I have a 55 gal reef tank that has been up and running for 2+ years. For the past six months I have not been able to get the nitrates to stay under 40 ppm. Most of the time the water is reading 60 ppm to 80 ppm.
Tank: Contains aprox. 75 pounds of live rock with a 2 inch sand bed. 1 each; Ocellaris Clownfish, Yellow Tang, Coral Beauty Angelfish, Six Line Wrasse, Clarkii Clownfish, Sally Lightfoot Crab, Porcelain Anemone Crab, Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, Sand Sifting Star, Serpent Star, Rock Flower Anemone, Long Tentacle Anemone, Mushroom Anemone, Brain Coral, Porite Hard Coral, Starburst Encrusting Polyp Coral, Button Polyp Coral, Yellow Polyp Coral, Glove Polyp Coral, Bumble Bee Snails, Astraea Conehead Snails, Turbo Snails, Cerith Snails. The fish and inverts are fine. The corals are opening up and spreading.
Mechanics:Eheim filter with 2 baskets. Bottom is filled with Eheim Substrat Pro. Top has 2 bags of Purigen, Eheim porous filter and filter floss. Bio-wheel with charcaol cartridge. Protein skimmer that runs 24/7. Arctica chiller with pump. Tank has a lot of water movement. (Purigen added 3 months ago to help lower nitrates.)
Additives:Iodine weekly. Selcon once daily added to food. DT"s Reef Blend Phytoplankton every other day. Minimum amount of food for fish. Oceanic Salt with reverse osmosis water.
Husbandry:Replace filter floss and change 10% water weekly. Every 2 weeks clean out skimmer. Once month siphon sand. Replace Purigen as necessary. Using Aquarium Pharmaceuticals nitrate test kit. Ammonia and Nitrites are 0ppm.
Last week, in desperation, I moved all the rock, siphoned all sand and blew off rocks with power head. Nitrates lowered to 10 ppm for 24 hours then started rising again. Today is is at 80 ppm. I have tested the water before adding to tank and no nitrates. I am stumped. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Thank you in advance.
Tank: Contains aprox. 75 pounds of live rock with a 2 inch sand bed. 1 each; Ocellaris Clownfish, Yellow Tang, Coral Beauty Angelfish, Six Line Wrasse, Clarkii Clownfish, Sally Lightfoot Crab, Porcelain Anemone Crab, Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, Sand Sifting Star, Serpent Star, Rock Flower Anemone, Long Tentacle Anemone, Mushroom Anemone, Brain Coral, Porite Hard Coral, Starburst Encrusting Polyp Coral, Button Polyp Coral, Yellow Polyp Coral, Glove Polyp Coral, Bumble Bee Snails, Astraea Conehead Snails, Turbo Snails, Cerith Snails. The fish and inverts are fine. The corals are opening up and spreading.
Mechanics:Eheim filter with 2 baskets. Bottom is filled with Eheim Substrat Pro. Top has 2 bags of Purigen, Eheim porous filter and filter floss. Bio-wheel with charcaol cartridge. Protein skimmer that runs 24/7. Arctica chiller with pump. Tank has a lot of water movement. (Purigen added 3 months ago to help lower nitrates.)
Additives:Iodine weekly. Selcon once daily added to food. DT"s Reef Blend Phytoplankton every other day. Minimum amount of food for fish. Oceanic Salt with reverse osmosis water.
Husbandry:Replace filter floss and change 10% water weekly. Every 2 weeks clean out skimmer. Once month siphon sand. Replace Purigen as necessary. Using Aquarium Pharmaceuticals nitrate test kit. Ammonia and Nitrites are 0ppm.
Last week, in desperation, I moved all the rock, siphoned all sand and blew off rocks with power head. Nitrates lowered to 10 ppm for 24 hours then started rising again. Today is is at 80 ppm. I have tested the water before adding to tank and no nitrates. I am stumped. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Thank you in advance.