Nitrate question

I've had a small marine aquarium going for about three months. It's
populated with native life from the Texas Gulf. I figured since they are
more or less "free" it won't cost me too much to experiment. Anyway, they
are all happy and healthy. Here's the question. It appears as if the
system has cycled for all but nitrate. Ammonia is zero, Nitrite is zero, PH
is 8.2 but Nitrates are very high, 80+. I do weekly water changes but I
can't seem to get the Nitrates to stay down. I feed the anemones goldfish
and the hermit crabs are fed brine shrimp. I vacuum what's left after about
15 minutes so I'm pretty sure it's not spoiled food. About the only thing
that I haven't done is add plants. I have algae growth but maybe not enough
to consume the Nitrates. One very strange thing is that a fresh water tank
that I have also has marginally high Nitrates (30) while the others are at
zero. I tested the water from the source and Nitrates are zero so I know
I'm not introducing them in the water.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

--
Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE
Eagle Creek Observatory
http://www.eaglecreekobservatory.org
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
..



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"Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE" wrote in message
...
I've had a small marine aquarium going for about three months.
It's
populated with native life from the Texas Gulf. I figured since
they are
more or less "free" it won't cost me too much to experiment.
Anyway, they
are all happy and healthy. Here's the question. It appears as if
the
system has cycled for all but nitrate. Ammonia is zero, Nitrite is
zero, PH
is 8.2 but Nitrates are very high, 80+. I do weekly water changes
but I
can't seem to get the Nitrates to stay down. I feed the anemones
goldfish
and the hermit crabs are fed brine shrimp. I vacuum what's left
after about
15 minutes so I'm pretty sure it's not spoiled food. About the
only thing
that I haven't done is add plants. I have algae growth but maybe
not enough
to consume the Nitrates. One very strange thing is that a fresh
water tank
that I have also has marginally high Nitrates (30) while the others
are at
zero. I tested the water from the source and Nitrates are zero so
I know
I'm not introducing them in the water.

Any suggestions are appreciated.


I would cease the goldfish feedings. Even if you vacuum, there is
going to be a ton of biological material floating about. I have a
White Seabae anemone which I feed once a week, if I remember to do
so, and only commercially prepared marine food. It has tripled in
size in 4 months. It's rate of growth is beginning to un-nerve me,
actually. g
The question I have for you would be about your filtration. Do
you have Live Rock? What kind of filter do you use, and are you
running a skimmer? How well is the skimmer performing? One thing that
pops to mind is that you may be using a type of wet\dry filter, which
can, in many cases, be a source of nitrate production.
As far as plants, you're pretty limited. Not many plants grow
immersed in sal****er, unlike a freshwater tank. You can however,
have great luck with many kinds of macroalgae, such as Caulerpa.
Mangroves can be grown in sal****er. I have one in my sump, and it's
going to out grow the stand soon.

HTH

billy

"Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE" wrote

I've had a small marine aquarium going for about three months. It's
populated with native life from the Texas Gulf.
[snip]
I feed the anemones goldfish
and the hermit crabs are fed brine shrimp.

"Billy" wrote

I would cease the goldfish feedings. Even if you vacuum, there is going to
be a ton of biological material floating about.

Hi Kevin,

First off, I agree with Billy - probably. The thing is, most anemones don't
eat fish. There are a few fish eaters and most large anemones are capable of
digesting a fish but the largest proportion of anemone species are better
optimized to eat small crustaceans such as copepods, amphipods, and shrimp.
In the wild, your anemones probably capture and eat several dozen to several
hundred 'pods' per day. When you give such an animal a goldfish it's going
to take him a much longer time to digest it and, while it's being digested,
you've got (essentially) a dead fish in your tank - An anemone's gut is not
very well sealed!

If you're collecting native species, the best thing to do is to is to stock
up on field guides and marine biology texts for your area. Then try to visit
one or more public aquaria that feature local species and ask questions
about diet, habits, habitat, etc. You'll not only be better able to care for
what you have, you'll also get ideas about what other animals might be good
additions to your system.

One caveat: If you're researching a species that doesn't happen to have any
commercial value there's always the chance that the field guides and
aquarium docents don't know any more than you do, so stay flexible! BTW:
It's been my experience that a true biology text is less likely to steer you
wrong - if the author doesn't know something he's not likely to try to fake
it. [field guides and docents* sometimes make stuff up]

*I'm a docent myself. I try to avoid making stuff up but I've been known to
grossly oversimplify things in order to avoid having a visitor's eyes glaze
over!

Natively yours,

TPG

"Tidepool Geek" wrote in message
...

"Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE" wrote

I've had a small marine aquarium going for about three months. It's
populated with native life from the Texas Gulf.
[snip]
I feed the anemones goldfish
and the hermit crabs are fed brine shrimp.

"Billy" wrote

I would cease the goldfish feedings. Even if you vacuum, there is going
to
be a ton of biological material floating about.

Hi Kevin,

First off, I agree with Billy - probably. The thing is, most anemones
don't
eat fish. There are a few fish eaters and most large anemones are capable
of
digesting a fish but the largest proportion of anemone species are better
optimized to eat small crustaceans such as copepods, amphipods, and
shrimp.
In the wild, your anemones probably capture and eat several dozen to
several
hundred 'pods' per day. When you give such an animal a goldfish it's going
to take him a much longer time to digest it and, while it's being
digested,
you've got (essentially) a dead fish in your tank - An anemone's gut is
not
very well sealed!

If you're collecting native species, the best thing to do is to is to
stock
up on field guides and marine biology texts for your area. Then try to
visit
one or more public aquaria that feature local species and ask questions
about diet, habits, habitat, etc. You'll not only be better able to care
for
what you have, you'll also get ideas about what other animals might be
good
additions to your system.

One caveat: If you're researching a species that doesn't happen to have
any
commercial value there's always the chance that the field guides and
aquarium docents don't know any more than you do, so stay flexible! BTW:
It's been my experience that a true biology text is less likely to steer
you
wrong - if the author doesn't know something he's not likely to try to
fake
it. [field guides and docents* sometimes make stuff up]

*I'm a docent myself. I try to avoid making stuff up but I've been known
to
grossly oversimplify things in order to avoid having a visitor's eyes
glaze
over!

Natively yours,

TPG


Thanks Geek man!
My critters were harvested from the jetties at Port Aransas, TX. They are
small, brown to reddish brown anemone that range from two to four inches in
diameter when fully "inflated." I didn't think about feeding them
crustatians. I suppose I can use small bits of thawed bait shrimp or
prawns.

My son bought a very small percula clown, 1/2 inch, he's so cute. He avoids
the anemones. I don't know if he's just new to the aquarium or if he's not
compatible with them.

Kevin




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