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Old November 5th, 2009  
Fish Lore Newbie
 
nitrate questions

hi, ive read and read and read and read some more about the nitrogen cycle. my nitrites are 0, but my nitrates are high (off the chart)

ive a 60liter nano, with LR and skimmer running, ive also done a small water change.

the tank has been cycling for 2 months now. are no animals in the tank.

should i do a large water change? perhaps 50% - 60% maybe 40%

i never had this problem with my freshwater tank

thedrunkingpig is offline  
Old November 5th, 2009  
Moderator
 
Where are you with ammonia and nitrite? If you are still getting readings of either, I'd say hold off on a water change since there is no livestock in the tank. If both are 0 and cycle is complete, then I'd be more inclined to begin water changes to bring down the nitrates before beginning to stock.
sgould is offline  
Old November 6th, 2009  
Fish Lore Newbie
 
nitrite and ammonia are at 0. have been for about 4 weeks.

im thinking a 50% then fill to 70%, back down to 50% then to 100%

the rapid nitrate reduction technique.
thedrunkingpig is offline  
Old November 6th, 2009  
Fish Helper
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by thedrunkingpig View Post
nitrite and ammonia are at 0. have been for about 4 weeks.

im thinking a 50% then fill to 70%, back down to 50% then to 100%

the rapid nitrate reduction technique.
Hi there,

First thing, what have you been diong to the tank in the four weeks that the ammonia and nitrites have been zero?

Second, if you are planing to keep corals than you should reduce the nitrates as you mentioned above. If you are not going to keep corals than a simple 50% water change should be ok.

By the way are is the nitrates reading?
locoyo386 is offline  
Old November 6th, 2009  
Fish Lore Newbie
 
havent been doing anything other than testing the nitrates. might keep coral but not for a while. nitrate is 80+ or 100+. either way its too high

will do a bigish water change tomorrow or sunday and let you know what is happening

thanks for the info, its all greatly appreciated

thanks!
thedrunkingpig is offline  
Old November 6th, 2009  
Fish Helper
 
80+ or 100+ seems high, the tank just cycled right? Usually it takes a few months to reach that high with livestock and feeding the fish. Either way you can bring them down.
locoyo386 is offline  
Old November 7th, 2009  
Fish Lore Newbie
 
whilst doing my water change (60%) i found the rotting remains of a dead crab which must have come with the LR. think this could have been the cause of high nitrate?
thedrunkingpig is offline  
Old November 8th, 2009  
Fish Helper
 
possibly, it would continue to decay and increase nitrates.
locoyo386 is offline  
Old November 9th, 2009  
Fish Lore Newbie
 
thanks for the advice locoyo386. greatly appreciated. ive done 3 70% water changes, seems to have dropped the nitrate a fair bit. still between 25 - 12mg. whats an acceptable level for clowns? i know 0 would be ideal, but you know...
thedrunkingpig is offline  
Old November 9th, 2009  
Fish Helper
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by thedrunkingpig View Post
thanks for the advice locoyo386. greatly appreciated. ive done 3 70% water changes, seems to have dropped the nitrate a fair bit. still between 25 - 12mg. whats an acceptable level for clowns? i know 0 would be ideal, but you know...
Well I beleive that fish are less stressed by nitrates than corals are, thus you should be ok with nitrates as far as fish are concerned. I do believe you said you are giong to go with corals, if so than you should have the nitrates as close to zero as possible.
locoyo386 is offline  
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