High Nitrates!!!

I just bought the regular bulkheads from Saltwater Paradise yesterday. I'll head over to Wally World tonight and see what they have in the rubbermaid section. All my equipment is under my stand, so I can't go huge. We shall see. I have been doing alot of reading, and the RDSB is up in the air are far as Nitrate removal. I'm gonna try it and see what happens.
 
Instead of a kitty litter bucket, can't you use a rubbermaid storage container? I got one from wal-mart a few months ago.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11245320#post11245320 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redrider911
I just bought the regular bulkheads from Saltwater Paradise yesterday. I'll head over to Wally World tonight and see what they have in the rubbermaid section. All my equipment is under my stand, so I can't go huge. We shall see. I have been doing alot of reading, and the RDSB is up in the air are far as Nitrate removal. I'm gonna try it and see what happens.
Click to expand...

I squeeze all of my equip under a 55, so I know that it's tough to find a vessel that offers volume at the right size (10 inches is as wide as I can go). The kitty litter pail is a perfect fit for me, but you might have a little more room to work with.

I've heard mixed reviews on the RDSB's. I like a lot of the information that Andy Calfo presents in favor of them.

I added mine at the same time that I added the refugium, and upgraded my skimmer, so it's really hard for me to say specifically what it's role has been in my water improvement. I think that some folks have minimal or poor results when they don't use enough flow, or add a RDSB that's too small to provide export for their system (like adding a skimmer that's too small, or adding a large skimmer to a sump that doesn't get much flow from your display).

IMO, as long as you have enough flow through the RDSB, you'll add water volume and some biological diversity. That alone should provide some benefit.
 
I agree with the diversity piece. If well maintained it can only help denitrification as well. I don't see a downside other than space and effort.
 
With out my current 30g tank being drilled, how would it be possible to incorporate a rdsb into my setup. Also, When I set up my 180, I am going to use three, fifty gallon tubs for the sump/skimmer and refugium/dsb. Is it a bad idea to put a dsb dirrectly in the 50g tub of should I plumb a rdsb into the setup?
 
If it were me, Iwould feed the rdsb with a drain from the display and flow out through a bulkhead to another refugium with the skimmer section of the sump set up being the last stop. This would pass food items through the dsb and refugium giving pods a chance at it. Or if that didn't look like I would get enough skimmer efficiency,I might spit the drain with half going directly to the skimmer. Just an idea.
 
Ok, picture this. I am going to have two bins side by side. Each corner of the display is going to drain down to each bin. One bin will be the refugium and the other will house an asm g4 skimmer. Each tub will have a drain at the bottom that will T together to feed a MAG 24 pump. Then it will be pumped back upstairs to a T that will return to each corner. My question is: does it make more sence to make a dsb inside the refugium tub or plumb a rdsb somewhere into one of the two tubs? I'm thinking ahead when I need to change out the dsb. Also, how long does a dsb work for?
 
Last edited:
Sand should work for 3 to 5yrs, I think. It seems separate would be easier to maintain if it got mucky on you.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11246317#post11246317 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tmz
If it were me, Iwould feed the rdsb with a drain from the display and flow out through a bulkhead to another refugium with the skimmer section of the sump set up being the last stop. This would pass food items through the dsb and refugium giving pods a chance at it. Or if that didn't look like I would get enough skimmer efficiency,I might spit the drain with half going directly to the skimmer. Just an idea.
Click to expand...
Tom, I read Anthony's discussion. It said that you should use filtered water going thru the bucket. I guess you don't want solids (detritus) rotting in the RDSB, just bacteria. He then mentioned some other 4 syllable scientific words I can't remember...:)
 
Great looking sun coral.

Chris, I haven't read Calfo in awhile but value his opinions and experience,. The filtered water approach makes sense to me. However, if it were me,I'd try to get a little refugium benefit out of the dsb as well. Pods and such will benefit from slightly less flow and bit of detrius and a unlit sandy place.. Admittedly, this might require a bit more cleaning.
So perhaps a better balance would be drain to refugium>skimmer>rdsb. The problem with this one in my mind is that in Borneman's recent analyses he notes the larvae of many benthic fauna in the skimmate . So it is unlikely many larvae would get to the dsb, but then that's not it's primary purpose.
 
I guess it's gonna be a give and take, whatever I decide. I read that the standard bulkheads will seal fine when you mount it on a salt bucket, so that will be my project tomorrow.
 
After some more research, I think I have found yet anouther reason why my nitrates are elevated. I don't vaccum my sand :eek:. I stir up the sand bed atleast once per week but I only do it with the mag float, therefore only the edges get stirred. Also, I have a Tetratec filter that I have been using to bag my Po4 remover and carbon. However, the amount of carbon that I use is only one little package that comes with the filters. That probably amounts to 1/8-1/4 of a cup. I am going to start running 1cup of carbon in a media bag and tie it to the return of my bakpak skimmer so that I get the most flow through it. I am hoping to see some more results. I will post my nitrates after I do a 50% water change and vaccum the sand bed tonight.
 
I have 3 -4 inch sand beds in my 90 gal and in a 30g breeder which are integrated into the 400g system. I do puff them up gently(only the top half inch or so with a turkey baster every few days. I also run carbon and polypad. 32 oz of carbon(16oz in the sump and 16oz in a canister filter I use for a carbon box,so half gets high flow and half gets lower flow). There are actually conflicting arguments about high flow vs. absorbtion.The poly pad is also in the canister and in the sump. The polypad is changed when it darkens. I don't change it very often. I change the carbon every 30days. My nitrates are undetectable. Good Luck.
 
OK, I just vaccumed the sand...:eek1:. It wasn't pretty. I took the cartridges out of the Tetra-Tec filter and cleaned it out really well. I added one cup of carbon and 1/2cup of Po4 remover. I tested nitrates and the seem to be at 10ppm or so, but I think that they may actually be lower because the water is still cloudy from vaccuming the sand. Is it possible that by vaccuming the sand, I released nitrates into the water colum? I'll test again later. Also, I'll post the effects of using a larger dose of carbon.

mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
How is my chemistry looking?
Replies
1
Views
206
Uncle99
Uncle99
griss
Mystery Solved
Replies
12
Views
518
Sugar Magnolia
Sugar Magnolia
R
some random questions
Replies
1
Views
224
SantaMonica
S
T
Tank Crashing
Replies
19
Views
620
brandon429
brandon429
Reignfire
Stray current
2
Replies
31
Views
1K
griss
griss
Back
Top