yikes heavy nitrates reeked havic in my reef

[Snappy]

Between my 3 tanks and the sump I have 240 gallons of water capacity, I did water changes of 10% x4 in the last 5 days which equals roughly 80+ gallons so hopefully with my new skimmer and these multiple water changes my system can now cope with the nitrate problems caused by my previous skimmer failing. Any ideas? Should I do more water changes this week as well? I lost a few pieces to RTN and a lot of corals are either bleached or browned out. Damn nitrates I would hope my system can handle the load now but am looking for some input.

[Delphinus]

Nitrates are a vexing problem. Problem is, even with heavy skimming, it's more about preventing new nitrates from forming but doesn't deal with the existing nitrates very well. The live rock, sand, refugium, deal more with that, on their own rates.

Water changes are probably the best method for a rapid reduction.

People talk of dosing vodka, dosing sugar as methods for feeding bacteria which feed upon the nitrate and then are skimmed out - you can try reading up on those methods.

Supposedly Zeovit, Utralith and etc. etc. are intended to keep nitrates at bay.

Denitrators work but take time to produce a noticeable effect.

Good luck - nitrates are big pain and the enemy of SPS. I know it all too well.

[ClubReef]

Greg,

That sux! If it was my tank I would keep doing water changes until the nitrates reach zero. The corals are already shocked and stressed anyhow. I would keep a close eye on the salinity, that would be my main concern.

Is your new skimmer working well? sometimes a new skimmer takes time to really break in..I would do a 10%-20% water change 3X a week for the next few weeks until the skimmer is running at full efficiency.

BTW - lost my bubble gum due to overheating last week What skimmer did you end up getting?

[skylord]

Rather than a bunch of small changes have you considered one large one? I think small changes daily would be very stressful where a large change (30-40%...maybe even 50%) once a week would in the long run be less stressful on everything.

Just my thoughts.....

Scott

[Delphinus]

Short of doing a 100% water change you actually can't do water changes to zero - but you can make a significant reduction before you hit the point of diminishing returns.

4 - 10% water changes would leave you at 65% nitrates from before, whereas 1 - 40% water change (same water volume changed out) would leave you 60%. Not too much different.

But 10 - 10% water changes leaves you with 34% nitrates from before, whereas 1 - 100% water change (again same water volume) leaves you with zero.

Kind of hard to do a 100% water change though Possible (I've done it), but extremely difficult given the water volume required and if you have fish that will be affected.

Nitrates don't have to be zero. If you can get them to <10 you're pretty much set, let the tank handle the rest. Less is better but that can be handled with careful nutrient management (ie. skimming, watching how much you feed, pruning macro algae, etc.).

What are the current nitrate readings?

[michika]

I vote for just doing continutal smaller water changes. Overall the system is less affected as there are no large changes happening all at once. My 230g developed a nitrate problem when we were forced to run skimmerless for 3 weeks. Just be consistant with your water changes, and it will eventually sort yourself out.

[andresont]

Originally Posted by skylord

Rather than a bunch of small changes have you considered one large one? I think small changes daily would be very stressful where a large change (30-40%...maybe even 50%) once a week would in the long run be less stressful on everything.

Just my thoughts.....

Scott

.

I would respectfully disagree.
Small water change is Less stressful then one big one even if this means cleaner water, this does not mean large change of any sort is good for you inhabitants.
JMIO.

[christyf5]

You might want to try this. Reduces nitrates like a dream. However it doesn't cure the problem (if indeed you do have one). But better than a billion water changes (while good for the tank, not so good for the back)

http://oceanaquatics.com/store/produ...traLife-100ml/

Takes about 24 hours to reduce nitrates and phosphates. Clouds up the water for a bit (its clay-ish) but then clears. Pretty neat product

[skylord]

Originally Posted by andresont

.

I would respectfully disagree.
Small water change is Less stressful then one big one even if this means cleaner water, this does not mean large change of any sort is good for you inhabitants.
JMIO.

Here is a good article to read about water.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php

"The normally encountered differences in calcium, magnesium, alkalinity, nitrate, phosphate, silica, pH, etc., are unlikely to unduly stress organisms during water changes up to 30-50% using natural seawater or aerated artificial seawater, in my opinion."

In this article it says up to 50%. You do need to be aware of water temp and a few other things, but I'm still not convinced that a fish/coral living in a toilet that needs flushing, is better than flushing.

I have read a few articles stating this or similar types of opinions and even one up to 80%.

I think alot depends on how bad the nitrates are.



Scott

[phreezee]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

People talk of dosing vodka, dosing sugar as methods for feeding bacteria which feed upon the nitrate and then are skimmed out - you can try reading up on those methods.

I used sugar, and it worked amazing for me! I recommend it over wasting money on salt, denitrators, etc.