trying to lower nitrates--

J

jammerz

Large Fish
#1
Feb 28, 2005
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#1
I have a couple hardy corals now and im getting new lights so that i can get into corals more. I hear that if i have high nitrates most corals wont do so hot. My nitrates were off the chart the lady at the LFS said that was normal for a tank that had been established for over a year, but i think it was her way of getting me off her back. All the nice tanks i see have 0 nitrates.

So i ripped out my under gravel filter(which i hear is a nitratre factory) and cleaned my cascade canister filter. My powerheads are moving much more water now that they are not on top of those ugly plastic tubes. And i am only dealing with about 40lbs of LR in my 80g tank. Will LR bring my nitrates down? How much more LR should I add? If I add to much LR at one time it may "spike" my tank......is this true? If so how much should i add at a time to avoid spiking it? Is my canister fillter a nitrate factory? Should my nitrates be around 0? Any other tips for lowering nitrates besides water changes.Btw when i took out the UGF i changed 32g and put new water in. Would adding a refugium help? Can I do this with a canister filter?Advisible?Thanks for the continually knowledge!!! OHH yeah anybody used nitra-sorb by Kent? thoughts?*celebrate
 

KahluaZzZ

KahluaZzZ

Superstar Fish
#2
Jun 12, 2004
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#2
Last week i had a nitrate peak of 35-40. I kinda freaked...but it can go higher. I did 2 water changes in 3 days..now i'm at 10. Nitrites and ammonia are supposed to be 0. I forgot an ammonia remover in my filter that i should have removed 4 month ago ( shame on me ) ..it was the main nitrate factory.
My filter now only contains rowaphos and couple of bio-max.

I'm building a wet/dry with bio balls ( lot of people hate that but i know people who are satisfied with that..gotta clean em once in a while ) to reduce nitrates.
The most efficient thing and easiest is the sump. More water, and you put caulerpa in it. This algae multiply quickly and loves phos/nitrates. In a sump, it's a winning situation. Can use mangrove too.
Chemically you can use purigen by seachem.
The foam in your canister can be a nitrate factory. Had less problem with mine removed.
If you fear you have not enough bio filtration, you could only clean half the foam in your filter in saltwater and put it back in the filter.
 

J

jammerz

Large Fish
#9
Feb 28, 2005
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ahh.I see so make sure its cured if i wanna put a substantial amount in? Will Lr help with nitrates. should i be thinking on how to build a refugium?
 

KahluaZzZ

KahluaZzZ

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#10
Jun 12, 2004
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I don't use carbon in my main tank. The ro/di i put is filtered first with carbon...included in the ro/di system. I think carbon is a chemical neutralizer and i certainly don't want that. Absorbing calcium, strontium etc isn't kool if you have to put some in your water. I ditched the bag after a month or so. Supposed to clear the smell and yellow color ( wich i don't have anyways ). Anyways i think it's good for FW only. .My opinion.
 

KahluaZzZ

KahluaZzZ

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#11
Jun 12, 2004
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Well yeah. a lot of people only uses LR + skimmer..so i think it's good *BOUNCINGS
Refugium is more water for your tank. More water is always good.
Refugium/sump can be made with plastic or plexiglass, acrylic...name it. Can be very very cheap to build
 

A

aresgod

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#16
Jan 14, 2004
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well nitrates are tough, they are the end process of the nitrogen cycle, you have a few options, but the one I would recommend is my favorite, add some plants, like actual salt water plants like shoal grass, or maybe some nice algaes, if you check out my tank you can see all the different kinds of stuff i have in there and all my levels are 0 even nitrate, there are other ways of doing it, but to me it is the easiest labor wise and most aestetically pleasing

here's the link to my tank, thread and some other cites that have my pics on them
http://myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=25222&page=1
 

J

jammerz

Large Fish
#17
Feb 28, 2005
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#17
would it be better for lowering nitrates to build a refugium or a reverse photo tank.with the plants i need to help lower nitrates.Would this even be worth it with my canister filter???......see first post. LR? could i build like a HOB refugium or reverse photo. tank with a send and return to main tank?
 

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