Keeping Nitrates low

[Rouselb]

I have a 500 gallon setup. The display is 400 and the sump is 100. The fish are keeping the nitrates high and causing issues with the corals. I recently added a bio pellet reactor and this is helping keep the nitrates from rising. I have the following fish:

6 anthias
2 rabbitfish
blue hippo
naso tang
Achilles tang
5 yellow tangs
powder blue tang
6 golby
1 clown
1 copperband

The sump has 2 BK SM-250 skimmers and a lot of LR. Lights are regularly changed, RO water has low TDS, and i feed twice a day. Would i be better to remove the LR and change it over to a fuge? I could increase the bio pellets but I'm already running 10 cups (been running for 2 months). I was using vodka to help keep the nitrates low, but hard to keep up with.

 

[bdare]

IMO growing macro algae is crucial in the battle against nitrates. Since I started growing cheato in my sump I've had undetectable nitrates.

 

[Rouselb]

I would have to remove the LR from the sump. Its roughly 100 lbs. I just wanted to make sure that removing rock which is filtering would be offset by adding the macro.

 

[bdare]

You could just take SOME out. I also have a lot of rock in my fuge area.

 

[Spicer]

Feed twice a day? Thats a lot of grub.

 

[Rouselb]

I might be able to plumb in a separate fuge. Would be much easier to just remove 100 lbs of rock. Ill see what i can come up with. I have a lot of rock in the DT, so i dont need all the LR, but i have always been bug on using as much LR as i can git in.

In my last tank i fed 3-4 times a day, only had a few fish, this tank is killing me with all these fish. I should of added 3 damsels..haha

 

[allsps40]

Yeah stop feeding so much will help, just once a day is plenty. If your bio pellets are effectively keeping no3 from increasing then slowly add more to the reactor, you dont have enough. Each system is different on how it will react to carbon dosing. Also be sure the pellets are not clumping together.
A fuge is a great way to control and remove no3 and po4. You will want a pretty large fuge to be effective on such a large tank. I would say 40-60g fuge would be pretty good.

 

[jefstathiou]

Would growing macro algae in the return area of a sump be possible/helpful?

 

[bertoni]

That depends on the size of the return area. Most return areas are too small to help much in that way.