Start over

[cwwallis]

At what point would yall just throw in the towel and start over. I love my current setup but it's been a problem sence day 1 and can't get right. I'm no quitter but throwing good money after bad at some point you just have say enough is a enough.

 

[fishywishy]

At what point would yall just throw in the towel and start over. I love my current setup but it's been a problem sence day 1 and can't get right. I'm no quitter but throwing good money after bad at some point you just have say enough is an enough.

What problems are you having? Fixing the problem is going to be a lot cheaper and less time consuming than completely starting over.

 

[cwwallis]

I'll give you a quick history about the tank. Sence day 1 Nitrates have always been a issue never below 37 ever. I have ammonia spikes out of nowhere nitrite spikes out of nowhere. I do know nitries come from ammonia. My filtration to me does not seem proper. It's filter floss. I do 30 gallon water changes in a 90 gallon tank and the Nitrates won't budge. I have posted about this in here last week and alot of people gave some great advice but I think the issue is beeper then a simple water change will fix.

 

[fishywishy]

I'll give you a quick history about the tank. Sence day 1 Nitrates have always been an issue never below 37 ever. I have ammonia spikes out of nowhere nitrite spikes out of nowhere. I do know nitries come from ammonia. My filtration to me does not seem proper. It's filter floss. I do 30 gallon water changes in a 90 gallon tank and the Nitrates won't budge. I have posted about this in here last week and alot of people gave some great advice but I think the issue is beeper then a simple water change will fix.

How many fish do you have?

so is your filtration just filter floss? No skimmer, refugium, carbon or anything else?

How often do you do water changes?

How big are the ammonia spikes?

 

[cwwallis]

I have a skimmer no fuge. I do water changes once a week at 30 gallons. The ammonia spikes vary but usually around 0.2 to 1.0

 

[fishywishy]

I have a skimmer no fuge. I do water changes once a week at 30 gallons. The ammonia spikes vary but usually around 0.2 to 1.0

Do you have a lot of fish because it sounds like you do?

 

[cwwallis]

I have 13 fish in the 90 gallon there all relatively small the biggest is 4 inches

 

[fishywishy]

I have 13 fish in the 90 gallon there all relatively small the biggest is 4 inches

One last thing what test kit are you using?

 

[cwwallis]

Spin test from lfs

 

[fishywishy]

You do have quite a few fish for a 90-gallon tank, which might be contributing to your issues. However, your problems don’t seem too serious. A nitrate level of 37 is not high at all, and it doesn’t usually start affecting things until it gets much higher. Many people have much higher nitrate levels without any issues. The only thing that stands out is your ammonia spikes, which is a little odd but not super concerning. Are you dosing anything unusual, adding anything else to your tank or over feeding? Have you ever tested your RODI water for ammonia? There’s a chance it could be coming from there. I would also suggest testing your water yourself one time, because while it’s unlikely, there’s a chance your LFS isn’t testing it properly. Either way, if you set up a refugium, you likely wouldn’t experience ammonia spikes ever again.

Just curious, if your corals and fish are thriving, why are you so worried? You should just continue with what you’re doing.

If you still feel like starting over, get an ICP test done on your tank before making any decisions. That will let us know exactly what’s going on, but I don’t think there’s anything seriously wrong with your tank.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

As mentioned, you have a high bioload, but no indication on what type of filtration you are running. You only mention 'filter floss', what does that mean exactly? How often do you change the floss? Why no protein skimmer?

And what is the issue with nitrate that makes you want to restart? Nitrate of 37 is not earth-shattering, its higher than I would like it, but frankly, there are several ways to reduce nitrate. Water change is not the only way.

I don't think its wise to start over without knowledge of where are you going wrong, or else you will end up back in the same situation. I think more research would help you more than starting over completely.

 

[twentyleagues]

We really need more info on your system. You should not see ammonia spikes in an established reef tank. In reality .02-1.0 could be a test error. If the problems you are having are 37 nitrate and a possible ammonia reading those are not that big of problems. Do you have coral? Are fish dying? is algae everywhere?

Post a couple pics of the display and filtration that way we can better understand and assess your situation.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I’m curious with others on why you are having ammonia spikes in your tank. What about the rest of your parameters? Do you have a skimmer? What about the quality of your fish, are they doing fine?

 

[twentyleagues]

I’m curious with others on why you are having ammonia spikes in your tank. What about the rest of your parameters? Do you have a skimmer? What about the quality of your fish, are they doing fine?

As mentioned, you have a high bioload, but no indication on what type of filtration you are running. You only mention 'filter floss', what does that mean exactly? How often do you change the floss? Why no protein skimmer?

And what is the issue with nitrate that makes you want to restart? Nitrate of 37 is not earth-shattering, its higher than I would like it, but frankly, there are several ways to reduce nitrate. Water change is not the only way.

I don't think its wise to start over without knowledge of where are you going wrong, or else you will end up back in the same situation. I think more research would help you more than starting over completely.

In post 5 they state they have a skimmer but no fuge.
In post 9 they state its a spin test and those are not much better than standard API tests so could very well be a non-issue.
Other than 13 fish we have no real info on what is going on. Depending on what fish and the largest being 4" in a 90g I dont think that is over stocked at the moment. We have no idea how much rock or basically anything else we can not give any pertinent info with supplied info atm, imo.

 

[Glowurm]

So as others suggested starting over isn't the answer, you destined to repeat the same mistakes if you dont learn the cause.

Some basics would be good. What is your feeding routine? What types of food are you feeding and how much? Do you have a clean up crew? Pic of set up? Are you also experiencing high Phosphate? Its weird that you have ammonia spikes in an established tank, can you identify the cause (did something die you dont know about?)

As someone above said, are the fish okay, are the corals healthy? If so then is the nitrate a real issue?

 

[cwwallis]

You do have quite a few fish for a 90-gallon tank, which might be contributing to your issues. However, your problems don’t seem too serious. A nitrate level of 37 is not high at all, and it doesn’t usually start affecting things until it gets much higher. Many people have much higher nitrate levels without any issues. The only thing that stands out is your ammonia spikes, which is a little odd but not super concerning. Are you dosing anything unusual, adding anything else to your tank or over feeding? Have you ever tested your RODI water for ammonia? There’s a chance it could be coming from there. I would also suggest testing your water yourself one time, because while it’s unlikely, there’s a chance your LFS isn’t testing it properly. Either way, if you set up a refugium, you likely wouldn’t experience ammonia spikes ever again.

Just curious, if your corals and fish are thriving, why are you so worried? You should just continue with what you’re doing.

If you still feel like starting over, get an ICP test done on your tank before making any decisions. That will let us know exactly what’s going on, but I don’t think there’s anything seriously wrong with your tank.

I 100% was thinking about a refugium. I'm limited to a 20 gallon long do to space but I just can't find any good ideas for one of the one I want in my head if that makes sence. If you have any ideas on how to build one with a skimmer and return in it also that would help out alot

 

[kvansloo]

I am running a 90 gallon, and my nitrates are over 230ppm everything is happy still. I am working on getting them down some but not in a hurry as everything is still fine. I have not tested for ammonia or nitrites in 15 years as nothing has died that would prompt me to test for those. 30 % water changes are not needed weekly 10 - 15 % would be fine. 10 - 15 gallons. I use Red Sea test for Nitrates and Phosphates and a few others.

 

[fishywishy]

I 100% was thinking about a refugium. I'm limited to a 20 gallon long do to space but I just can't find any good ideas for one of the one I want in my head if that makes sence. If you have any ideas on how to build one with a skimmer and return in it also that would help out alot

If you want to build it yourself it’s pretty easy. It’s hard to explain everything over text so i would just look it up on YouTube because thats where i learned how to make mine. But before you build one, i would definitely do those things i recommended first because 1. It will be a lot cheaper than building a refugium and 2. You might not even need a refugium, something could just be off.

 

[fishywishy]

In post 5 they state they have a skimmer but no fuge.
In post 9 they state its a spin test and those are not much better than standard API tests so could very well be a non-issue.
Other than 13 fish we have no real info on what is going on. Depending on what fish and the largest being 4" in a 90g I dont think that is over stocked at the moment. We have no idea how much rock or basically anything else we can not give any pertinent info with supplied info atm, imo.

He has an old post where you can get more information.

 

[twentyleagues]

He has an old post where you can get more information.

I have not seen that nor am I willing to go searching for it. Sorry that sounds bad I know, but if you need or want help give the issues and parameters. Link the info, repost the info, whatever it takes.