Is It Normal

[SLC Flyfishing]

I've had my tank up and running for almost a month now, added cleanup crew, waited for them to get a handle on things, added a clown fish (occelaris) and have been seeing a trend opposite what I expected. I have seen the nitrates go from 20 right before introducing the fish (I did a 20% water change to bring them down before introducing the fish) to 10 the next day, within 2 days they were reading 5 and now they are reading >5. The clownfish has been in there for 6 days now and I haven't done a water change yet one is slated for tomorrow even though the tanks parameters say I shouldn't need it, I've vowed to make it a once a week thing no matter what.

My question is, is this normal? Has anyone else had a simmilar occurence or is my test kit just messed up? Mind you I saw the same trend with the test kits my LFS uses. I'm thrilled naturally but just wanted to check if anyone else has had a similar experience.

SLC

Current stats:

temp: 79 F.
ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: >5
pH: 8.3
Phosphate: .25

 

[steelhealr]

Your tank was probably still 'cycling', that is, dead material was breaking down and the bacteria was keeping up at a steady pace to handle it. As the biologic filter chugs away and the breakdown ceases, the nitrates will gradually drift downward. That may be one explanation. Also, dead areas within the LR may be establishing some denitrifying bacteria, those that breakdown nitrate directly to N2. Now, the challenge will be to keep your nitrate load steady as you begin to feed your fish, and, also, for you to resist the natural urge to overstock your tank. Just say no. SH

 

[SkiFletch]

Your tank was probably still 'cycling', that is, dead material was breaking down and the bacteria was keeping up at a steady pace to handle it. As the biologic filter chugs away and the breakdown ceases, the nitrates will gradually drift downward. That may be one explanation. Also, dead areas within the LR may be establishing some denitrifying bacteria, those that breakdown nitrate directly to N2. Now, the challenge will be to keep your nitrate load steady as you begin to feed your fish, and, also, for you to resist the natural urge to overstock your tank. Just say no. SH

Fantastic advice right there . Nice to see you posting a little more often SH

 

[steelhealr]

Thanks ski...SH

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

O.K. I've done a bit of work to assure that there are no deadspots in the live rock; it's stacked loosely and has a powerhead (a 112 G.P.H one) aimed directly at the inside so as to create a flow going through it. I can never be certain but I'd put a considerable wager on the fact that there are no deadspots in that tank. My main question was, should I be alarmed that the nitrates are drifting downward ? or is this a normal and acceptable trend? I just want to make sure that there is nothing majorly wrong that I don't know about; this is my first marine tank, I've been doing brackish for about 4 years before this but this is my first marine/reef so I've admittedly got much to learn.

If I am wrong and there is a dead spot causing nitrate to be broken down to nitrogen, then is this potentially dangerous or problematic in any way? If so I have some work to do.

Thanks for the response!

SLC

 

[SkiFletch]

Not normal but a desireable trend. Most people have difficulties getting their nitrates to come down quickly, you've got to be doing something right . Any dentrifying bacteria that can break down nitrate will only live in the center of your LR as it's the only area with no oxygen (O2 kills them). The fact that your testing indicates the presence of these bacteria is nothing but beneficial, well done

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

I think it may be the algae that is consuming the nitrate, I got it tested at the LFS and they said it was zero by their test kit as well. My phosphates have also dropped to zero. I think this may be the issue at hand, I never mentioned before but it occured to me that I still have a 10,000 k red pc bulb in one of the slots that I was using to grow plants before I started the reef thing, will be replacing that and the 50/50 asap. Could Ski Fletch please reccomend a combination of PC bulbs that would be optimal for this rig, I have room for 2 nine inch PC bulbs. Thanks in advance.

SLC

 

[demonmagus]

uum I'm not skifletch but maybe one 50/50 and one higher K rating? Or both 50/50, I have same quesion but am using 55w bulbs (PC)

 

[maidenfan]

i'm no ski either but i'm running 2 9inch pc 18w not sure of their k rating but mine are 50/50 acintic blue and daylite white available through aqua one hope this helps

your tanks going really well

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Thanks, yeah the stats are going well, the clown is very happy and I'm thinking about getting another fish this week perhaps. I meant no disrespect to anyone when I asked for SKIfletch's help with the bulb selection, he/she has just been such a huge help so far and every bit of advice has been spot on, I'm thinking of going the same route (a 50/50 and a white or maybe actinic.). I'm just wanting to know if there is some combo which will give me the best opportunity of raising a wider variety of corals. Thanks for your suggestions all the info everyone has given me has been a great resource and I owe all the success that I seem to be having to the members of this board.

SLC

 

[SkiFletch]

Heh, other people are able to make the same reccomendation, but I'd use dual 50/50 bulbs. A 50/50 is a white/actinic bulb. Most people like the looks of this as the actinic creates a phosphorescence and the whites offer lots of beneficial radiation for photosynthesis. Doing dual 50/50s gives you the flexibility of chaning just one bulb if you want bluer or whiter light and makes it easy if you blow one, just order another instead of worrying about color temp in the interim

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Yeah I've got a 50/50 in there right now but its 7 months old, the other slightly newer one is a 10,000 K pink bulb designed for planted FW. I'm going to replace them both with 50/50's asap. I thought that these would be the best choice but wanted to make sure that there wasn't something else that might be better.

Thanks for all the help.

SLC

 

[tmreynolds]

he/she

Ski, want to confirm this one?

 

[demonmagus]

something in his profile and pics of HIM diving on the reef give me a little clue

 

[SkiFletch]

something in his profile and pics of HIM diving on the reef give me a little clue

Yeah those were good clues Fletcher is my last name, hence skiFLETCH. Bonus points for anyone who knows what Fletcher means (should be easy for you brits )