I'm now confused

[da1jewfish]

I have a 10 gal fuge with halimeda, chateo, and calurpa(sp?). I did a 20% water change on my 44 yesterday. I tested nitrate today and it around 50ppm. My question is I thought all this macro was supposed to rid a good amount of the nutrients? Should I be pruning these, b/c I don't. The concept doesn't make sense to me.

Let say I take some out (prune) and give it to a buddy, wouldn't I just be giving him nitrates? If the reason I'm pruning is to export the nutrients, wouldn't I be exporting them to his tank?

I know how I rid the nitrates, so my question lays with the macro.
Thanks
Bobby

 

[graveyardworm]

Let say I take some out (prune) and give it to a buddy, wouldn't I just be giving him nitrates? If the reason I'm pruning is to export the nutrients, wouldn't I be exporting them to his tank?

Thats one way to look at it. The nutrients stay bound within the macro until it dies and decomposes. As the macro grows it binds nutrients. When you remove the macro the bound nutrients go with it.

 

[sunfishh]

Perhaps you are missing something else that the macro needs. It does not matter how much nitrate is in the water column if there is no phosphate or too little light the algae will not grow. Thus the nitrate will remain high. I think you are missing something that your macros need and if you add it they will grow which should then reduce your nitrates.

The other possiblitiy is that your tank is new and the macro can not reduce the nitrate as fast as it is being produced. In this case atleast the macro is keeping it at 50ppm.

 

[coralnut99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10101467#post10101467 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sunfishh
Perhaps you are missing something else that the macro needs. It does not matter how much nitrate is in the water column if there is no phosphate or too little light the algae will not grow. Thus the nitrate will remain high. I think you are missing something that your macros need and if you add it they will grow which should then reduce your nitrates.

The other possiblitiy is that your tank is new and the macro can not reduce the nitrate as fast as it is being produced. In this case atleast the macro is keeping it at 50ppm.

I don't think anybody has ever summed this up as well as sunfishh just did.

 

[Plantbrain]

And the NO3 test kit is calibrated?

Before folks run off doing all sorts of mitigation, I always ask, is the test kit calibrated? 99.999% of the time: "No".

Use a standard known reference solution made from KNO3 etc, or if for PO4, KH2PO4.
Both are cheap, DI water is cheap and simple cheap 0.01, or 0.001 gram scale is relatively cheap also.
A graduated cylinder etc is cheap as well.

Make a 100ppm solution, or 1000ppm.
Then make serial dilutions with DI water, say 50 mg/l, 20 mg/l, 10 mg/l, 5 mg/l and 2 mg/l.

mg/l = ppm.

Then you can make up ref solutions.
Then test the kit in the suspected range.
Generally, these can be pretty far off with cheaper hobby kits.

Regards,
Tom Barr