrates.

Six line, yes pinkreef, I've been warned. Was told originally it was a good choice and I did the unfortunate "go with your heart" response as I've seen larger ones of these while snorkelling in the past and just love the colour/shape. After purchase, I was warned and I did more reading. Will not make any moves just yet.

If I did a 75% water change, wouldn't that be a shock to the tank's inhabitants and the establishing ecology?

Thanks for the don't panic advice. That's where I tend to go right now as I'm unfamiliar with all of the chemistry pieces and don't want to be irresponsible or kill anything. As I get used to the tank I think this panic will abate!

Not sure if you know about this website or not but liveaquaria.com is a great site as it deals with fish/coral/CuC and other stuff and will show you good fish and coral for both nano and full sized aquariums.