Really need help with nitrates!

Okay, so my nitrates are pissing me off, i did a 6g water change on Wednesday, it has only been 3 days and they are already at 20ppm, i tested about 5 hours after the water change and they were at 5ppm. it has raised 15 points in the last 3 days and i feed a TINY amount of flakes, i am skimming, i only have 4 fish and they all stay small(Pair of Ocelleris, Neon dotty,randalli goby) I DONT GET IT!! I figured that in a 29g that if i did weekly 6g water changes, the nitrates shouldnt be a problem. I am using API test kit and for filtration i have a Oceanic Skimmer( I know it sucks, but its doing its job) some carbon and a filter pad(Doesnt do anything really except get out large particles) and i have LR rubble in the 1st chamber.

A fuge is not an option since my tank is to close to a wall for an HOB fuge, and i dont have a sump and it would be impossible to run a sump without my mom shooting me.

Any tips would be awsome.

 

Look at this video.
YouTube - mrsaltwatertank's Channel
Hope this helps

 

IT did some, but im still confused.

I feed a TINY pinch a day, the fish eat it in like 20s..People say to feed enough that the fish eat it all in 2 mins. So i am under feeding, but the fish are looking good and dont have any problems, the corals all look fine, but i have VERY basic SPS and they are fine, but im guessing that they dont like it as much as they would..Same with the other corals. I have an anemone also, but he seems fine also..I dont target feed. What would you people say? Remove all fish just till i have the goby and the clowns or what?

 

I would remove the rubble out of the chambers. Run some chemipure routinely or purigen or both. Do you have any chaeto?

Have you tried any Microbacter7?

 

No, i havnt tried anything..Ill remove the rubble out right now. I have no cheato since i dont have a light..But where would i put it?

Ill get some Chemipure and Purigen once i get the money, do you do it the same as carbon really?

 

Yes I am a huge fan of Chemipure elite.

For chaeto, you can get a nice clump and place it behind the rock work in the display without it detracting too much from the look if placed out of sight.

I think a goal of anything under 10 is realistic for that size tank with the number of fish. What food are you feeding and do you rinse any frozen food first before feeding.

 

Water changes don't seem to be particularly efficient for reducing nitrate. I suspect some of your nitrate could be due to dieoff, possibly as a result of the new lighting or just moving things around even. I suspect a lot of nitrate reduction is due to micro algae on the LR, which may not have adapted to your new lights and some could have died off. If this is the case, it will come back. Also, feeding too little if you significantly decreased feeding recently, maybe to deal with nitrates? could cause microorganism dieoff on/in your rocks and substrate. The critters rely on food too.

Also, filter pad and LR rubble probably aren't helping. They could be collecting detritus which could be an issue. Also, diffusion is important for nitrification. If denitrification occurs on LR rubble, or on a filter pad, the nitrate takes a long time to diffuse enough to reach the denitrifying bacteria in the larger LR and sandbed. The likely isn't any denitrifying bacteria in LR rubble as the pores are not deep enough to become anoxic.
If there is not LR rubble, the denitrification is more likely to occur on the larger liverock, and due to this proximity association, will pass to the denitrifying bacteria much more efficiently.

Also, my standard answer:

The following will all either directly or indirectly help keep nitrates down

-Efficient Protein skimming- Keep protein skimmer clean and use a good one.
-Clean water source- RO/DI water - make sure output is 0 tds.
-harvest macro algae in fuge
-feed smaller amounts more, rather than lots less often.
-keep amount fed consistient to maintain steady biomass rather than allow fluxuating biomass.
-good cleanup crew
-Run carbon and GFO.
-Keep filters clean - remove detritus
-Keep substrate clean of detritus.
-Avoid dead spots, make sure there is flow
-Probably best to avoid any biofilter other than sand and LR.
-Remote deep sand bed
-more advanced and may be much more risky, but carbon dosing can be effective.


Also, I would suggest looking at this article.
Aquarium Chemistry: Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium — Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine

 

Okay, ill get some cheato along with the money i have now..I am getting a HUGE amount of xenia later today, so that may help out. Ill get some cheato if he has some also.

I am not rinsing any frozen that i feed, i was feeding mysis every other day for fish and corals.. BUt i figured if i stopped that and just fed Flake(Formula 1) then it would reduce some.

 

Thanks for all that info.

Like i said before, ill remove the LR rubble and stuff. I have a koralia 1 power head and the stock power( I think it is a MJ 900) for flow.