nitrate levels hit the roof

[cuttlefish]

I have this problem i put flake in to start it off for the amonia that is. live rock rock lava rock live sand led lighting tthe temp is as it should be the ph is about 7.5 the phospates are as they should be but the nitrates are sky high the amonoia level is back at zero now although it has been high it has been about a two week period so far and there is this yellow algae that is now turning to mustard in places and over the rock how can i get the nitrate levels down i do not want to add anything into my tank until i can control this any help will be much appreciated.

 

[DaveK]

What you did was fine. The high nitrate level is to be expected. How high is it currently?

You have a few options. The first is to just wait for the anaerobic bacteria to get going and consume the nitrate. This can take a very long time, often months. An alternative is to do several large partial water changes to reduce the nitrates. A 50% water change will reduce nitrates by 50%. After a new tank completes it's initial cycle, some people do a 100% water change to get the nitrate level down. This is a bit more than I would recommend.

Another option would be to add one of the various denitrification filters available. This would include adding an algae scrubber or refugium. I'd only do this if you have a long term problem that can't be controlled by water changes.

 

[cuttlefish]

at the moment my nitrate level its a really bright red your idea to wait yes i will wait and see how we go to give the bacteria a chance ive even added more food to help the process along thank you for your reply Have a great new year u know there is so much more to marine keeping i feel like a little alchemist

 

[DaveK]

Don't add more food. Your initial cycle is done.

 

[cuttlefish]

only a pinch but i will leave it to do its bits i have a question do i need to keep my actnic blue light on at night would that help

 

[DaveK]

Lighting has very little to do with bacteria growth in a SW system. It can have a lot to do with algae growth. Actinic blue lighting can be very deceptive. We don't see blue light as very bright, but it can be a massive amount of light to algae, and corals. If you have an algae problm you may want to turn that off at night, or turn it way down, if you have LED lighting where you can do that.

 

[StirCrayzy]

Alchemist is right! Literally!

Good luck, and keep up the good work. Its most difficult to do things the slow, patient way, but worth the effort.