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- Sep 23, 2015
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I need help solving my nitrate problems. My tank has been up for about 3 months. It was set up with live sand and live rock from Tampa bay saltwater. The cycle was short. Ammonia and nitrite went to 0 within a week but phosphate and nitrate was sky high. Nitrates in the 80 range and PO4 around 0.64. I have chaeto running in a fuge which is growing nicely. I have a reactor running GFO and carbon which has gotten my PO4 down to 0.07.
This whole time my nitrates have remained basically the same. I do weekly water changes and rinse my filter socks weekly. The tank is about 200g total. My livestock is:
1- yellow tang
2- medium sized clowns
1- yellow coris wrasse
1- melanurus wrasse
1- black cap basslet
1- small anthias
I consider this to be a very lightly stocked tank. The Rock is a mix of 2.1 Walt smith and pukani.
I am out of ideas to get these nitrates to come down. I've talked with a few local reefer friends and all we can think of is maybe it's the pukani. I know it's notoriously high in PO4 but didn't think it would effect nitrates at all. I'm really on the verge of just shuttin it down. Please help.
Any thoughts or recommendations?
This whole time my nitrates have remained basically the same. I do weekly water changes and rinse my filter socks weekly. The tank is about 200g total. My livestock is:
1- yellow tang
2- medium sized clowns
1- yellow coris wrasse
1- melanurus wrasse
1- black cap basslet
1- small anthias
I consider this to be a very lightly stocked tank. The Rock is a mix of 2.1 Walt smith and pukani.
I am out of ideas to get these nitrates to come down. I've talked with a few local reefer friends and all we can think of is maybe it's the pukani. I know it's notoriously high in PO4 but didn't think it would effect nitrates at all. I'm really on the verge of just shuttin it down. Please help.
Any thoughts or recommendations?