Dealing with High Nitrates

M

marlin85

New member
Im looking for the best way to reduce the Nitrates in my reef tank. I have a 180 and do a water change usually 2 times a month, sometimes only 1. I feed heavily and want to be able to keep feeding that way, my Nitrates are between 20 and 40. What are some of the best options to fix this? I run a protein skimmer allready, GFO and Carbon

Thanks
 
Feed less, you're just going to have to deal with it. In such a small volume of water, in any size tank, feeding heavily has a huge impact unless you have a very large bacterial population.

How many fish, and how much and often do you feed? What kind of skimmer? Is there algae? Test kit?

And welcome to RC!
 
Find out what your net volume of water is and start a vodka regimen per the reefkeeper magazine chart and increase it as the table states.

I'm currently weening from vodka to ecobak so we'll see!
 
There are lots of options. 20-40 ppm nitrate is fine for most any animal other than some stony corals, so you might be able to ignore it. Better skimming, growing and harvesting a macroalga, and carbon dosing (vodka, pellet, vinegar, etc) all can be used. I might start by checking the skimmer, assuming that reducing feeding isn't an option. If it's undersized or needs cleaning, that might be the first step to take. Carbon dosing depends on having a good skimmer to remove the fixed nitrogen, in any case.
 
Providing more low oxygen zones such as increasing your sandbed depth or adding a remote sandbed will help with nitrates as well.

Like others have said, there are lots of options.
 
Cool, I added chaeto about 2 weeks ago, how long do you usually start to see a change when using macro algae?

I read a thread about sulfur denitrators and how you could build one. Anyone using those?

Thanks
 
How large of an area did you setup for chaeto for a 180g ? You would need a pretty large area dedicated to it for it alone to resolve your issues. To aggressively culture macro you might need to add some iron supplements.

You would probably be better off looking into bio pellets rather than a sulfur denitrator. Easier to use and setup.
 
I like the sulfur denitrator. It really does the job if you want to feed a little heavier. The way my sump is set up with filter media after the skimmer comp. ,which is where you want the effluent of the biopellets going to be skimmed out, the media is constantly plugging with the bacterial mulm raising my level and throwing the skimmer out of adjustment. FO, Softies, LPS do well with denitrator. If you are feeding fish heavy and trying to do SPS your asking for problems. You do have to monitor a denitrator because they have their own set of cons.
 
pmrossetti said:
Biopellets.

Fuge?
Click to expand...

+1 on the pellets. But, if you're already running GFO & carbon, you're better off picking just one system to run: either GFO & carbon OR pellets, not all at the same time. Just from what I have heard from previous people who have run all three.

Also, if you're considering a fuge & a pellet system, keep in mind, once the pellets are established, you might see a slight difference in macroalgae growth, as they are competing systems. Macroalgae will still grow, of course, but possibly slower. And might as well keep the fuge if you have a pretty established system of pods.
 
I've used a sulfur denitrator and it worked very well but they need attention.

The chaeto should help if it has light and room to grow and sufficient surface area
.
Dosing organic carbon ( vodka, vinegar, pellets,etc) may work for you but study up on it before taking that step.

Nitrates at 20 to 40ppm are not terrible and might just need some tweaking with other methods. This article has more:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

Many use gfo and granulated activated carbon(gac) when using organic carbon dosing; I do. The gac helps remove the extra organics along with the skimmer and the gfo is often necessary to keep the PO4 at very low levels.
 
My chaeto (it's huge and dense, with minimal lighting) and bio-pellets keep my nitrates in the 0-5 level. I also have a 180g and tend to overfeed.
 
Harvesting chaeto encourages new growth and new growth is what reduces phospahte and nitrate.
 
I like mangroves in the fuge and my opinion on water changes are once a month only and do 30 percent its the maximium way to dilute toxins 30% is better than 2x15%
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
High Phosphate leaching from rock - persist or replace?
Replies
3
Views
1K
Tony Romano
T
H
High ammonia in 24 year old tank
Replies
15
Views
3K
brandon429
brandon429
S
Nutrient Export
Replies
0
Views
2K
SantaMonica
S
T
Tank Crashing
Replies
19
Views
607
brandon429
brandon429
N
Saltwater cycle possible stuck
2
Replies
26
Views
7K
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
Back
Top