Constant battle with nitrates

[Mark Novack]

Welcome to R2R!
Have had good luck on new-ish tanks using a mix of MarinePure 8"x8" plates and cheato + sea lettuce with a grow light in my sumps. But later, the MP had to go as it caused both phosphate and nitrate to drop to zero

HI, Mark Novack here. I have high nitrate levels due to heavy stocking and feeding. I have room in the sump for Marine Pure. Do you really think it's effective? A block is about the same price as one 100 gallon water change so if it works my back would be happier. How long should it take to see a decline in nitrates if it's working?
Thank you.
Mark

 

[BeejReef]

Yep it will if you don't "slump" the frozen and pour off the excess liquid both your phosphates and nitrates will climb. I've actually on purpose not strained off the excess to intentionally raise the phosphates and nitrates a bit in the tank a time or two.

I actually take the "slumped" food and dump it into a fine strainer and let the excess liquid drip out as much as possible. Then, invert the strainer into a fresh, empty container, add a couple of drops of Selcon or Zeocon - mix a bit. And that's what ends up in the fridge to feed the fish.

Usually keep about 7-8 different frozen fish cubes in the freezer to make up the "smoothie": mysis, brine shrimp, cyclops, chopped clams, mussels, seaweed, krill, etc. Very easy to make and this ensures the fish are getting a wide variety of vitamins, fiber and other nutrients to keep them colorful and healthy.

I've been feeding frozen wrong this whole time. ty for your insights. I like where my numbers are though, so in a quandary

 

[BeejReef]

Seems like a pretty solid setup. Certainly lightly stocked. Only thing at all subjective in your original post is what you consider to be a light feeding of pellets. Sand and rock discussion regarding bio-diversity is very interesting. I'd want to know why my chaeto wouldn't take the first go round. Maybe it will now? If you've gotten a tank to over 1.5 yo and your only issue is nitrate and a moody leather coral, you've got nothing to learn from me

Best of luck

 

[Big G]

HI, Mark Novack here. I have high nitrate levels due to heavy stocking and feeding. I have room in the sump for Marine Pure. Do you really think it's effective? A block is about the same price as one 100 gallon water change so if it works my back would be happier. How long should it take to see a decline in nitrates if it's working?
Thank you.
Mark

A couple of issues with Marine Pure blocks, plates, and spheres. They can get coated with algae and because they are so soft, it's very easy to damage them when cleaning. Which is connected to the other issue. Some have noted higher than normal readings of aluminum when using MP. So scrubbing them and potentially causing the surface to come apart a bit is probably not a good idea.
The other issue is that they can work too good and cause your phosphate and nitrate levels to drop to zero, and then bad things can happen with your bio stability and algae growth in the tank. So if you decide to use MP, keep a close eye on the phosphate and nitrate levels. I removed mine after a couple of months.

 

[SeaDweller]

My nitrates as of yesterday were 20ppm got out sulfur denitrator in 7-12 days should drop to 5ppm . Then put denitrator away

Forgot, welcome comrade

How?? It took 2-2.5 months for my reactor to get established.

 

[Mistahbrock]

Hello people

Even thought I'm running a heavily planted freshwater tank I can forward this little tip
I am using six rather small jars filled with around 2" filtersand
I tried to take a picture but...well I hope I makes sense

The idea is to create an anaerobic zone colonising nitrate eating bacterias, but as I also have a lot of plants I can't tell if this method will work in a saltwater system too.

Cheers, Brock

 

[laverda]

Hello people

Even thought I'm running a heavily planted freshwater tank I can forward this little tip
I am using six rather small jars filled with around 2" filtersand
I tried to take a picture but...well I hope I makes sense

The idea is to create an anaerobic zone colonising nitrate eating bacterias, but as I also have a lot of plants I can't tell if this method will work in a saltwater system too.

Cheers, Brock

It typically requires more than 2” of sand depth to do much in a saltwater system. Most feel you need 4-6”. The finer the sand the less depth you need. 4” sugar fine is the minimum from what I have learned.

 

[Dom]

The best way to deal with excessive nitrates is to determine the cause and correct.

A nitrate level of 50 is high but not the end of the world, IMO. I've tested water from the bag when I purchased a new fish and have found it to be as high as 180. But the fish was fine. You would expect better from the LFS... right? I sure did.

Where were you trying to grow Chaeto, which light were you using to grow it? I don't think it was excessive flow that caused the demise of your Chaeto. And it certainly isn't a lack of nutrients. It may have been lighting quality (or lack thereof).

I think you have the right idea; addressing the issue via nutrient export.

I didn't notice anywhere in the thread... are you running a protein skimmer? Skimmers are important as they are the sewerage treatment plant of the tank. If you do not have one, I would spend my money there instead of on products that magically remove nitrates.

 

[Neoalchemist]

A couple of thing's come to mind when looking at your tank. First for such high nutrients you have little to no green in there, I don't even see any green film or green calcerous algae that should be in all tanks. Have you used any algeacide treatments like fluconazole or vibrant? Also I see only 1 Kolalia style flow pump which is not very much flow. Without adequate flow the rock and sand will quickly become nutrient sinks, they will clog with detritus and can take a very long time to break down.
I also would like to know which brand of test kits you are using because some kits can vary wildly and some are known to be junk.

 

[Neoalchemist]

What is in your right rear corner? Looks like a submersible filter or uv of some sort.

 

[mattzang]

i was having high nitrate issues for awhile too

from the advice i got it was basically: reassess how much you're feeding, you can probably cut back a bit, including dosing stuff like amino acids. and lower them while figuring out a way to increase export in the future.

short term solution was larger water changes. i have a 50 gallon tank + 10?ish gallon sump, but actual water volume is probably 45 or so. so doing 5 gallon water changes once a week wasn't doing much. so i started to do 15-20 gallon water changes. kind of a hassle, but really not so bad after doing it a couple times.

long term solutions: started dosing nopox, got a better refugium light, and started to be more deliberate with my feedings.. fuge light is just some $20 par38 bulb from amazon, way more effective than the cheap led light i was using. nopox (you can DIY this stuff as well) also seemed to work wonders. both of these combined got me down to near zero within a month or so. now i just have the fuge going at night along with a maintenance dose of nopox to have <10 nitrates.

 

[Hermie]

Where were you trying to grow Chaeto, which light were you using to grow it? I don't think it was excessive flow that caused the demise of your Chaeto. And it certainly isn't a lack of nutrients. It may have been lighting quality (or lack thereof).

I am also curious to learn more about the setup for Chaeto, since it's a plant, it's pretty easy to grow given enough light and some flow.

 

[robert]

Water change to keep things from getting out of hand. 40 is about as high as you want to go but your in great shape for 15 months in. What's the problem? You need to use that nitrate - add more corals - maybe a nem - or a clam. There are many ways to balance the equation. Build up the consumer side - corals - unless you like chaeto.

 

[Mark Novack]

The best way to deal with excessive nitrates is to determine the cause and correct.


This is a solid and classic method and good advice. However, the search is on for ways to reduce nitrates effectively regardless of production source. In my case, nitrates come from gross over stocking and I'm still missing one planned majestic fish addition and maybe one impulse buy fish.
I'm thinking of an active low flow filter like the aquamedic (a bit too small) or the Deltec (a lot too expensive) filled 2/3rds with bioballs, given a circulation pump, carbon source, and flow rate of one tank volume per 1 to 2 weeks. I would use a redox probe to regulate the flow and carbon dosing to keep the internal redox of the filter between - 100 to - 150. The 22kg Redsea salt bucket with the screw on lid looks like a good container. A small recirculating pump, a small feed pump or t-off and valves to control through flow from 1 to 5 liter per hour, etc. I think many people know the scheme but shy away because it seems so, so, hmm, esoteric? It's witchcraft. It's also the only idea I have heard of to actively control a large anaerobic nitrate consuming bacteria population.

I really want to try this but I fear to do it without some expertise above my own. It's uncharted territory for me.

Mark

 

[MrObscura]

With that bio load in that size tank you should be struggling to keep nitrates up.

Something is definitely leaching, or adding it other than the fish and your feedings.

Is the test accurate?