[Triggers]

just wondering what the consensus is regarding nitrate removal.
i have heard the only way to really get them down is to do frequent massive water changes.
would pecking away at 20 - 25% monthly on a consistent basis(something that i havent done in a long time) eventually get them down and keep them there?

[golfish]

A refugium would help also but the best thing to do is find out why their so high.

[Triggers]

i am guessing that they have been accumulating since the tank has been going. this one about 2.5 years. have never been diligent with water changes.

i tried an algea tank couple years ago, but could never get it to function properly.

[Ninong]

What are the nitrate readings? And is this a reef tank or a fish-only tank?

[Triggers]

well, from what i can gauge from the test kit readings, it appears to be somewhat in the range of 40-60.

It is a FO, figured i could possiby get more responses from the reef section as i know nitrate reduction is more of a concern here.

[Ninong]

That's really not an unusual reading for a fish-only tank and certainly nothing that would present a problem to the fish. Regular 20% water changes every three to four weeks would help.

[Triggers]

what makes me think that it is high is the fact that the low end of the test kit is yellow and the damn reading is freakin marroon sometimes. could be as high as 80!

i was sort of thinking that consistently high nitrate readings could potentially over time, cause health issues of some kind.

i would just like to be certain that if the fish become ill that it is not a result of nitrates which is something that i certainly can attempt to control.

also beyond doing the recommended water changes, i will need to look for other elements that, like what was mentioned before, that could also be contributing to nitrate buildup.

thanks

[golfish]

What kind of filtraton are you using? Those are still high nitrates even for a FO tank. In my FO days I tried to keep things below 25.

[Triggers]

filtration in profile, but should include most bio-balls have been removed.

[bongobrian]

Triggers, as ninong said 40-60ppm is nothing to sweat for a fish only tank, however, there are plenty of things you can do to reduce your nitrates..

-add a deep sand bed, this increases the surface area for anaerobic bacteria to grow on which will in turn, begin converting nitrate to nitrogen gas.

-better skimming, this helps to alleviate waste before it can start it's ammonia cycle.

-add a refugium, removes nutrients such as nitrate by the growing and harvesting of macro algea.

-feed less, eliminating decaying organics such as food will help reduce nitrate.

-don't overstock, even though it's easy to ignore, make sure you don't have too many animals in your tank!

-Get a nitra-gon type product, this should hook up to your wet-dry quite nicely. It works by allowing water to flow very slowly through a coil of tubing where anaerobic bacteria will begin to grow.

-of course.. water changes, but it would be better to try one of these other techniques in order to start a more automated way of removing the nitrate.

Hope this helps. Like I said, your readings are quite normal, especially for a FO tank. But... if you really want, you have a lot of options for getting those levels down.

[Triggers]

thanks for the info.
i did a reading yesterday and it was dark red, not sure if it could have been any darker. looks like readings could have been as high as 90-100.
i did a 20% change yesterday,
took rest of bio-balls out of w/d
replaced 1/2 filter media(will replace other 1/2 end of week)
cleaned tank

Brown diatoms begin to accumulate by the 2nd week. does not cover substrate just everything else. use to have a green slime algea problem. no green now just the brown.

Since my lighting is on the weak side, i wonder if that is part of the problem, also phosphate is around 1.3.
could the high nitrates also produce the diatoms?


my sand bed is pretty deep but how deep should it be? my marroon does clear a couple of areas down to the bottom though.


never have a problem w/ amm or nitrite.

[saltnut]

You should have at least 1.5 to 2 pounds of rock per gallon of water.

Water change should be 20% of volume, divided by 4 and that's the amount you should change every week.

Use a good protein skimmer.

Bio balls and sponges are known to cause high nitrates.

Have pleanty of clean up crews. (i.e., hermit crabs, snails and so on).

Keep feeding to a minimal.

Good luck!

[bongobrian]

Saltnut- why do you say bioballs cause high nitrate? the purpose of bioballs is to provide surface area for denitrifying bacteria to grow in order to REDUCE nitrate.

[Triggers]

the bioballs are said to cause nitrates due to the fact that they accumulate waste. only way to reduce this is to clean them.
i think most of the denitrifying bacteria accumulates within the sandbed anyway.

[bongobrian]

And you don't think waste accumulates on your live rock? Try blowing off your rock with a turkey baster and see what comes out of it! If you have a sponge or prefilter on your overflow or in your sump, you can prevent waste from even getting to the bioballs... then all you have to clean is the prefilter by simply rinsing it off once a day! just a thought.

[Triggers]

just passing on most recent info thats out there to ya....do as you will..........

[bongobrian]

I appreciate it triggers... without discussions like these we would never know if we are doing something harmful to our tanks. I can see how bioballs would cause a resevoir for detritus to build up and then cause nitrate problems.... but at the same time this can be easily prevented and could give you a nice area to reduce the flow of water before it hits a refugium.

[Triggers]

Apparently no matter how good the prefilters are the stuff still accumulate in there over time. best to have a more natural way of removing bacteria.

[saltnut]

Originally posted by bongobrian
Saltnut- why do you say bioballs cause high nitrate? the purpose of bioballs is to provide surface area for denitrifying bacteria to grow in order to REDUCE nitrate.

I can only tell you when I had problems w/high nitrates.

I, talked to a guy many years ago who had a 180 gallon reef aquarium.
He now has a saltwater store, check out his web site:
www.gettankedaquariums.com
( He has lots of answers for all kinds of problems).

He told me to remove the bio-balls and my sponges in my wet/dry.

So I did.

About 10 days later I checked my nitrates and low and behold, my nitrates dropped.

All I can say is to give it a try.

If it works for you, fine.

Oh, I did have 2 lbs. of live rock per gallon in my aquarium.

[orion25]

I only skimmed the thread so please pardon me if this has already been answered.

What brand of test kit are you using and how old is it? The only reason I ask is that I had a Red Sea kit that was giving me odd readings. I got a Sailfert kit and everything checked out to where conventional wisdon (Reefland members) said it should be.

Ryan