Controlling Nitrates?

[cdmurphy]

How is everyone controlling Nitrates in their SPS dominated tanks? I've been running bio-pellets in a Reef Octopus BR-140 reactor but recently converted that to run GFO. A couple of weeks ago I purchased a Reef Octopus BioChurn reactor to replace the BR-140 but just found out that it will be on back order until the middle of February. With the Bio-pellets my tank has always suffered from a small amount of cyano bacteria so while I'm waiting for the BioChurn to become available I'm looking for other options to maintain nitrate levels to hopefully replace the Bio-pellets. Any replies will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Nanook]

Low stocking with fish, limited feeding, adequate live rock, large refugium, large water changes, sulphur denitrator, biopellets...just to name a few

 

[cdmurphy]

Nanook, thanks for your response. I do have a fairly large fish stock in my tank. I've never ran a sulphur denitrator, would you recommend one?

 

[Nanook]

I have a large custom GEO sulphur denitrator on my 1100 gallon system that I just put online a few weeks ago. They take a bit of patience learning how to tune them in, but once you get the feel for them, they work great.

 

[jda]

I use a 2-3 inch sandbed, lots of real live rock that is actually alive (not previous dead rock that could take years to process nitrates), big skimmers and responsible feeding (lots of pellets and pre-rinsed mysis and meaty foods).

 

[maikoa02]

I've tried zeovit, sulfur denitator, refugiums, and running activated carbon. They all helped but nothing worked better and faster than red seas nopox. Read up on YouTube about their program. This product works and has helped me keep and grow sps corals that I couldn't before using the other previously mentioned methods.

 

[rovster]

I'm trying vinegar. 2 weeks in and it's finally putting a dent in it. Skimmer is pulling a lot ore gunk too!

 

[brett7768]

i find that running a smaller amount of biopellets than recommended works out. i had a full br-70 on my 72gal and would sometimes get cyano outbreaks. now im running the same br-70 only half full on my 120gal and no cyano. also keeps n03 undectable. i would love to see if it coud keep up with even larger tanks. these manufacturer recos may be a little high

 

[cdmurphy]

Hey Guys, Thanks for your responses. I've been running the biopellets on my tank for the last three years and they have always kept my NO3 at undetectable levels using a Red Seas test kit. Some SPS have had decent color while others are brown. I put that down to high PO4 which has hovered around .08 (Red Seas test kit) and 12 month old T5 bulbs. Due to the margin of error PO4 could be as high as .12 or as low at .04. So in an effort to lower PO4 I put GFO online, at first I was using it in a Reef Octopus media reactor but could not get it to tumble or stop from clumping into a solid lump. This is why I converted the biopellet reactor to run GFO. The two weeks I've had the GFO online my PO4 has come down to .04 and I'm already seeing better color and the small amount of cyano has almost totally gone. So now I'm thinking do I really want to put the biopellets back online or try to maintain NO3 by some other means. Are the biopellets releasing some form of organics into the tank as they break down that feed the cyano? I have about 5 or 6 weeks until the BioChurn reactor is available so I think I'll try the vinegar dosing and see how that goes.

 

[Nanook]

I've achieved zero nitrate with both vinegar and vodka, but didn't like the effects I saw on corals and invertebrates. I lost some long term residents and and saw several softies that looked good before go downhill with dosing. It does work for nitrate reduction though.

 

[RxMike]

Nitrates

Nitrates

I had an issue with a heavily stocked 500 gallon reef. My nitrates were reading 50 on the salifert kit. I could not keep SPS with these nitrates. So I did two things. 1) lighten my fish load. 2) put in a GEO dintrator. I am about two months into the reactor now. My nitrates are reading 0. My SPS are flourishing.


Only downside from the dinitrator is the smell of rotten eggs.

 

[Peter Eichler]

I have an over sized protein skimmer. I feed a ton, I generally have a very high fish load, and I struggle to keep nitrates detectable. It's really that simple...

 

[dadummy]

started adding vinegar to kalk top off, along with running bio pellets. Since have removed bio pellets. I currently dose 20ml vinegar daily on 150g and nitrates are undetectable on test tist

 

[trueblackpercula]

I use a DSB and 20% water changes monthly.

 

[cdmurphy]

After reading up on sulfur denitrators I decided to convert a Reef Octopus media reactor I had laying around into a denitrator. Does anyone have any recommendation for the sulfur media?

 

[biocube101]

Ive read some threads about people dosing sugar to lower nitrates...Ive been reading up on it but am afraid to try it. Have you looked into this?

 

[cdmurphy]

I've never dosed sugar but did dose vodka a few years back. When the biopellets first came out I purchased a reactor and went with them. Although the pellets kept my NO3 undetectable and my PO4 around .04 I always had a small amount of cyano that no matter what I did I just couldn't get rid of it. What I'm after is a method of achieving undetectable NO3 without having to manually dose on a daily basis.

 

[ramseynb]

I use a 2-3 inch sandbed, lots of real live rock that is actually alive (not previous dead rock that could take years to process nitrates), big skimmers and responsible feeding (lots of pellets and pre-rinsed mysis and meaty foods).

I would not recommend a 2-3" sand bed. I would recommend at most 1" and I'd vacuum it to keep it from collecting detritus and becoming a ticking time bomb. The only way I wouldn't use 1" or less is if I was going to run a DSB and even then, it wouldn't be in my display.

This is my experience anyway. I've had a sandbed around that size and it was a never ending battle until I shut down the tank.