cant get Nitates to lower....
- Thread starter jeff20578
- Start date
danrobberg
New member
try vacuuming your sand bed and do a 20 gallon water change. do u have a protien skimmer?
danrobberg
New member
also you may be overfeeding. they say only feed as much as your fish will eat in 2 mins. also add a power head or two if you don't already have one. and have it blowing in the crevices of the rocks. when u have a lot of live rock u tend to get ded spots within the rock work where detrites builds up. you can also add poly filter, it works great.
aquaboy620
New member
I am having the same issue. I removed 3 inchesof my sand bed and vacuumed it and nothing. just started blasting the rocks with a koralia 4 and man the detritus is flying e
aquaboy620
New member
I am having the same issue. I removed 3 inches of my sand bed and vacuumed it and nothing. just started blasting the rocks with a koralia 4 and man the detritus is flying everywhere. I hope this works. we will see. good luck.
njdevilsfan
New member
rinse your food (frozen)\
cut flake food down
skim wet
turkey baste your rocks
add powerheads
clean your sump
cut flake food down
skim wet
turkey baste your rocks
add powerheads
clean your sump
First off, vacuuming your sand is something that should only be done in freshwater tanks, not saltwater. By vacuuming it you are removing as many beneficial bacteria as you are particles of detritus. In the long run, it's not good for tank stability. The more flow you can get in your tank the better. Shoot for somewhere between 30-50 tank turnovers per hour ( so between 1650 - 2750 GPH) for a reef tank. Make sure your skimmer is designed for at least twice the system capacity you have, preferrably 3 times the capacity. Try feeding less often, as most people over feed their tanks. Finally, I found a refugium to be a big help with nitrates and phosphates. I'd go somewhere around a 20G refugium for your system. Hope this helps.
If you're worried about detritus in the sand, I'd add either a diamond goby, or some blue leg hermit crabs. I have both, and there's no detritus on my sand, either front or back. Also nassarius snails are great for eating any detritus that gets mixed into the sand, as they burrow into it.
GrimReefer82
Roll Tide!!!
I agree that the number one thing that will reduce nitrates is the addition of a fuge. A DSB in the DT can and will cause problems. IMO it is best to only have 1-2 inches of sand and use a remote DSB. Taking a powerhead and blowing off the rocks and then using a micron filter will help also. A stable system that is set up correctly "SHOULD" keep nitrates under control on it's own.
