Nitrate reduction with low phosphates

[pickupman66]

So, my latest battle (which seems to be a trend for me over the last few years) is battling elevated nitrates with low phosphates. my phoshpates test at .02ppm on my hannah meter. Nitrates at the 10-15ppm levels per salifert. I have about a 10 gallon refugium with a large amount of Cheato in it. 18 hour lighting cycle. my fish consume their once daily feedings quickly and it is a bare bottom tank. 10 to 15 gallon water change every 3 to 4 weeks. Overall volume is about 80 gallons. Skimmer produces a full cup of dark super stanky skimmate a week.

any ideas? this is a barebottom system and I do suck off the detritus each water change.

 

[bknapp]

Honestly, I think those levels are about perfect. Not high enough to affect anything yet high enough to give corals enough to grow.

 

[Marquiseo]

Use a carbon source: biopellets, Red Sea NoPox, Sugar, Vodka, Vinegar. But note that, you can't reduce one without the other; your nitrates will not reduce with 0 phosphates and vice versa.

 

[pickupman66]

See that's why u haven't gotten back into ecobak. Bk. I cannot keep sps though.

 

[bknapp]

Do you think that's the cause of your SPS issues?

Only ways without some sort of dosing I think would be reduced (even further) feedings or more water changes. Are you just running chaeto and a skimmer?

 

[pickupman66]

Yup. Big ball of cheato. 18 hours of light a day. Yes on the the skimmer. It makes dark nasty scum. Maybe too dry. I may lighten it up. Here is a shot tonight. Lps and zoas r happy.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Vodka Dose

 

[bknapp]

I think it looks great.

 

[pickupman66]

Thanks. Not sold.on vodka. Didn't work well for me in past on other tank. I may look at ecobak again since I have a reactor. Maybe. Or adjust my skimmer a bit more

 

[twilliard]

Different types of macros in your fuge would solve this.
I have 10 different types and have to dose no3

 

[Reefing Madness]

Thanks. Not sold.on vodka. Didn't work well for me in past on other tank. I may look at ecobak again since I have a reactor. Maybe. Or adjust my skimmer a bit more

What didn't work out with it? How long were you dosing it? And at what MLS were you at? Most don't wait long enough for it to work, because they go by the Melev how to guide, which takes 7 months to take effect.

 

[pickupman66]

It was probably 3 or 4 years ago when I did that. On my 180. I could not tell you how much and for how long I did it.

 

[pelagic]

So, my latest battle (which seems to be a trend for me over the last few years) is battling elevated nitrates with low phosphates. my phoshpates test at .02ppm on my hannah meter. Nitrates at the 10-15ppm levels per salifert. I have about a 10 gallon refugium with a large amount of Cheato in it. 18 hour lighting cycle. my fish consume their once daily feedings quickly and it is a bare bottom tank. 10 to 15 gallon water change every 3 to 4 weeks. Overall volume is about 80 gallons. Skimmer produces a full cup of dark super stanky skimmate a week.

any ideas? this is a barebottom system and I do suck off the detritus each water change.

Please refer to my post https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/np-balance-do-not-use-gfo-phosban-unless….194662/
I'd suggest to have NP pellets or any carbon source, you can simply add carbon source and does 0.03PPM of Phosphate daily to reduce the Nitrate.

 

[pickupman66]

So, reading that, I need to DOSE phosphate to get my nitrates under control? Or a Nitrate Reactor? Maybe its time to bring back the Denitrator coil I did years ago. I wonder if I still have it.

 

[cee]

I suspect that without sand you don't have enough anaerobic zones for the bacteria that break down the nitrate. Have you considered a remote deep sand bed?

 

[pelagic]

So, reading that, I need to DOSE phosphate to get my nitrates under control? Or a Nitrate Reactor? Maybe its time to bring back the Denitrator coil I did years ago. I wonder if I still have it.

Yes,dosing phosphate is one of the solutions if you also have carbon source like bio pellets or vodka.

if you have space in your sump, you can have a bucket with 6 inches of sand to have a remote deep sand bed, like Cee suggested.
if you are using this, make sure you have enough flow to go through the surface. Using the bucket will allow you to remove it easily.

or, you can use a zeolite reactor to absorb nitrogen before it turns into nitrite(no2) and nitrate(no3).

denitrator would be my last choice since there's a chance it can crash the tank.

Also, from what I have observed and the research I have done about the light cycle for the plants, 12 hours light cycle will yield the best result. too much light will only make the plants grow slower.

 

[pickupman66]

Thank you for the information. Unfortunately I do not have space for a deep sand bed under my tank unless I put it in a section of the sump. I had really good success many years ago with a coil. I quit using it because it was too small for my 180. I will also look into the reactor.

 

[.AcroKiller.]

Try nopox been hearing great stuff about it. There's also a thread on the other site that shows you how to do your own nopox

 

[pelagic]

Thank you for the information. Unfortunately I do not have space for a deep sand bed under my tank unless I put it in a section of the sump. I had really good success many years ago with a coil. I quit using it because it was too small for my 180. I will also look into the reactor.

Also, having carbon source will allow you feed a lot more than any other methods, that's also something can be considered.
I currently feed 4 cubes frozen food a day, plus the pellets and seaweed, the fish and the corals are happy with this.

 

[.AcroKiller.]

Pellets and a bare bottom tank is a hard task. Specially when you have lots of flow in the tank and noting settles. Dosing a carbon source might be a better solution for a tank on a lower nutrient side because you can control the amount you add.