Nitrate removal

Tangkeeper05 · Jul 31, 2020

Hello everybody, looking for some veteran knowledge on best way to approach nitrate removal without bottoming out to 0. Any thoughts on this?

Robertellis30 · Jul 31, 2020

I would say partial dosing of Red Sea noPox

Kryptonian · Jul 31, 2020

Hi!
If your nitrates are out of control, here are some tips to keep them down. It's unlikely you will bottom out since fish are alive and you're still feeding the tank. (Assuming you do have fish or other living creatures in there)

1. More water changes and maybe take more water out with each change.
2. NoPox the tank, just don't overdo it.
3. Feed less or try to remove excess food that isn't eaten. Cleaning filter socks or powerhead covers after feedings will help. My powerhead covers grab a lot of food so that's an easy way to get food out.
4. Run a media reactor with biopellets.
5. Grab some macroalgae for your refugium.
6. Run or tune-up a protein skimmer to pull more waste.

With high nitrates, are you noticing an algae bloom? This will often happen since the algae grows quickly feeding on nitrates.

Tangkeeper05 · Jul 31, 2020

Kryptonian said:
Hi!
If your nitrates are out of control, here are some tips to keep them down. It's unlikely you will bottom out since fish are alive and you're still feeding the tank. (Assuming you do have fish or other living creatures in there)

1. More water changes and maybe take more water out with each change.
2. NoPox the tank, just don't overdo it.
3. Feed less or try to remove excess food that isn't eaten. Cleaning filter socks or powerhead covers after feedings will help. My powerhead covers grab a lot of food so that's an easy way to get food out.
4. Run a media reactor with biopellets.
5. Grab some macroalgae for your refugium.
6. Run or tune-up a protein skimmer to pull more waste.

With high nitrates, are you noticing an algae bloom? This will often happen since the algae grows quickly feeding on nitrates.

Tangkeeper05 · Jul 31, 2020

Thank you for the reply, IMO im trying to get away from water changes as these tiny 10-20% really just dont do much when your only sitting at 10ppm or lower to start with. Id also like to stay away from nopox simply because vodka is dirt cheap. My nitrates are not out of control just trying to figure out what method will be best to implement in the coming weeks, it is a fish only system with a protein skimmer. No chateo yet, can’t have it on this build because protein skimmer is in the way. I was looking at carbon dosing or running biopellets and use gfo for my phosphate control. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet because i see too many issues when your nutrient levels hit 0.

JReef85 · Jul 31, 2020

Have to agree with the NoPox. Been dosing it for years and keeps my nitrates low. Just read the directions and take your time with it. Once you lower them down it’s easy to maintain your nitrates at a low level.

Kryptonian · Jul 31, 2020

Tangkeeper05 said:
Thank you for the reply, IMO im trying to get away from water changes as these tiny 10-20% really just dont do much when your only sitting at 10ppm or lower to start with. Id also like to stay away from nopox simply because vodka is dirt cheap. My nitrates are not out of control just trying to figure out what method will be best to implement in the coming weeks, it is a fish only system with a protein skimmer. No chateo yet, can’t have it on this build because protein skimmer is in the way. I was looking at carbon dosing or running biopellets and use gfo for my phosphate control. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet because i see too many issues when your nutrient levels hit 0.

In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with sitting at 10ppm Nitrate. That's a pretty healthy number and with a fish-only system, anywhere from 10-30 is probably pretty acceptable.

I have a fish-only + a few small zoas that can't go in my other tank without being eaten. I do a 10% about every 6 weeks and the parameters are always on target. Normally right on 10 ppm nitrate.

Tangkeeper05 · Jul 31, 2020

Kryptonian said:
In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with sitting at 10ppm Nitrate. That's a pretty healthy number and with a fish-only system, anywhere from 10-30 is probably pretty acceptable.

I have a fish-only + a few small zoas that can't go in my other tank without being eaten. I do a 10% about every 6 weeks and the parameters are always on target. Normally right on 10 ppm nitrate.

Yepp just trying to figure something out for when they start rising, i have a solid game plan to have first round of lps dropped in by jan. 1st but im still trying to figure out my nutrient export haha

canadianeh · Jul 31, 2020

It sounds like you are already aware of many ways to bring nitrate down. I am not sure what you are looking to hear.

In regards chaeto, have you thought about HOB refugium if your skimmer is in way and don’t have other space?

Tangkeeper05 · Jul 31, 2020

canadianeh said:
It sounds like you are already aware of many ways to bring nitrate down. I am not sure what you are looking to hear.

In regards chaeto, have you thought about HOB refugium if your skimmer is in way and don’t have other space?

Ive thought of a couple ways to implement it, i am aware of all ways to achieve what i want but i haven’t ever used any method besides water changes. Just looking for some insight of which method really is the best. I assume it is refugium because it uptakes nitrate and phosphate but i have to redesign for that but i do have a manifold ready for 2 reactors and a return pump strong enough to handle it. Ive heard of bio pellets not working too many times so its sounding like vodka dosing and gfo?

Marvollo · Jul 31, 2020

Agressive water changes to get under control and near your goal, run bio pellets seeded with bacteria, lighten food load, clean all filter media on the regular. Look for dead snails and fish when they disappear.

Kryptonian · Jul 31, 2020

Tangkeeper05 said:
Ive thought of a couple ways to implement it, i am aware of all ways to achieve what i want but i haven’t ever used any method besides water changes. Just looking for some insight of which method really is the best. I assume it is refugium because it uptakes nitrate and phosphate but i have to redesign for that but i do have a manifold ready for 2 reactors and a return pump strong enough to handle it. Ive heard of bio pellets not working too many times so its sounding like vodka dosing and gfo?

Your protein skimmer is already removing nitrate and probably the main reason you're at 10ppm. Even with a coral addition in the future, the corals are going to want nitrates between 2-10. Over 20 in the long run can possibly have consequences but 10 is perfectly safe. If you think your numbers are rising, just making sure you're not overfeeding and tuning up the skimmer to remove more will probably be plenty for you to keep the number down. I probably wouldn't worry too much about trying to implement a refugium unless you increase the bio-load in the tank by adding more fish in the near future.

Tangkeeper05 · Jul 31, 2020

Kryptonian said:
Your protein skimmer is already removing nitrate and probably the main reason you're at 10ppm. Even with a coral addition in the future, the corals are going to want nitrates between 2-10. Over 20 in the long run can possibly have consequences but 10 is perfectly safe. If you think your numbers are rising, just making sure you're not overfeeding and tuning up the skimmer to remove more will probably be plenty for you to keep the number down. I probably wouldn't worry too much about trying to implement a refugium unless you increase the bio-load in the tank by adding more fish in the near future.

There will be more fish to come in the near future once it has some more maturity, 2 juvenile tangs right now. I have not heard of a skimmer removing nitrates, im not well versed on what its removing besides the protein slick that was there before its addition and the nasties that nori puts in the water column.