Azno3

[melev]

I'm looking at everything closely. This is the unvarnished truth, of course:

Some dark cyano appearing here and there, but not in huge quantities. Just a blob here and there, on the sand. I'll probably siphon those out tomorrow. A brown film is on the glass (all four sides), easily scraped or magnet-swiped away.

All the corals, the clam, the anemones, and the fish seem unaffected. Snails seem to be doing their business. Shrimp seem fine. Leathers and zoanthids seem fine and open. ORP readings seem consistent (315 this evening).

One small frag that has grown well has some tissue loss in its core area, but the rest of the frag seems unaffected.

 

[DrBegalke]

Interesting observations. I sometimes wonder how big a deal nitrates are... I have had reefs running into the 60s without any specific problems...

 

[badhand2222]

i used azno3 any it killed my naso

 

[melev]

My blonde naso is eating well and swims normally.

After doing the water change last night, the ORP dropped of course. As of now it is 310 so very close to what I've seen daily.

I added some Birdsnest frags to my system that were in somewhat rough shape after a 3 hour drive home, 12 hour interceptor bath, 20 minute iodine dip, and then glued to some LR. However, they are fully polyped out this morning and appear to be encrusting some on the rock. I've not had much luck with Birdsnest in the past, so putting it in my reef this time was more like hope that expectation. Considering my nitrates were high, they really shouldn't have survived.

If I get these down where they need to be, I might finally see my reef take off in SPS growth.

 

[cayars]

Speaking of nitrates, what's yours down to?

Carlo

 

[melev]

Carlo, if you are talking to me, this is my post from last night:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=10875975#post10875975

 

[melev]

This is what my skimmer pulled out since last night's cleaning. It looks like a volcano in shape inside the cup. Since dosing with AZNO3, I'm seeing better skimmate production, and the glass today isn't getting nearly the film it was getting before. Today I dosed 50 ml (640 drops)

As of tomorrow, I'll only dose 8 ml per day, and test NO3 regularly to see what the levels are. More AZNO3 is on its way from Marine Depot so I don't run out.

I did verify that 320 drops is not equal to 30 ml as the bottle indicates. I checked twice and it comes out to 25 ml. I don't know if that would be a factor in how some people have bad experiences or not.

 

[cthetoy]

Great updates! What are your nitrate levels now?

 

[melev]

I'll check them tomorrow. A couple of days ago, they were around 40ppm.

 

[melev]

Today was the first day I dosed the 8 ml dosage that my tank is supposed to get daily for the next week or so.

Nitrates are around 30ppm.
Phosphate is between 0 and .03 - and that is interesting because I'm still feeding quite a bit and running no phosphate removers since I started dosing.

 

[skydancer]

Hey Melev, I hope all is well. I just noticed you're trying the AZNO3. I tried it myself a while back, but stopped it when I installed the sulfur denitrifier from Midwest. I had bought a few bottles to do the treatment and I didn't use it all.
I have 1/2 a bottle stored in the fridge and 2 unopened bottles sitting around collecting dust.
They're yours if you want 'em. I can bring 'em to the meeting on Wed. or I may even drive to Ft. Worth tomorrow and we can meet up. I can let you know tomorrow morning if I come over. Just LMK if you want 'em.
BTW, my sump and gravity fed skimmer plumbing rocks... Thanks again.

 

[melev]

What a nice offer Alex. I think my order from Marine Depot arrives tomorrow with two more bottles though. And I'm not keeping my opened bottle in the fridge. I better read the bottle to see if I overlooked that necessary step! The bottle is nearly empty already with all the pre-dosing I did for the system I have.

No more floods?

 

[skydancer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10905951#post10905951 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
[B

No more floods? [/B]

...and it's not like you didn't warn me about the toothpick... remember? Well Murphy's law hit and the toothpick didn't allow the siphon to break... and I was not home (of-course) when the power went out.
No more toothpicks (I took it off, duh) and no more floods!!!

OK, I'll call you tomorrow if I drive to Ft. Worth, otherwise, I'll bring'em to the meeting. OK?

 

[melev]

If you like. Thank you very much. And you are welcome to stop by anyway. My tank looks nice currently, might as well see it while things are still good. :lol:

 

[skydancer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10906014#post10906014 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
might as well see it while things are still good. :lol:

Maybe you should start thinking about investing on another.... reactor...
Yes I know the sulfur denitrifier is expensive but... it has worked pretty good for me. Now I'm going to change the sulfur media and go to the new-and-improved pellet size sulfur that allows for better bacteria growth. Just a thought...

 

[melev]

You know I don't like getting all those high-falootin' toys you buy. I prefer to go with the simple approach, with less equipment to fail me.

Still, I have given it some thought recently. This product seems to be doing the job, but I won't know for another week or so.

 

[skydancer]

I'm actually surprised that you fuge is not keeping the nitrates low. The last time I was there your macro algae was doing great. What's the reason your nitrates are so hi?
I wish I had the space for a fish room. I'd set up a big fuge with all kinds of things in it...

 

[melev]

First of all, I was reading my test kit wrong.

Also, I don't export macro nearly enough, which I need to do.

 

[cayars]

Curious Marc, can you comment on how you were reading the test kit wrong?

Maybe somebody else is doing the same thing.

Carlo

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10907337#post10907337 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cayars
Curious Marc, can you comment on how you were reading the test kit wrong?

Maybe somebody else is doing the same thing.

Carlo

I've posted it a few times, but perhaps not in this thread. So I'm glad you asked.

I use the Salifert Nitrate test kit. On the color chart, after you've mixed it 30 seconds and waited 3 minutes, you then compare colors.

If the reading is 10ppm or less, hold the beaker up in front of you, hold the card behind it, find the matching color and then divide that number by 10. If the reading matches 50ppm, (divide by 10 and) the result is 5ppm.

If the reading is higher than 10ppm, place the beaker on the comparison chart and look down. Find the matching color (25, 50, 100ppm).

In my case, I've always looked at it through the side of the beaker, divided by 10 and thought my nitrate was 7.5 -

Before dosing my tank with anything, I got a second opinion by testing my water with a LaMotte kit, and it agreed with the correct way of reading the Salifert kit. Over 50ppm.