Nitrate too high - How to fix?

Hi all,
I am a newbie to reef aquariums and have tested my aquarium and PH, Nitrite and Ammonium are ok. Nitrate is off the scale, however. I have done a couple of 30% water changes and it has come down a little. I am not over feeding as I hand feed and take out any uneaten food. I have a little bit of algae on the back panel but it is not growing or out of control. I have ordered some nitrate test strips as i think the test kit may be giving an incorrect reading but it still suggests that there is too much nitrate I have about 15kg of living rock in a 95 litre tank. The filter system has plenty of noodles and EHFI Substrat sintered glass. As it is only a new tank I only have one minstrel pufferfish, one Lionfish and one stone fish. I also have one hard red coral with a symbiotic red crab which lives inside it.

:question: How can you reduce Nitrate apart from partial water changes?

 

To directly answer your question.

A bigger/good skimmer is the easiest way, remove the waste before it goes through the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle.

Another thing to keep in mind is the fish you have picked out. Lion/Puffer etc.
These fish are messy eaters and ooh: alot.

Everyone has their opinion, but if you are really wanting to have a reef you might want to reconsider the fish you have chosen. Generally speaking triggers/lions/puffers and corals don't do well together.

I would recommend figuring out if you want a reef or Fish Only with Live Rock making this choice now will probably save you tons of frustration down the road.

Welcome to the forums and keep us updated.

lions/puffers/trigger fish in a 25 gallon tank is most likely the root problem depending on the size and if it isn't now will be when they grow. If you really like those type fish i would recommend getting a tank around 75 gallons.

Just my :twocents: and keep us updated as to your progress.

Brandon

 

The reason the nitrates are too high is that the bio load has exceeded the capability of the system to reduce the nitrates sufficiently. The 1st choice is to do water changes is enough quantities to reduce the nitrate to less than 5ppm if you want corals. As mentioned before the fish you have and the size of the aquarium is not an ideal match. much better protien skimming as previously mentioned by BK and in the short term you can use a nitrate reactor such as the Nitrate Reductor by Dr. Foster and Smith, or, mechanical filtration with one of the following products Nitrate Sponge, De-Nitrate, and Nitra-Zorb. Hope something here helps. keep us posted as to how you fare with your nitrates and what you do to address the problem.

 

Quick note, also test the water you are using for your water changes. Where I live the water comes with 20ppm nitrates, so we have to use RO/DI water or everytime we top off out tanks we are adding more nitrates to the tank. Hope this helps and welcome to the forums!

 

Thanks

Thank you all for your help.
I will let you know how I go.
Cheers
Davo