Nitrates still

Advice needed. I bought a new API test kit since I thought maybe mine was bad. Still got 40 with the new kit. Pic #1 of both tests side by side. Both kits have the same lot # and exp date.
I went through my notes and here is a run down on things:
5/28 tank completed cycle with nitrates 40. Scraped glass and cleaned canister, therm, and powerheards with tank water. I had some moderate diatom growth over the week prior. 10 gal H2O change plus added 5 gal more because level was low. 50# dry rock added. Already had about 10# of live. After all this nitrates were still 40.
5/30 did a 20 gal H20 change, but then had to remove about 3 because it was too full.
5/31 nitrates 20. Added firefish.
6/1 nitrate 40
6/2 5 gal H2O change. Nitrates remained 40. I have been doing a 5 gal change 1-2x/week since, I just didn't write down exact dates.
6/8 nitrates 40-80
6/12 40
6/13 80
Has remained 40 everytime I test since. All other levels good.
Canister filter was removed about 2 weeks ago.
Algae scrubber added about a week ago. Pic #2 is growth on it as of today. I have had no other algae growth anywhere in the tank other than a couple specks of diatom here and there that you can barely see since I cleaned everything at end of cycle. The dry rock has darkened up a bit with light brown and some light green. Water has been crystal clear.
I'm getting frustrated and probably being a bit impatient. Should I do another big water change or just keep up with the small ones like I have been?

What kind of water do you use for your water changes?

How much/how often/what kind of food do you feed?

Ooops, posted and forgot pics. Here they are.

Bifferwine said:

What kind of water do you use for your water changes?

How much/how often/what kind of food do you feed?

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Distilled.
Feeding Tetramarine flakes 1-2x/day. Only one or two flakes at a time since I only have 2 fish now. Just one fish up until yesterday.
1/4 cube of frozen marine cuisine 1x/week and no flake on the day I do that.

I found that flake foods are not good if you already have nitrate issues.

Please test your water before mixing and after mixing prior to adding to your tank and post up the numbers. I bet you will find that the mix water itself tests high.

Yeah, I'd ditch the flake food and switch to frozen entirely - 1/4 to 1/3 cube every other day. I'd also pick up some emerald entree and switch between marine cuisine and emerald entree.

I'd also up the amount of water you change out at a time. When I was trying to get nitrates down in my 90g I had to do about 20-25% water change weekly - 10% just didn't cut it. I think 10% is good to maintain your levels at the same place, but not enough to get your levels to drop - at least that's what I've found in my tanks! And make sure you are topping off w/ fresh water (not salt)!

You might want to look into getting an RO/DI at some point - buying distilled adds up quickly :)

If it were me I would do a 25% water change that can be very stressful on the fish. You should not get anymore fish until you get this resolved.

It might also be because after you tank cycled you added more dry rock.

It takes a while to get chemistry leveled out in new tanks and everytime you add a fish or rocks or sand or anything it sets you back again.

That is why everyone says it is a hobby that requires patience.
:)

Nonfamous said:

I found that flake foods are not good if you already have nitrate issues.

Please test your water before mixing and after mixing prior to adding to your tank and post up the numbers. I bet you will find that the mix water itself tests high.

Click to expand...

Nitrates 0 on H2O I have had mixing up since last night for this weekends H2O change.

AmberSunrise said:

If it were me I would do a 25% water change that can be very stressful on the fish. You should not get anymore fish until you get this resolved.

It might also be because after you tank cycled you added more dry rock.

It takes a while to get chemistry leveled out in new tanks and everytime you add a fish or rocks or sand or anything it sets you back again.

That is why everyone says it is a hobby that requires patience.
:)

Click to expand...

I never thought about the dry rock being added could of been contributing to this, but makes sense. One other thing I forgot to add also is I added my 50# of sand since it cycled.

FishyReef said:

Yeah, I'd ditch the flake food and switch to frozen entirely - 1/4 to 1/3 cube every other day. I'd also pick up some emerald entree and switch between marine cuisine and emerald entree.

I'd also up the amount of water you change out at a time. When I was trying to get nitrates down in my 90g I had to do about 20-25% water change weekly - 10% just didn't cut it. I think 10% is good to maintain your levels at the same place, but not enough to get your levels to drop - at least that's what I've found in my tanks! And make sure you are topping off w/ fresh water (not salt)!

You might want to look into getting an RO/DI at some point - buying distilled adds up quickly :)

Click to expand...

Flake food ditched. Going to pick up some Emerald Entree today. What about the dried seaweed that you hang on clips? I always look at that when I go to LFS, but never tried it.
Been looking into RO/DI units, just so much money to fork out all at once, but at the rate I'm going with buying distilled I know it would payoff. I actually was going to order one a few weeks ago, but never happened.
What do ya think about this one?
Portable Drinking 100GPD Reverse Osmosis RO System | eBay
That may be affordable for me right now.

You could go that route, but why not get one of these for a few extra dollars? http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/showproducts.asp?Category=167&Sub=166 I know $66 is a lot less than $118, but it's going to save you money in the long run.

Nonfamous said:

You could go that route, but why not get one of these for a few extra dollars? http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/showproducts.asp?Category=167&Sub=166 I know $66 is a lot less than $118, but it's going to save you money in the long run.

Click to expand...

What's the differnce besides the cost? Saving money in the long run how? I really don't understand these units so that is why I'm asking.

The Ebay one is just a drinking RO system, not an RODI system. Drinking RO systems are usually not good enough for saltwater aquariums -- they don't purify the water well enough. The DI stage is very important. Also, I think you will end up spending a lot more in filter media for that one than if you buy a real RODI unit.

The unit you posted is for drinking water. RO water. The unit I showed has both the RO and DI water. DI is just more filtered than RO. In my case the water going into the unit, tap water, has 40 ppm contaminants. After the RO stage I have 2 ppm. Now that's pretty good and there is no reason it can't be used for anything! Fish, drinking, or whatever. After my DI stage it is 000 ppm. This kind of water is used in industry where any contaminant could cause product issues. Nuclear, semiconductor or high end electronics or pharmaceuticals. You should not drink DI water. However it is great for making saltwater for fish tanks.

Think about what you are spending on water by buying it. Add to that the cost of fuel to go there and back. Also take in to account the cost of your live stock. What would happen if something bad happened on a Saturday night. You might have to wait until monday before you could get water. By then you could lose everything.

Okay, I'm confused then. The one I'm looking at on Ebay says the 4th stage is deionizing. 0ppm after DI filter.

They've got you covered on RODI's! But for the nori sheets, I don't think you need them at this point - your blenny will do just fine if you add in some emerald entree!

Yes, in one place the seller states DI. The give away is that it's sold as drinking water AND nowhere else does is say DI only RO. Drinking DI water is very bad. The complete lack of disolved minerals in the water cause them to be pulled out of the body and into the water. Not good! Think of it as a slow acting acid that will dissolve your bones over time.

Okay guys, sorry to be a pain, but I'm trying to be a cheapo. I got the one for $118 suggested bookmarked, but I'm still searching Ebay. I found this one advertised for reef. I sent seller a question asking if it is also safe for drinking to see what he responds back because it the description sounds the same as other one just the way it is listed Reef or drinking. I'm thinking he is selling something advertised as drinking and it is really not safe for that or he he advertising reef and it is just really good for drinking. If anyone has time to take a look at this ad I'd appreciate the input. 0PPM Portable 50 GPD Reverse Osmosis RO+DI Filtration | eBay

That's a better unit for the aquarium -- it has the DI stage. But you shouldn't be drinking DI water on a regular basis.

If you get one from ebay be sure to check out how hard it is to get replacement filters for it - you will need them in the future and want to make sure you can get them for that particular unit. I'd also recommend doing a google search on that unit to see if anyone has written reviews about it elsewhere before you pull the trigger on it. Does that one come with a TDS monitor? I like having a TDS on mine so that I can see when the water coming out reaches 10ppm - that way I know when its time to change the filters - otherwise its just a guessing game!