Bacteria Dosing to Manage Nitrates

[Nano101]

IMO, the Red Sea stuff has eliminated/prevented Cyano in my problem tanks. High waterflow also really helps reduce cyano. Hard not to get sand flying though. I keep my power heads low in the tank and point them up as to not stir up too much sand. I only dose the red sea stuff if I see nitrates above 10, problem algae, or cyano. I use red slime remover as a last resort with a blackout, which usually solves the problem in 48 hours

 

[john.m.cole3]

IMO, the Red Sea stuff has eliminated/prevented Cyano in my problem tanks. High waterflow also really helps reduce cyano. Hard not to get sand flying though. I keep my power heads low in the tank and point them up as to not stir up too much sand. I only dose the red sea stuff if I see nitrates above 10, problem algae, or cyano. I use red slime remover as a last resort with a blackout, which usually solves the problem in 48 hours

good to know! I may end up giving it a try, thank you.

 

[cowboy]

@john.m.cole3 I ran the MB7 for about 6 months at which time I started letting the tank do its thing. Now I just feed LRS Reef frenzy once a day and my tank has made a huge come back.

 

[john.m.cole3]

@john.m.cole3 I ran the MB7 for about 6 months at which time I started letting the tank do its thing. Now I just feed LRS Reef frenzy once a day and my tank has made a huge come back.

is that the frozen or pellet version of LRS frenzy? We only have Rods food here, which is good, but I hear so much good stuff about LRS. Larry is bound to pop up now, lol!

 

[cowboy]

It's frozen and right now the closest place to pick it up for you is hobbs. You can buy direct but I believe it's either 5 packs or 10 packs at a time.

 

[john.m.cole3]

It's frozen and right now the closest place to pick it up for you is hobbs. You can buy direct but I believe it's either 5 packs or 10 packs at a time.

Thanks man!

 

[cowboy]

Yea no worries next time I head to lubbock if the LFS has it in stock I can pick you some up.

 

[cowboy]

Now as far as rods food my tanks gave me alot of trouble with GHA and Cyano when I was feeding rods.

 

[john.m.cole3]

Now as far as rods food my tanks gave me alot of trouble with GHA and Cyano when I was feeding rods.

I alternate feedings between rods and pe mysis. feeding 5 days a week right now. rods on Mon and Fri, PE on Weds, Sat, Sun

 

[cowboy]

That's pretty close t9 my old schedule but when I switched to reef frenzy even my coral really started reacting very well to it. Now I get al9t more color and PE.

 

[Bdog4u2]

A refugium works wonders if feed the crap out of my tank with no issues and when nitrates hit zero I trim it back

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

A refugium works wonders if feed the crap out of my tank with no issues and when nitrates hit zero I trim it back

Sometimes. Mine was not able to keep nutrients low enough.

 

[rlman41299]

I have read someone using the DVH biogro 123 and had good result. I have purchased it but have not started it yet. I am still finishing my last bottle of Nopox

 

[john.m.cole3]

I have read someone using the DVH biogro 123 and had good result. I have purchased it but have not started it yet. I am still finishing my last bottle of Nopox

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check it out.

 

[john.m.cole3]

IT's weird really... the reason I decided to create this thread was out of curiosity, not necessity. I removed my chemical filtration about 3 months ago (ROX GAC, GFO, and purigen). I was worried that my nutrients would explode and effect my corals. actually it did effect them in a good way! Growth and polyp extension increased. But, my colors are darkening at a slow rate. I've raised my alkalinity to coincide with the higher nutrient levels and the colors are improving. I currently have nitrates at 40 (salifert) and strangely enough my phosphates are at .042 (hanna ULR). I have a skimmer rated for 2.5 times my tank size and a marinepure brick to remove solids and house bacteria. 10% weekly WC. I want to find a way to bring the nitrates down to 10-20, but I'm not really sure if I need to. Just thought I'd share.

 

[saltyhog]

My colors were bad when my nitrates were above 10 but great around 2-5.

My experience with NoPox was a little different than noted above. It did a great job of lowering nitrates but did seem to trigger a small amount of cyano (that I never had with vinegar dosing alone). It wasn't really a problem and was mainly confined to low flow areas like the sump.

 

[Bdog4u2]

Sometimes. Mine was not able to keep nutrients low enough.

Mine works to good I was trying to keep my pods population high for my leopard wrasse, she's eating frozen now so I'm overdue on a trim its took my sump over and nutrients are undetectable

 

[john.m.cole3]

Well, I decided to dose bacteria and to carbon dose. Best of both worlds right? every other day I do 2 capfulls of Mb7 and every day I dose NOPOX, 9 ml a day for now. I figured why not only dose bacteria but also the food/carbon source they need . And I'm about to microscrubbing too! All 3 just to make sure I have no idea what exactly works, lol.

 

[Salty1962]

AF BioS, 2 drops 3-4 times a week to help keep nutrient down.