Cycle question for Nitrates

[thelawnwrangler]

I am almost 0 on Ammonia (0) and Nitrites(.05). Will bacteria on my live rock reduce nitrates (currently 50). I though no, but then reading saw maybe.

My understanding alage planned (refuge) or unplanned (in display), GFO reactor (don't have would consider), or water changes dealt with Nitrates.

I don't want to disturb cycle when should I water change?

Tank facts: 36 gallon, 38 pounds of live rock, tank going for 1 week no live stock

 

[CStrickland]

They will. It's a diff bac, they live underneath the ones that make the nitrates. Think human centipede. Sometimes they take a little longer to get going, but you don't need to wait for it to move forward with the tank. Water changes are fine because most of the bacteria is on the tanks surfaces, not in the water. Gfo is for phosphates not nitrogen.

Your nitrates are probably not that high tho, ammonia and nitrites and nitrates are all diff shapes of nitrogen and our nitrate tests aren't good at telling trites from trates so until your trites are all turned into trates the nitrate test isn't accurate. It reads a little trite as a lot of trate.

 

[thelawnwrangler]

They will. It's a diff bac, they live underneath the ones that make the nitrates. Think human centipede. Sometimes they take a little longer to get going, but you don't need to wait for it to move forward with the tank. Water changes are fine because most of the bacteria is on the tanks surfaces, not in the water. Gfo is for phosphates not nitrogen.

Your nitrates are probably not that high tho, ammonia and nitrites and nitrates are all diff shapes of nitrogen and our nitrate tests aren't good at telling trites from trates so until your trites are all turned into trates the nitrate test isn't accurate. It reads a little trite as a lot of trate.

Thanks for info- color test on nitrates is also hard to read. I am rounding up maybe too. I havent seen alage yet just a week, but makes me think nitrates might not be that bad.

Any good books on understanding nitrogen cycle specifically as it related to corals. Seems like nitrates bond with phosphates are something BC I saw gfo ability to pull phosphate is reduced if nitrates are lower.

 

[CStrickland]

You prob saw that about carbon dosing. The bac need carbon, nitrogen, and phos. Usually in our tanks there is not as much easy to get C for them, but if you add some like vinegar or biopellets (which are be used in a reactor like gfo) etc then it's like steroids. The bac reproduces fast now that it has enough C and it takes out the N and P along with it through your skimmer. But if they use up all the N then they stop so the P doesn't go down anymore no matter how much C you add.
That idea is called a "limiting factor" and it's important for our tanks. Of all the things critters need, if any one is missing they don't grow. Usually the C is the limiting factor for bac but it can be anything, sometimes N. Also other stuff like light can limit.

Idk about books, there's a few but most of what you need can be found on the forum. The "setting up" sticky is a good place to start. It has links in it that are like chapters of a book.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074