nitrates

[keeplearning]

Just got a master test kit. Some good news aome bad news. Calcium is way low 120ppm. Ph is good. 8.3. Nitrite is 0. dKh is 7. Phosphate is 0. Nitrates are off the chart. Any suggestions on how to fix. I doo once to twice weekly water changes about ten gallons atva time. Tank is 80 gallons.

[MizTanks]

What master kit are you using? What is your sg?

[keeplearning]

Api test kit, not expired. Sg is a little low right now, 1.023.

[MizTanks]

I would first suspect that your possibly reading/ doing the test wrong. Bad test kit maybe. When you make new water have you tested that? If not do so for comparison. Then post the results please :) I would also raise your sg to 1.025 at least.

[tonysearsjr]

well i had real bad nitrate and phosphate problem... and itwas my fresh water i was using to top off and mix with (tap) and i didnt realize till too late green hair all over...switched to ro water and now is looking better..just saying that they might be from water source as well.

[keeplearning]

I tested my mix can for nitrates to infer tapwater cleanliness. New water is salt and tapwater. I mixed a batch about a week ago and tested it tonight. It tested perfect, not a trace of nitrate. Are there any products that fairly rapidly abaorb nitrate? I used carbon and change it regularly (not all at once). The substrate is crushed coral, i just started a thread on substrate choices becauae i think this might be playing a large factor in nitrate retention. I have about 50 lbs of live rock in the tank.

[MizTanks]

Wasn't the topic of this post about your low calcium?

[keeplearning]

I know calcium is dangerously low. We slacked of for quite a while and are now in recovery. Really trying to get rid of the nitrates. I have an 8-10 inch squamosa that is a calcium hog. Have been adding calcify by seachem for last couple weeks, a little at a time. Might try doubling the dose from an inner cap or two with water changes twice a week to three or four. I will continue to test after upcoming water changes. Planning on checking another setup i have with a dsb to see what nitrate and calcium levels are, also plan on chexking new saltwater for calcium levels in the morning as well.

[CalmSeasQuest]

How long has the tank been up, inhabitants and feeding habits?

If the tank has been up for a while with a med or higher bioload, I'd look to your substrate a potential source of your high nitrates.

[Sir Patrick]

I used to get high nitrates and very low calcium back when I had poor filtration, lack of maintanance and a less than desirable initial set up.

Nitrates would climb higher and higher and calcium would drop lower and lower, and I would do nothing to fix either issue. No water changes, didnt clean my biological filtration, didnt maintain my substrate, didnt test or dose, ect.

[keeplearning]

Tanks has been up around 2 1/2 years. In it are 4 four stripe damsels bad impluse purchase and one of first, four chromis viridis, two spotted mandarins which we had before and did.well with but sold, a comb tooh tang, two turbos, a flower anemone, a small frag of anthelia, two small mushrooms, a pruple photosynthetic sponge, a 8-10" squamosa clam, one black occelaris clown, two twenty polyp frag of zoos. Tank is 48*18*24.

[keeplearning]

So I did the calcium test wrong. Good new results though 400ppm. Probably going to have to plan an upcoming weekend to swap out substrate and rearrange tank. I read a post on the things you dont learn in a book thread about changing substrate in a weekend, it was a good one.