Reduce nitrate in saltwater tank

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So you think that you dropped nitrate from 40 ppm to 0 ppm in 4 days?

I'm skeptical, but if real and not a testing error or other issue, that would be rather remarkable.

 

[sbazain]

Hi,guys.
I want ask you that which are easiest and effective methods for reduce nitrate in saltwater tank?[emoji4]

i go + on feeding less do some water changes maybe do a little vacuuming of the substrate ,i have a fast method , i had high nitrates about a week ago started dosing micro 7, 30 mll every day on my 150 gl. for one week and it dropped to 0. but i like to feed my hugs so i have to be always on the look out for nitrates thats just a mending do the current thing do you have reactors

 

[sbazain]

i think I replied already i used microbacter 7 on my 150 , dosed 30 mll everyday for one week and i brought the nitrates down to .05 thats just a band aid you can feed less ,vacuum the substrate, water change

 

[Purpule Tang]

Thanks for help sbazain.
I surely buying bright well micro bacter 7 and dose like that you.[emoji4]
My tank is 300 liter how much dose bacter7?
But I have a bio pellet reactor for 3 months but still my nitrates tank not dropped to zero.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Just add a drop of nopox every week... If you have no corals, there's not much to worry about. The nitrate level is fine really, only thing that will bug ya is if you have lights and the algae that will grow.

 

[runzwithscissors]

Russ I mean no disrespect but this is new to me as I've never dosed a new tank with ammonia and I can see the ease for new aquarists to use that method. Over the last decade or so I've gotten away from using live animals like fish to cycle with and instead cycle with fresh live rock. I realize this is frowned on by those who believe it threatens the tank to add any unsterilized rock to the tank but I like all the beneficial life that comes in on the rock. My last shipment of rock came in with brain corals, ivory corals, tube corals, sponges, clams, urchins, crabs, plants, etc. Adding small amounts of filter feeding foods the tank cycled in a very short period of time allowing me to begin adding corals pretty quickly with little rise in ammonia or nitrates. Kind of a cycle in slow motion and yet a year later the tank is full of corals and a small handful of fish. You just can't rush it which I suppose you can using ammonia to establish a large bio filter quickly.

I'm also a huge fan of buying fresh live rock. I got mine from Liverstockusa.org and was really surprised with all of the really cool stuff that came with the rock. Tank cycled in a couple of weeks. I realize that some people shy away because of the cost and potential for unwanted hitchhikers, but I have never encountered the problem with bad hitchhikers (encountered problems with the cost, lol). Nothing like driving to the airport to pick up and opening a box of lr that stills smells like the ocean.

 

[mrjohnreed]

So I am still working through the kinks on this tank but I think we are almost getting there. All of my levels are looking pretty good even the nitrates are not really bad at this point in the program. I have a water change coming this week and I have introduced the cleaning crew into the tank to begin to work on the small amount of detritus that I now have in the tank. I think that I am on the right track finally.

 

[sbazain]

let me ask a stupid question when you nitrates that means that your nitrites are high which then turn into nitrates i think so how do you bring down your nitrites does that sound right or am i about of the ball park

 

[Turbo's Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

@sbazain once your bacterial colony is well established (nitrogen cycle is complete) then any ammonia excreted from fish or generated by rotting food is very quickly converted to Nitrite and then to Nitrate. You rarely, if ever, see measurable Nitrite in any tank. Also in saltwater tanks Nitrite is not toxic like it is in freshwater tanks, I read somewhere the Nitrite would have to get to over 100ppm in a saltwater tank to be toxic. Not sure if that figure is correct but the point is that Nitrite is not a problem (toxicity) but the presence of any measurable Nitrite would surely indicate a problem with your bacterial colony.