Nitrate level at 15?????

[KLKelly]

Edited post.

I had posted a big long post about the nitrate level zooming in the tank.  I was so excited about picking up our fish finally this afternoon I was worried/panicked that it meant we couldn't get them.

I called Redbelly who ordered our fish and found out that my husband rearranging the rocks completely twice in the past week and a half probably is the biggest factor.  Once to add DIY rock (putting all the rock along the back wall) and once after the Anthony Calfo presentation to get them off the back wall.

So I panicked for nothing I think.  Ammonia and Nitrite are at 0. Crabs/Invertibrates and corals are all acting happy.

[Vallely4]

Just curious... how does rearranging your rocks add to a drastic change in Nitrates?

(Missed your unedited post)
I was unaware that could happen... I assume its just from detritus being kicked up off the substrate?  I myself have rearranged my rockwork quite a few times, but I dont recall testing it right afterwards.

How come Anthony's presentation made you decide to change your DIY off the backwall?

[KLKelly]

THe long post was that I am the one that tests the water. We've been feeding less than ever and the numbers were fine last week. Then boom - did the test today and its the first time I've seen a noticeable nitrate reading.  15 is drastic considering we haven't registered nitrate at any level since the tank was cycled. Even with our overfeeding - since its just a cleanup crew the rocks have been doing an amazing job.

I don't know how moving rocks would do this.  We had some rock out of the water for a short period - maybe thats how.  The main pieces were kept in a bucket of tank water.  The rock we added was a DIY piece so it didn't have a die off that I would be aware of like buying a piece of live rock.

I am wondering how to get nitrates down now.  We have three gallons ready for a change but a 20% change would only decrease nitrates by 3.  We haven't done a large water change before - just 10% ones weekly.

I was wondering if a snail died and we just don't know it - no evidence of it. And since Ammonia and nitrIte are zero - this didn't make sense.

And at the presentation - the first two minutes he said one of the biggest mistakes people make is putting their rocks all along the back.  He recommends the width of a hand - perpendicular to the tank back distance in between the wall and the rock.  This is to ensure good flow.  He said if you don't you will be looking at hair algae outbreaks.  We had to lose a big piece of DIY rock that my husband loved - too much rock.  The darn totoka looks pretty but it takes up a lot of space.  We wish we had bought less of this rock now.

[FocusFin]

KLKelly,

I don't know if you have a sandbed, but I noticed a spike in nitrates recently after installing new powerheads. The heads created sand dunes in my substrate and exposed the eggcrate at the bottom of my tank. Perhaps moving the rock disrupted the sandbed enough to cause your spike.

I'm sure others will have a better take on this.

Mike

[KLKelly]

Yah the sand bed did get stirred up.  We had to wait for it all to settle down before turning on the power heads.

Also - the cheapo nitrate test showed 15, but RedBelly's more expensive test showed between 5 and 10.

[RoxyDog]

I remember Calfo saying about getting the rocks off the back...but I missed lots too.  Hand's width?  Like turned sideways about 4 inches?  Or turred the other way for an inch?  4 inches would be rather difficult in a small tank...

[KLKelly]

The 4" way. ... I think enough to get a power head behind is probably good enough.  We couldn't get circulation behind our rocks.

It really sucks - in order to get all our rock in we lost a lot of the cool rock that would have allowed for levels of coral.  We also tried to make caves for swimming for fish.  So now its really a fish tank and not the most coral friendly.

Our thirty gallon will be planned so much better.

[kennyman]

Yea with inadequate water flow detritus will accumulate. And as it breaks down it taxes the tanks ability to process bioload. So long as you have good flow passing through the rockwork and a good cleanup crew you can avoid excessive accumulation of detritus though.

I did this same thing this week. I removed a lot of rock that was full of soft corals and rearranged my rock to get better flow across the back of the tank. It sure is hard though in a small footprint. Especially with free living corals. "Ones that like to be flat on the sand bed"

Now I'm afraid to test my water 

[artw]

I moved my tank 2 weeks ago and it's totally crashed.  I am afraid to even put my hand in it. I dont even hazard a guess to what the nitrates are.

lesson learned: moving rocks etc is a no no in a reef tank

[lis_]

I was battling high nitrates in my SW tank for almost 3 months so I can appreciate your frustrations.

If you don't have one already, a turkey baster used once a week is a great way to blast detritus and other debris off rocks and from crevices you can't get at without disturbing the live rock or the sand bed. There are also some corals that benefit from the "leaf blower" effect that the turkey baster creates as well.

Lisa

[FocusFin]

Lisa,

You're avatar is great. For the longest time my wife couldn't remember the name cichlids so she'd say chicklets.

Mike