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#1
04-12-2009, 11:36 PM
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Nitrates over 20ppm is cause for concern so yes you should address that soonest.
How many pounds of Live Rock do you have? Nitrate sources can include: Dirty filter media such as floss, sponges. Make sure any media is replaced or rinsed as soon as it gets dirty, has ANY smell or just looks dirty. Try testing your new water before adding it to the tank, might be bad water or salt. Substrate - Are you using crushed coral? Lots of people complain CC is a detrius trap and causes their tests to climb up, especially if your a heavy feeder. Left Over food - When you feed is everything eaten within 15 mins? Any food go uneaten? I rinse all frozen food before I place in the tank. You night also want to try a handful of chaeto in a floating soap dish or just balled up and sitting in a corner. Chaeto is a great nutrient export. Maybe your test kit is faulty. Take a water sample to a buddy or LFS and confirm the results.
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Last edited by Snaz; 04-12-2009 at 11:40 PM. 
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#2
04-13-2009, 05:03 AM
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nitrates
I say the nitrates did it. 40ppm is alot, over 2 week.s
I have a standard 10gal with a koralina nano and a rio nano skimmer as well, so a bit less flow, and the clown is always swimming, but that's clowns for you (even in th edark). I say al the swimming made it inhale more nitrates? I'd address the nitrates problem, try messing with your skimmer so that it skims more... and do daily water changes until they come in line
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#3
04-13-2009, 05:32 PM
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Thanks for your replies. I am really struggling with the nitrates issue. I have 5lbs of sugar sand for substrate. For rock I have 10lbs of base rock that I seeded with 2lbs of live rock. I have wondered if the base rock doesn't yet have the ability to break down the nitrate. From what I have read some people claim live rock does that and others claim it doesn't.
I have no filter to clean, just the skimmer with a bag of carbon. I feed the fish 1 flake crushed up each day. A piece of fook or two make it to the bottom there is nothing left in there by the next day. The hermit seems to pick it up. I change 1 gallon once a week and have tried increasing that to 2. I am adding cycle with the water change. Nothing seems to help. Should I do more frequent water changes?
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#4
04-13-2009, 05:41 PM
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you're welcome. in a new tank, initially, the nitrates must be removed mainly by wtaer changes... the skimmer helps but the LR won't be up for it quite yet, IMO.
When my nitrites and ammonia normalised, I was changing 1gal every day religiously in my 10 gal. It was actually over a gallon, because I had a canadian gallon jug (4 litres). This is still not a shock to the inhabitants of a tank this size, and super easy to do, ebcause you can shake the container one day before, so mixing is easy (no need for powerhead in ab ucket, etc). Just makle sure you dont add it too fast as you may shock the inhabitants. also, watch the temperature differences. I woudl recommend to change one gallon of water every day from nwo on, after a massive 40 or 50 % water change asap. 40ppm is wayy too high. remember, dilution comes into play with water changes, so if nitrates are 10 and you change 20%, you end up with 8, then 6.4, etc... so you should start with a carefully planned massive water change... as far as the sand goes, i cant remember the lbs, but my sand bed is between 2.5 and 3 inches deep... sounds like you only have a bit of sand in there
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#5
04-13-2009, 06:28 PM
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Quote:
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#8
04-13-2009, 09:01 PM
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flow
if it's annoying you, once you solve the nitrates problem, you can turn down the flow on your skimmer, but for now, leave it at max so that you get the max skimming from it... remember to also remove the little plug on the side of the intake to increase efficiency and get rid of those nitrates. otherwise, i think your flow is brisk, but ok.. i've seen some amazing reefs with some crazy flows
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