Almost Quit . . .

Yes something is a miss with the results.

It's a beautiful tank, I sure wouldn't throw in the towel, just yet.

Is eel eating the silversides and shrimp daily?

You could probably place an ATS over the sump and really reduce the nitrates and phosphates significantly if they are truly that high.

 

yep, I agree with everybody your tank looks great, that copperband looks good and he likes good water. the only question I have is the saand bed is the grain size small or over 2mm james

 

that's a good question. Also, what type of sand is it, crushed coral or aragonite?

i agree that your test kits sound off except that you said your RO water tested 0.

 

Two comments. 1) Beautiful set-up, please don't quit!! 2)I have to agree something is likely wrong in the tests and/or methods. For everything to look that good, I can't imagine the numbers could be that wrong. Best of luck!

 

Beautiful set up man! Don't throw in the towel just yet. If I were you I would try bacteria in a bottle. I'm sure you need some more "good" bacteria in your system to take over the "bad" bacteria in your system. Once you get the nitrates lowered do water changes on a regular basis to maintain it.

Also make sure your test kits are not expired. But honestly I don't even believe in test kits. When you look at your live stock you should be able to tell how your water quality is.

Btw why don't you test your test kits! Next time you are at your LFS take your test kit with you and test the water at the LFS store and compare it with your LFS's test kit.

 

Wow . . . great response. Thanks for the input and reassurance, Y'all!

Yeah, i suspect the kits but they are new . . . uh, check that . . . new to me.
I think i went and purchased from the cheapest source online, i suppose they could've been on the shelf awhile.
It's a Tetra Nitrate kit - i saw that they are not well respected after purchase, but could it be that off?
Sailfert Mg kit

I'll test again this weekend and verify with LFS.

There definitely could be die off on the rock; i got desperate and pressure cleaned many of them to get off the bubble algae - sadly i had to take off many nice mushrooms - however, they are rapid real estate hogs. Also, many sponges on all the rock - i was fearful of captured air and different exposure to light due to new positioning but all look well and growing.

Wouldn't i show a bit of Ammonia if there was die off?

Sand Bed - i know, it's not the recommended particle size. It's mixed argonite and crushed coral. The overarching theory was that i was going to use what i have and not spend a fortune. I actually have another 50-60 pounds of sand still circulating in the old tank - thinking of adding it so the wrasse has a deeper bed. (him messing with the sand bed every night isn't ideal either, huh?)

ATS - ? AutoTopOff? how would that reduce nitrates? - planning on installing a system, currently have a gravity fed 5g bucket. (must be an alternate acronym for ats)

Bacteria - i haven't introduced new bacteria for about a year. Is that truly necessary? I'm so sick of being sold a bag of goods . . . desperate to get the tank to where i can have some nice hard corals.

Flow - i think the flow is perfect. I have 2 Koralias, one on each side alternating and causing a reversing circular flow around the tank. It's not brisk at the far end as they are flowing down the 4ft. But i see the drift along the sand bed and between the wrasse, the tomato clown and the eel having fun kicking up sand i don't think much waste is being "sequestered."
Also, i think i got real lucky with the aquascape . . there's no place the smaller fish cannot swim thru.

Ya know, i've ALWAYS had high nitrates - never under 50 - for 6 years, most always over 100. The original live rock i purchased is "man-made and sunk in the Tampa Bay area for a few months" . . . It appears to me to be some sort of concrete type of material - is it possible that it is really leeching if not nitrates, then something else that could contribute to the issue? I know, i know . . . let's get the tests verified first - agreed. Another thing, i never had good coraline growth over the 6 years; i mean, very little. And Calcium frequently immediately precipitated (when added- 2part) and tested high.

The eel has not been eating much. I'm not worried in the least, though. He's nice and fat. As an aside . . . i forgot he had teeth and was a bit cavalier in his transfer to his new home. He wriggled out of the net when lifting up to get him into the new tank. Picked him up twice off the ground only to have him slip out; threw a towel over him to get a grip and when i picked him up he gave me a nice 2 gash bite on my nuckle . . . bled like a banshee. My wife had to coral him into a bucket and get him in.

EasyMac - no testing required, use your eyes, my wife agrees with you and has for years.

 

Haha sweet great minds think alike=]

By the way HeritageReef, I'm throwing this out there because it might be another factor contributing to your problems. Maybe since you have soooooooo much sand (which looks great with your setup in my opinion) maybe all that sand is acting like a home for all those nitrates in your tank? Maybe other members could chime in on this one.....

The reason why I bring this up is because I recall the guy from my LFS once told me when doing water changes be careful not to stir up the sand too much since nitrates could rise from the bottom of the sand (where there is no flow unlike the very top of the sand) and it can cause a spike in nitrates.

Honestly I am not sure about this but that's what I have heard.

 

high nitrates

I see that you use a lot of filter material, carbon, I have used it myself but the problem I had with it is,when is it used up, when to change it before it releases all those things we don't want back into our reef.I don't know if your like me but, my money is tight so instead of running carbon 24/7 about every 3 to 4 months i put 1 to 2 lbs in a bag in my sump in between my pumps for 5 days and then trash the black gold. I got a little plastic sticker from somebody, I can't remember who, it has a light green tint on it, I placed it in the corner inside of the tank, when I can't see the green I put the carbon in the sump. Leeching can cause problems. I to like deep sand beds, when I set up my first reef tank I used sugar size sand about 2 years latter my tank becan to crash I lost just about everything. I took out all the rock and placed them in a emg tank with high water flow and I did a water change of 5 gallons every 5 days for a month. I vaccumed the sand and I was shocked at the stuff that came out of it. black stinking matter from hell. I tossed the sand went to lfs and got 2mm reef sand I rarely vaccum now and it's been over 18 years I've been crash free. I know long story, The reason is I beleave with all my heart the sand crashed my tank I beleave water has to be able to flow in an out of the bed. James

 

Great post.

 

@ProReefer -
Yes, it's true that i'm never sure when the carbon is used up. I err on the side of caution and probably change it sooner than later (2 cups/2weeks). I used to use a mesh bag but seeing the reactor on BRS, i'm convinced that it's more effective.

I'm not convinced that sand beds are that tricky. I think that if it's deep, there will be anaerobic layers and that if there are organisms in the sand to stir it a bit (not too much) it can function as a denitrifier. Did you have worms in your bed (so to speak) back in the day? Did you see trails?

Stepping back a bit . . . how long do you think a situation of mine requires for chemistry to stabilize?

BTW - @SAY - Yeah, i wish i made the fuge larger, i made my return section too large - although it's nice having a little extra room for the pumps and any last micro bubbles to reach the surface. I'm so enamored with the fuge, i may make a display refugium add on . . . gotta get some mangrove pods next time i'm down in the keys! It's funny how at this stage the equipment is as much fun as the tank.