Locating Nitrate Sources
- Thread starter Dom
- Start date
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lol. nothing but chato an four other macros.
you have a sump? chato trap
you have a sump? chato trap
OP
OP
Dom
Full Time Reef Keeper
Yes; I run a sump. I posted a tour of my setup yesterday or the day before. I'm puzzled because the issues I present here have only been over the last 8 or 10 weeks. Prior to that, the tank thrived. I keep asking myself; what's changed.
Your test kit might not be that accurate. If your water change water is reading 0 nitrate, then you will immediately reduce your nitrates by 20%. They could creep up, but not that fast. Do 2 20% water changes in a week, and keep doing them until you reach your desired nitrate level.
I recently rejuvinated a 100gal FOWLR that had nitrates between 80-160 according to the test kit. I did 250gal worth of water changes, 10-20gal at a time over a 2 week period. It can be done...
How much rock do you have? You can always add Marine Pure, the stuff is amazing. It has an amazing amount of surface area, much more than any rock.
Which live rock has the most surface area and porosity? - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=KtbsCPlBnQg&sns=em
Sent from my iPhone
Which live rock has the most surface area and porosity? - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=KtbsCPlBnQg&sns=em
Sent from my iPhone
I'm thinking one quart of the Marine Pure spheres in the sump would put you way ahead of the nitrates.
There's no reason they should be that high with your water change schedule. Your being short on rock to begin with leads me to believe you don't have enough surface area for bacteria. The new skimmer will definitely make a big difference. I would also recommend a bag of Chemi pure blue, that should take care of it. I'm no expert but for what it's worth this formula has worked for me from the beginning.
You can build a rack for the spheres out of egg crate for your sump. Then when you do your maintenance you can easily slide it out for a good rinsing.
There's no reason they should be that high with your water change schedule. Your being short on rock to begin with leads me to believe you don't have enough surface area for bacteria. The new skimmer will definitely make a big difference. I would also recommend a bag of Chemi pure blue, that should take care of it. I'm no expert but for what it's worth this formula has worked for me from the beginning.
You can build a rack for the spheres out of egg crate for your sump. Then when you do your maintenance you can easily slide it out for a good rinsing.
OP
OP
Dom
Full Time Reef Keeper
Again, this tank has thrived up until about the last 8 or 10 weeks. So, something has changed to cause what we are discussing here. I understand rule-of-thumb with live rock is 1 pound per gallon. The tank is a 15 gallon display with about another 5-7 gallons in the sump. For the sake of conversation, I call it 25 gallons of total water capacity, but it's more like 22. I have over 15 pounds in the display and about another 2 pounds in the sump, so, while it may be a bit lite, I don't think the rock is the issue.
Based on all the helpful input I have received here, I think my aggressive water changes in an effort to drive down the nitrates has depleted my bacteria base to a level that cannot handle the bio load.
The new protein skimmer should go a long way in improving the overall water quality. I've ordered a bunch of supplies, among them some bottled nitrifying bacteria to supplement when doing water changes..
A.J.
Community Member
Are you dosing Cal and Alk? I would stop using buffer that stuff is terrible and causes more issues then doing good. Looks like you have a deep sand bed, when was the last time you vacuumed it really well? Nitrites can really build up there. Have you tried dosing RedSea No3? It's works really well but take a few weeks of dosing everyday to start working.
OP
OP
Dom
Full Time Reef Keeper
That sand bed is really misleading. Current from the power head causes it to be high in the corners and very low in the center. I don't vacuum the sand bed. But I do give it a real good churning prior to water changes. I've ordered and plan to start dosing with Kalkwasser. Additionally, I plan on supplementing with bottled bacteria after every water change.
Joel B in FL
Active Member
I use Prodibio in my 29 biocube and it made a huge difference in my nitrate levels. According to their info their biodigest product is specifically for nitrate and phosphate. I use the nano reef kit to supplement all sorts of things but you can always just dose the biodigest although they do suggest adding bioptim which is food for the bacteria, it is included in the nano reef kit.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/biokit-reef-prodibio.html
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/biokit-reef-prodibio.html
