Nitrate has me baffled

I could use some help here. I cannot get my nitrate down. I have run out of ideas. Here are the details

280 gallon system
Palani tang
Kole tang
Hulk size clarki clown
5 ignitus anthias
Cleaner shrimp
Snail
Hermits
Corals

I have mangroves
Chaeto
Bio balls
Filter socks get changed every 1-2 days depending on how fast they fill up ( 3 4" socks)
Carbon
Protein skimmer producing wet skim mate
I dose phosphate and nopox
Vial bacteria every 15 days
Calcium reactor

Instant ocean mixed 1.025 with 0 tds rodi, brightwell alk, reefgrow mag, and brightwell trace
Calcium 440 Red Sea test
Phosphate 0 ( Red Sea and API test)
Alk 10 Red Sea test
Mag 1350 Red Sea test
Nitrate off the chart ( Red Sea, API, salifert)
Ph 8.1

I am at a loss!


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Also I was dosing microbacter7 everyday but am trying the vial bacteria now every 15 days.


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What are utilizing the bio balls for? Did you start the system with old live rock?

What is your nitrate at? How often are you feeding? What are you feeding fish with?

how are your corals doing? algae problems?

I'm using the bio balls in a reactor because I'm trying everything. The live rock came from a A wholesaler to my rock bin and was cycled for a while in my rock bin and the tank is been up for about a year now


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I also tried a 100 gallon water change and also running the system fishless for a month


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Definitely get rid of the bio balls, there are much more efficient ways these days to increase the bacteria population. Have you tried siporax, or another similar media with increased surfaces area? Brightwell had a new material (I'm not totally sure if its ceramic) that they were showing off at RAP Orlando. Supposedly increased surface area than competitors without the possibility of leaching metals back into your aquarium. Something to try maybe.

Or maybe a biodenitrator.

Definitely continue the water changes, just be careful to match your parameters if you are doing large changes if your tank is full of sensitive corals.

I'm leaning towards the rock being your problem, as no matter what you seem to do, your nitrates stay elevated. Maybe try to cycle some new dry rock outside the tank, and swap a few pieces each week and see if that helps as well. HTH

I also have two marine pure blocks in the sump as well as a bright well nitrate block. The only rock is in the sump and a couple of small pieces that coral are on


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Good question 805... with high nitrate, ur corals should be suffering and algae should
Be off the hook... if everything looks ok then I would highly suspect your nitrate readings.

Your bioload a super low to have such high nitrate. Your tank should be fully cycled after one year.

Any ammonia or nitrite?

My tank had a high nitrate concentration at 80ppm a few months back. I did a 40g water change weekly for 2 months and it's down to 30ppm. Now I'm doing 25g weekly and dosing vinegar as well. If I can get it down to 20ppm I'll be happy

How about bio pellets in a reactor with the exiting water plumbed into your skimmer intake?

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Didn't think about that.


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Not much algae. No ammonia or nitrite. I do believe it's due to the phosphate / nitrate imbalance seeing how phosphate is undetectable even with the dosing. I have tested my nitrate with API, Red Sea, and salifert. I tested my salt mix last night and it's zero so that's not it. I'm gonna try cleaning out the sump


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Your system is huge. I have about 220 gal total and run biopellets. It took 5 months to drop my nitrates from over 60 down to about 2-5-3. Once I allowed my nitrates to climb that high I was very surprised how long and how much effort it took to lower them. I do have some very large tangs in my system and I was trying to lower them slowly.

Bio pellets are not for everyone. But they have allowed me a heavy bioload with few water changes. And maintain decent water quality.

I thought old rock was potential sink and source of phosphates. Didn't really think of nitrates coming from old rock, but maybe. I tend to think of nitrates coming from food. Both fish poop and uneaten food are the nitrate source. I remember somewhere that bioballs may be nitrate factories but I don't really know anything about that. So it seems the issue then is either over feeding or not enough nutrient export.

Nutrient export occurs (not ranked in order because I don't know the order) via
1) water change
2) frequent enough sock replacement (assuming you use them)
3) protein skimmer
4) biological filtration ( any of the following or any combination)
A) live rock
B) deep sand bed
C) protein skimmer
D) carbon dosing ( bacteria consumption)
a) vodka/sugar/vinegar
b) carbon reactor (biopellets)
c) Nopox, and/or other bacterial additives and foods
E) ceramic media (host site for bacteria)
a) siporax
b) marine pure
c) etc
F) macro algae
a) refugium with chaeto, mangroves ( not a macro algae but tired of adding categories)
b) Algae turf scrubber
c) chaeto chamber/reactor
5) any one or combination may be utilized

And finally, some people think if your phosphates are immeasurable that it may be limiting nitrate consumption and phosphate dosing may be required

So the answer lies within, I think

+1

I'm a firm believer in the Redfield ratio. I now control my phosphates and nitrates by dosing one or the other.

If my nitrates get high i feed more than normal. If my phosphates get high i dose potassium nitrate. Works every time and no need to spend on expensive gfo.

That was my thought so I was dosing phosphate. I think I got in check now. Coral is happy and growing


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I've seen DSB start leaching nitrates and other stuff after a while, it's how Old Tank Syndrome happens. Dosing carbon pulls it out of the sand and rocks though, so if you've been dosing nopox or vodka for a while then it's most likely your phosphates are too low. I had a similar issue and the nitrates went down when I started feeding more frozen since it bumped up the phosphates.

I totally disagree with this. There is no such thing as Old Tank Syndrome.