Nitrates

[fishRus]

I have a 55 gal tank softies and LPS - canister filter and protein skimmer my nitrates are 50 ppm and PO4 is 7 ppm. I am dosing 6ml a day of Red Sea NO3 PO4- X . I have no algae growth all corals look good should I increase the dose or try other means of reducing my nitrates?

 

[Jekyl]

Nopox takes a month to even show results. 2 30% water changes per week will get your nitrate down much faster. From there nopox can help prevent them rising.

 

[Sharkbait19]

If everything is doing well, I wouldn’t try to drastically/quickly reduce anything. That said, those numbers are pretty high. I’d increase water change frequency to slowly try to bring them down.

 

[Garf]

I have a 55 gal tank softies and LPS - canister filter and protein skimmer my nitrates are 50 ppm and PO4 is 7 ppm. I am dosing 6ml a day of Red Sea NO3 PO4- X . I have no algae growth all corals look good should I increase the dose or try other means of reducing my nitrates?

PO4 @ 7ppm?

 

[fishRus]

PO4 @ 7ppm?

Yes

 

[fishRus]

Yes

I’m not running any carbon or PO4 remover That seemed strange to me also I will verify that with a different test kit

 

[fishRus]

PO4 @ 7ppm?

My mistake PO4 is 0.7

 

[Apotack]

The canister filter is probably adding to your nitrate problem.

 

[fishRus]

The canister filter is probably adding to your nitrate problem.

Yes I believe that is true plus I have 14 fish in there and i can’t vac my tank very well because I have a lot of rock I have about. 1 in of coral sand. I’m going to rinse my filter media and do a 30% water change

 

[Apotack]

Yes I believe that is true plus I have 14 fish in there and i can’t vac my tank very well because I have a lot of rock I have about. 1 in of coral sand. I’m going to rinse my filter media and do a 30% water change

Are you sure your test is accurate, i would try to verify the test results before making changes. Slow changes over a few weeks is the way to go.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Nopox is an alternative and not a solution and can quickly strip nitrates and phosphates causing dino and other unwanted issues including cloudy water.
Adding a pouch of chemipure elite or even blue will help lower and keep in check or a small amount of GFO in a nylon pouch.

 

[Spare time]

Nopox is an alternative and not a solution and can quickly strip nitrates and phosphates causing dino and other unwanted issues including cloudy water.
Adding a pouch of chemipure elite or even blue will help lower and keep in check or a small amount of GFO in a nylon pouch.

Why would you say nopox is an alternative and not a solution? Plenty of people carbon dose or run biopellets in their tank as the main form of nitrate reduction and/or to maintain lower nitrates. Heck, Randy uses vinegar to indirectly feed his sponges.

 

[Jekyl]

Yes I believe that is true plus I have 14 fish in there and i can’t vac my tank very well because I have a lot of rock I have about. 1 in of coral sand. I’m going to rinse my filter media and do a 30% water change

About twice as many fish as you should. Lots of water changes are your best friend.

 

[Dan_P]

I have a 55 gal tank softies and LPS - canister filter and protein skimmer my nitrates are 50 ppm and PO4 is 7 ppm. I am dosing 6ml a day of Red Sea NO3 PO4- X . I have no algae growth all corals look good should I increase the dose or try other means of reducing my nitrates?

Nice aquarium! Don’t be in a hurry to “fix” the water chemistry.

What test kits are you using? The PO4 seems too high to be real. Nitrates could be that high.

 

[Reef.]

Yes I believe that is true plus I have 14 fish in there and i can’t vac my tank very well because I have a lot of rock I have about. 1 in of coral sand. I’m going to rinse my filter media and do a 30% water change

I don’t…seems to me your canister is doing an amazing job keeping your nitrates down if they are only 50ppm with 14 fish.

PO4 is on the high side but those numbers don’t warrant any drastic action.
I agree with Jekyl, water changes will lower your nitrates, not so much your PO4, get them to where you want them, then see how fast they raise, test regularly, then you can work out your best method to keep them at your chosen lvl.

 

[fishRus]

Are you sure your test is accurate, i would try to verify the test results before making changes. Slow changes over a few weeks is the way to go.

PO4 is 0.7 not 7 other wise accurate I know it’s hard to believe my coral are doing that good with 50 ppm nitrates

 

[fishRus]

Nopox is an alternative and not a solution and can quickly strip nitrates and phosphates causing dino and other unwanted issues including cloudy water.
Adding a pouch of chemipure elite or even blue will help lower and keep in check or a small amount of GFO in a nylon pouch.

Those are both good for lowering phosphates but I don’t think they do much for nitrates? Red Sea says don’t use those with their nopox. I was trying to bring them down slowly not as a quick fix. I think my tanks bio load is maxed out and it’s time to go bigger and better!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Those are both good for lowering phosphates but I don’t think they do much for nitrates? Red Sea says don’t use those with their nopox. I was trying to bring them down slowly not as a quick fix. I think my tanks bio load is maxed out and it’s time to go bigger and better!!

Bigger IS Better

 

[doubleshot00]

30% wc every 3 days until your nitrates are under 10 them test your phosphates. Then add rowaphos to your canister and retest after 4-5 dyas to determine if you need to add more or less. Then once under .1 add 4 britwell po4 bio bricks and see if you can stabilize. This is exactly what im doing now.

And chemipure hasn’t done a thing to lower any of my levels but make my water clearer. Gfo and nopox is a very aggressive approach so be carful. And i do have gfo and a brs mini reactor and im not using it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

30% wc every 3 days until your nitrates are under 10 them test your phosphates. Then add rowaphos to your canister and retest after 4-5 dyas to determine if you need to add more or less. Then once under .1 add 4 britwell po4 bio bricks and see if you can stabilize. This is exactly what im doing now.

And chemipure hasn’t done a thing to lower any of my levels but make my water clearer. Gfo and nopox is a very aggressive approach so be carful. And i do have gfo and a brs mini reactor and im not using it.

Why did you pick that Brightwell product over the GFO you already had?