Servillius
New member
My ~50 hex system is, I think, a very nice happy little tank. I have a minimum of nuisance algae and I very rarely lose even the smallest of inhabitants. It has been set up for a year though and my nitrates have been creeping up. They are currently ~30ppm. Its gotten to a range that has me concerned, so I'm considering some options. Since I want to rescape anyway, just for fun, I can take some fairly drastic measures.
My current system has a tunze 9005 skimmer which takes out about a cup or more of dark green but watery skimmate a week. I have a sock I clean twice a week. I'm running carbon because it keeps things looking clean.
For livestock, I have 2 small oscilaris, a small red hawk, a medium purple tang, a sand sifting star, loads of varied snails and hermits and a potters angel. I feed them daily, usually an inch or so of nori and a small amount of flake with frozen added once to twice a week. The coral selection is varied, of few LPS and mostly SPS and a BTA.
My nitrate reduction plans. My current sand bed is about 1 inch in depth and, thanks to predation by the star, not as a live as it could be. I think this is the source of my nitrates. I can:
1. Remove the sand bed and go BB.
2. Consider some alternative system like neozeo.
3. Upgrade my skimmer.
I tried vodka for a while and it seemed to lower nutrient levels some, but never below about 15, so I dropped it. I would prefer to spend less, with a wedding comming, money is always a consideration.
What do people suggest. I would really like to nip this nutrient issue in the bud rather than wait until things get ugly, but I'm not really sure of the best choice or combination of choices... How do I get nitrates to 5 or less.
My current system has a tunze 9005 skimmer which takes out about a cup or more of dark green but watery skimmate a week. I have a sock I clean twice a week. I'm running carbon because it keeps things looking clean.
For livestock, I have 2 small oscilaris, a small red hawk, a medium purple tang, a sand sifting star, loads of varied snails and hermits and a potters angel. I feed them daily, usually an inch or so of nori and a small amount of flake with frozen added once to twice a week. The coral selection is varied, of few LPS and mostly SPS and a BTA.
My nitrate reduction plans. My current sand bed is about 1 inch in depth and, thanks to predation by the star, not as a live as it could be. I think this is the source of my nitrates. I can:
1. Remove the sand bed and go BB.
2. Consider some alternative system like neozeo.
3. Upgrade my skimmer.
I tried vodka for a while and it seemed to lower nutrient levels some, but never below about 15, so I dropped it. I would prefer to spend less, with a wedding comming, money is always a consideration.
What do people suggest. I would really like to nip this nutrient issue in the bud rather than wait until things get ugly, but I'm not really sure of the best choice or combination of choices... How do I get nitrates to 5 or less.