Reducing Nitrates

[omerseymen]

Hi guys. I have been checking my nitrates for 2 weeks but it has been the same as 50*.
How can i reduce the nitrate in my aquarium?

Are De-Nitrators worth to buy? (for example SeaChem- Denitrate) And should i buy a media reactor to use a denitrator?

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I would stay away from chemicals.

You have a few options;
- get a skimmer if you don't have one already
- get macroalgae
- do a large water change
- find the cause of the high nitrates and fix it (overstocked tank, over feeding, is the tank properly cycled, ETC)

 

[fishywishy]

Water change

 

[nachurch]

Still very new to the hobby but I was told putting carbon in a bag in the back of the tank helps to reduce the nitrates as well! Is this true or not so much??

 

[crazyfishmom]

Still very new to the hobby but I was told putting carbon in a bag in the back of the tank helps to reduce the nitrates as well! Is this true or not so much??

Not all that much. Carbon dosing helps with nitrates but with such high levels it is unlikely to help much. As other posters have said, large water changes and then carbon dosing to keep under control would be my recommendation.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Still very new to the hobby but I was told putting carbon in a bag in the back of the tank helps to reduce the nitrates as well! Is this true or not so much??

Not activated carbon, which is sold in the bags. Dosing carbon helps, but it more risky and not necessarily the most efficient.

 

[jabberwock]

Adjust feeding behaviors and live stock. Any algae going on?

 

[nachurch]

Not all that much. Carbon dosing helps with nitrates but with such high levels it is unlikely to help much. As other posters have said, large water changes and then carbon dosing to keep under control would be my recommendation.

Thanks for the info dude!! I only have a 10G tank right now so a good 1G change every couple weeks seems to keep everything running smooth

 

[nachurch]

Not activated carbon, which is sold in the bags. Dosing carbon helps, but it more risky and not necessarily the most efficient.

Fair enough, thanks for the info!! Still learning as much as I can haha

 

[Reef Rhino]

Still very new to the hobby but I was told putting carbon in a bag in the back of the tank helps to reduce the nitrates as well! Is this true or not so much??

Not so much in my opinion. But I do believe Seachem Matrix in a bag is effective to reduce nitrates.

 

[vancouverredsea350]

Ice cap pro algae turf scrubber really helped with mine, my nitrates were always high.

 

[crazyfishmom]

Thanks for the info dude!! I only have a 10G tank right now so a good 1G change every couple weeks seems to keep everything running smooth

If your nitrates are at 50, a 1 gallon water change every couple of weeks is unlikely to make a big dent. I would recommend to do 3 gallon water changes every other day for 3-4 changes which will get you down to the 10-15 which is a good healthy range and then you should be able to monitor and maintain where you want them.

 

[Rjukan]

If your nitrates are at 50, a 1 gallon water change every couple of weeks is unlikely to make a big dent. I would recommend to do 3 gallon water changes every other day for 3-4 changes which will get you down to the 10-15 which is a good healthy range and then you should be able to monitor and maintain where you want them.

That was a hijack lol.. the OP has 50 nitrate.

 

[crazyfishmom]

That was a hijack lol.. the OP has 50 nitrate.

Lol sounds good. I should’ve cross checked on that!

 

[tzabor10]

What is your rock and sand situation? My nitrates are always at 3ppm. I’ve attributed it to my deep sand bed and plenty of rocks

 

[omerseymen]

Thanks a lot guys, so i am going to make a water change. And i want to ask is changing 40 liters of my 200 liter tank enough? Or should it be more than 40 Liters

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Thanks a lot guys, so i am going to make a water change. And i want to ask is changing 40 liters of my 200 liter tank enough? Or should it be more than 40 Liters

A water change will definitely help, but to get the nitrates all the way down, you should need to do a 100% water change. To get them down to 25ppm, you would need to do a 50% water change. This is why water changes aren't the best.

 

[rhitee93]

Here is how the math works:

40 liters/200 liters= 0.2 or 20%

so you would reduce your nitrates by 20%, leaving 80% of the original amount behind.

Final value would be 0.8*50ppm = 40ppm

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I would stay away from chemicals.

Sounds pretty hard to do. lol

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hi guys. I have been checking my nitrates for 2 weeks but it has been the same as 50*.
How can i reduce the nitrate in my aquarium?

Are De-Nitrators worth to buy? (for example SeaChem- Denitrate) And should i buy a media reactor to use a denitrator?

I discuss and compare the many ways of reducing nitrate here. They all have different pros and cons.

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION

Nitrate is an ion that has long dogged aquarists. It is typically formed in aquaria through the digestion of foods, and in many aquaria it builds up and can be difficult to keep at natural levels. In the past, many aquarists performed water changes with nitrate reduction as one of the primary...

www.reefedition.com