125 Gallon Nitrates with Fluval Canister Filter

[ChrisAndJulie2012]

So I finally found our test kit, everything was in the good when I tested. Except I have high numbers in Nitrates. My tank looks great and fish and hitch hiker corals look great as well as the recently purchased hammerhead coral.

A local FB group told me that my Fluval Canister filters are Nitrate farms. I have one completely empty with the other running just one section of carbon. I have two Marineland 280GPH powerheads in the tank. My nitrates this morning have come down since last test and 15% water change and removal of filters and some sort of white tube looking things. *they were with the filters when we got the tank.*

My question is, will running just carbon in the canister filters keep my nitrate level high? I had the prefilters in the canisters and I think that is where my nitrates were coming from as these were always filthy at time of cleaning. I have two of these filters and they move some water. I would like to keep them till I can afford to get required items for a sump. I run a HOB reef octopus skimmer and it has been working like a champ. I would say our fish load is light/medium with a good portion of live rock.

As always, I am very appreciative of all knowledge shared.

 

[ClearRain]

Canisters will always harbor nitrates. You have to keep them clean on a regular basis, and yes, the sponges are where most of the nitrates are lurking... So the one is just circulating water then? That one shouldn't be harboring much of anything. Throw a carbon with nitrate removers such as ChemiPure(my fave) or Purigen in both of them and you'll be fine, just make sure you clean them regularly.

 

[ChrisAndJulie2012]

Awesome ClearRain. With my work schedule my water changes are done every third week and I always don't get to cleaning my canisters as much as I would like. *thanks to the three bundles of joy to the left* How long do you usually run your carbon with ChemiPure?

 

[ClearRain]

My bio load is pretty light so I usually get 2-3 months out of it in my 20. Since you have a 125 you might want to run the Purigen, you'd need ALOT more ChemiPure. The smallest bag of Purigen is meant for 100 gal. Throw one bag in each of the canisters and you'll be fine. At the LFS I work at the Purigen retails at $15, probably grab it for less online.

 

[ChrisAndJulie2012]

Thanks again! I ran the nitrate test again this evening and I went to a very bad number to almost none! I think one more water change and I will be right where we need to be.

 

[ChrisAndJulie2012]

Looking back at my original posts kinda shows I have learned a bunch just in the year since my last post.

So status of our 125.

We have *knock on wood* pretty good water parameters about 98% of the time. With nitrates going up a lil but thats when I would know my phosban was depleted. I have upgraded to a triggers systerm Ruby 36 sump, a AquaC EV-180 protein skimmer, an ATO. We have lived through a minor ich outbreak but that has calmed down and hasn't appears in 8 months. We run a Phosban 550 with a mag7 pump with biogen biopellets to keep things in check.

That is all I can think of right now.

Thanks and happy 2017!