Holy Nitrate!

[heavyhitter]

Has anyone see Nitrates go from @ 20 to off the scale in just a couple days? I never have until now. I thew a bunch of new grow-outs in a 75 and the next couple of days the water looked cloudy. I thought that because I removed the fine filter floss maybe some small particulate was causing it. I tested the water.. meh for the hell of it.. My test showed off the charts on my API test kit! So I double checked it against my Salifert kit and the same thing. After a couple of late night water changes I got them back down to 10, with my tap water that the best I can get. 36 hours later I tested and it has climbed back to maybe 80 (hard to read). So now I'm doing a a 70% water change daily until I can move these guys. I usually stock my tanks to have an acceptable Nitrate with biweekly changes.
I 'd like to note that no nitrite, nor ammonia present, which is testament to the bio function of dual Ehiem 2217s and media running on it .

 

[nossalucard]

Has anyone see Nitrates go from @ 20 to off the scale in just a couple days? I never have until now. I thew a bunch of new grow-outs in a 75 and the next couple of days the water looked cloudy. I thought that because I removed the fine filter floss maybe some small particulate was causing it. I tested the water.. meh for the hell of it.. My test showed off the charts on my API test kit! So I double checked it against my Salifert kit and the same thing. After a couple of late night water changes I got them back down to 10, with my tap water that the best I can get. 36 hours later I tested and it has climbed back to maybe 80 (hard to read). So now I'm doing a a 70% water change daily until I can move these guys. I usually stock my tanks to have an acceptable Nitrate with biweekly changes.
I 'd like to note that no nitrite, nor ammonia present, which is testament to the bio function of dual Ehiem 2217s and media running on it .

Uhh, yes, yes I have when i tried feeding massivore heavily for a week instead of as a treat.

My Amphs &FH love it, but "MASSIVE" NITRATES IT WILL MAKE, and thats with them eating every single drop, no wasting, swallowed WHOLE.

Hence, now I only feed it every blue moon...

 

[Drstrangelove]

Has anyone see Nitrates go from @ 20 to off the scale in just a couple days?

I don't know what you mean by off the scale. Did you really mean it when from 20 to over 160? Or were you just using hyperbole?


A 75 gallon that is at a nitrate level of 20 needs +140 nitrate to go off the scale of 160. Assuming you use 35% protein dry food, you could get the nitrate to go off the scale if you put 10 ounces of fish food in the tank over a 2 day period and if all the fish food was converted to nitrates in less than 48 hours.

Did you put 10 ounces of food in the tank? That would explain why it was cloudy since the heterotrophic bacteria would have been going crazy. I doubt it could all have been made into nitrate that fast though because the nitrites would have been off the scale as well.

But at least the math works.

The fact that it went down to 10 and then back to 80 in just 36 hours I think confirms where the nitrate is coming from as well.

As a rough estimate, daily water changes of 75%-85% might clear that up as long as protein is going in the tank that fast.

 

[Dieselhybrid]

With my predators I go from 10ppm after a massive water change (i do 80-90% changes) to 80 the next day. To the sky from there. Over 200 48-72 hours.

Drip systems were my solution. Not sure if you're at that stage yet. But they have greatly decreased my maintenance and helped water quality stability. This is useful because my girlfriend has to take care of the fish while i travel for work. Huge relief not having water changes done in my absence.

I have found that sometimes "socially" I can get my stock levels high. But biologically I'm limited. This helps with that. I can stock to the density the fish can socially tolerate instead of being limited by biological waste load.

 

[heavyhitter]

Yes it was as dark as the highest reading available 160. Nitrite was zero.

There is no way I put 10 ounces of food but did but 27 2"-2.5" Central America cichlids in. Fed them a few times with 1mm NLS. I got the nitrates down to 10 doing 2 90% water changes back to back.
I am keeping the Nitrates @ 20 give our take with 70% daily changes.

Ive been doing this for a long time and never seen anything like this.

 

[heavyhitter]

With my predators I go from 10ppm after a massive water change (i do 80-90% changes) to 80 the next day. To the sky from there. Over 200 48-72 hours.

Drip systems were my solution. Not sure if you're at that stage yet. But they have greatly decreased my maintenance and helped water quality stability. This is useful because my girlfriend has to take care of the fish while i travel for work. Huge relief not having water changes done in my absence.

I have found that sometimes "socially" I can get my stock levels high. But biologically I'm limited. This helps with that. I can stock to the density the fish can socially tolerate instead of being limited by biological waste load.

I like the idea of a drip system however I don't have plumbing in place to facilitate this. I do realize the benefits however. Once I cherry pick the specimens I want to keep the rest will be going into a solo tank or two or three in a 180. I'm not really one for over stocking. Since this isn't a long term solution keeping them in there, Im not so worried but rather shocked things could go that bad that fast!

 

[Dieselhybrid]

I had this happen once inexplicably.

Turned out there was a dead blood parrot rotting inside of a pirate ship ornament.

Lesson learned. Is there a possibility you lost a fish and it's decomposing hidden in your system? Sucked into a canister?

 

[heavyhitter]

I like the way you think, I did do a head count that was my first thought! They are all alive and good. Cannister are also good because I just cleaned them a week before. I did vacuum up a bit of detritus but nothing alarming.

 

[heavyhitter]

Some of the culprits

 

[Drstrangelove]

Yes it was as dark as the highest reading available 160. Nitrite was zero.

There is no way I put 10 ounces of food but did but 27 2"-2.5" Central America cichlids in.

1) 27 2.5" fish weigh between 133-144 grams. (27 x 2" fish is half that size, ~ 70 grams, but let's use 2.5")

2) fish are ~20% protein. The rest is water, bone, fat, etc. So that is around 30 grams of protein. (20% times 144 grams.)

3) 30 grams of protein if it was 100% converted would cause a 75 gallon tank to see a nitrate rise from 20 to 70 ppm.

So, if all 27 fish died and were instantly coverted to their chemical constituents, it would not account for a third of the rise in nitrates. And of course, none of the fish died. And as they are being well fed, they certainly aren't shrinking.

From your posts, there's really no other explanation. Nitrate isn't derived from the air, the glass or the substrate. It comes from protein and the only protein put in our tanks is:

1) in the food

2) in tap water that might have trace amounts (you already showed you have very little nitrate if any in your tap water

3) in the animals in the tank (but you said you haven't lost any)


Others have already stated how easily feeding can jack up the metrics. I'm sorry if food seems to be the only reasonable source, but it's hardly a surprise.