Battling nitrates

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My WC is 20 liter per week. I did a 50% once and caused all sorts of grief. I wont do that again.
I managed to get my NO3 down using refugium, biobrick(Mantis/GenesisRock) and NOPOX.

What size tank. That is like 5.25 gallons. I change out 90-110 gallons every week to 10 days. My reef was doing ok and my softies really growing also an acropora, a couple of chalices. My torch looks ok, but my elegance isn’t fully extending on one side, might have to move it. I also have 36 fish in this reef.

 

[PeterEde]

What size tank. That is like 5.25 gallons. I change out 90-110 gallons every week to 10 days. My reef was doing ok and my softies really growing also an acropora, a couple of chalices. My torch looks ok, but my elegance isn’t fully extending on one side, might have to move it. I also have 36 fish in this reef.

Only 30gal

 

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Only 30gal

So far I have had good results from larger water changes but know it can stress livestock. That is why I want to attack it from a different direction.

I don’t want to take a chemical approach as it doesn’t eliminate the issue.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I don’t want to take a chemical approach as it doesn’t eliminate the issue.

I don't understand what that even means.

The issue is more N is added than is exported or consumed. All methods that I know of address that issue, or they won't work.

What chemical method?

If you mean organic carbon dosing, that eliminates the issue by increasing consumption just as much as growing macroalgae or feeding less addresses the issue.

 

[HankstankXXL750 Verified Sponsor]

I don't understand what that even means.

The issue is more N is added than is exported or consumed. All methods that I know of address that issue, or they won't work.

What chemical method?

If you mean organic carbon dosing, that eliminates the issue by increasing consumption just as much as growing macroalgae or feeding less addresses the issue.

I might not be saying it right, but what I am trying to say is that I’m not looking for magic in a bottle, I believe that carbon dosing is a “natural” process (ie would occur in the ocean). I have read a lot of articles and threads that reinforce patience and not using quick fixes. Those quick fixes or magic elixirs is what I think I mean when I say chemical. I haven’t researched carbon dosing but have heard of it so that might be an option. Do you dose with a dosing pump? And if so, then it would be relatively easy to adjust dosage if stripped too much.

the products I have been looking at
Reactors, scrubbers.

is a sulfur chamber, or gfo, or media like matrix in a reaction chamber going to do the best. What has worked for others.

for instance will matrix in a chamber stabilize or will it eventually strip too much, the same goes for gfo, sulfur, etc.

I’m fairly confident if a scrubber works really good that I can increase or decrease the light cycle to control the amount of nutrient export.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I might not be saying it right, but what I am trying to say is that I’m not looking for magic in a bottle, I believe that carbon dosing is a “natural” process (ie would occur in the ocean). I have read a lot of articles and threads that reinforce patience and not using quick fixes. Those quick fixes or magic elixirs is what I think I mean when I say chemical. I haven’t researched carbon dosing but have heard of it so that might be an option. Do you dose with a dosing pump? And if so, then it would be relatively easy to adjust dosage if stripped too much.

the products I have been looking at
Reactors, scrubbers.

is a sulfur chamber, or gfo, or media like matrix in a reaction chamber going to do the best. What has worked for others.

for instance will matrix in a chamber stabilize or will it eventually strip too much, the same goes for gfo, sulfur, etc.

I’m fairly confident if a scrubber works really good that I can increase or decrease the light cycle to control the amount of nutrient export.

OK, I'm just not aware of any fixes for nitrate that fit your description.

Sulfur denitrators work fine, but deplete alk and may be overkill for most reef tanks (IMO).

GFO won't do anything for nitrate. It's a phosphate binder.

Organic carbon dosing, denitrifying media and possibly bacterial additions all increase bacterial consumption of nitrate and can work. All of these methods can be underutilized and not get the effect you want, or overutilized and drive nitrate too low (as can sulfur denitrators).

Growing macroalgae or other photosynthetic organisms in a sump or refugium can lower N and P.

 

[HankstankXXL750 Verified Sponsor]

OK, I'm just not aware of any fixes for nitrate that fit your description.

Sulfur denitrators work fine, but deplete alk and may be overkill for most reef tanks (IMO).

GFO won't do anything for nitrate. It's a phosphate binder.

Organic carbon dosing, denitrifying media and possibly bacterial additions all increase bacterial consumption of nitrate and can work. All of these methods can be underutilized and not get the effect you want, or overutilized and drive nitrate too low (as can sulfur denitrators).

Growing macroalgae or other photosynthetic organisms in a sump or refugium can lower N and P.

So based on that, I have Red Sea tanks of various sizes and use their refugium chambers. I’m not achieving the results I would like (especially in my predator tanks)

so tquestions.
1. Can I get a predator tank too clean? Or would super low nitrates/phosphates not have a negative impact. I do have GSP in my “FOWLR” tanks. I’m actually guessing that unless I went with several options I wouldn’t ever get to super low nutrients.

2. Am I right to deduce from your answer that a scrubber would be the next logical addition for me to pursue as it will export both nitrate and phosphate?

and back to our other discussion on nitrites, I have a lion fish and a porcupine puffer that have ended the velvet TTM protocol and have no permanent home to go in yet as I leave their tank fallow. I have them both in a 20 gallon tank. 1/4 diluted sample tests between .2 & .5 Red Sea test so above .8 below 2.0, ammonia badge reads safe. How closely should I be monitoring this. I didn’t have the ability to cycle the tank, so using matrix that was in a chamber from my reef and added a piece of live rock to provide some bio action. Have been doing 50% water changes as without diluting it was reading at least 1.0 as the sample was dark pink. I promise this is my last nitrite question, but want to get them through the final steps to health.

 

[Spare time]

Btw you could try red graciliarcia (red ogo) for a refugium.


Biopellets would amazingly for nitrate but not so much for phosphate.

 

[Treefer32]

Well, maybe we can work together to find a solution! I have a 340 gallon mixed reef of 20 larger fish. I feed close to 1-2 oz of my homemade people frozen food (mixed in with selcon, nori, freeze dried mysis, and amino acids for fish, plus some coral food).

I also feed an entire sheet of BRS nori per day. (It's completely gone within a couple hours).

My filtration:

1. Auto filter roller
2. Skimmer rated for medium load for 400 gallon volume.
3. Turbos Aquatics Algae turf scrubber - Medium size (lights on that 24/7)
4. Bashea Reactor full of 1 Liter of bio pellets
5. Nu-Clear Cannister filter that I took the cartridge out and put in Matrix Denitrifying Rocks that the aquarium water falls through.
6. I have 4 gyres and 2 MP40s to help keep food and detritus from building up in the display.
7. Dosing Vodka with a doser

Nitrates topped out at 40.6 ppm
Phosphates at .4 ppm

(That's with all the filtration well established and in place listed above)

Water changes:
If I do 50% - 160-170 gallons

It'll cut both in half for 1-2 weeks then they are back up. So far based on my tracking nitrates raise by .5 - 1 ppm per day. So within 30 days they could go from 0 to 30ppm. Obviously I don't get them to zero. So, from 20 to 50. . Anything above 40 I find toxic to corals.... Plus have read that nitrates above 40 can inhibit fish health as well.

So, following along!