Reducing nitrates

PeterEde · Mar 22, 2023

My first upgrade was from the crap Aqua One skimmer to a decent one.

Spare time · Mar 22, 2023

Saaqib_Ansari said:
When I initially put the chaeto in it grew an insane amount and filled my entire sump I removed most of it after a year and it just doesn’t seem to grow anymore thinking the nitrates are too high now or something?

I am thinking that it might be low on some needed element. That is why I'd look at something like chaetogro

Snowxcross · Mar 22, 2023

Saaqib_Ansari said:
Yes I do 70 litres which is 10% every 2 weeks

Ya increase that by doing it weekly and double the percentage, try it. 18.5 gallons in a 185g system every two weeks probably not enough to do anything.

Saaqib_Ansari · Mar 23, 2023

PeterEde said:
My first upgrade was from the crap Aqua One skimmer to a decent one.

Thinking of doing the same not sure what to go for though

sczlars · Mar 23, 2023

Look on youtube for "parkers reef sulfur denitrator". This worked for me, with a bit of patience. I wish I had known about this sooner. I just couldn't do enough water changes, and I like fish.

PeterEde · Mar 23, 2023

sczlars said:
Look on youtube for "parkers reef sulfur denitrator". This worked for me, with a bit of patience. I wish I had known about this sooner. I just couldn't do enough water changes, and I like fish.

Or search here for denitrator. Looks to work well for all who built one

gbroadbridge · Mar 23, 2023

PeterEde said:
Or search here for denitrator. Looks to work well for all who built one

They work well, but IME you can't beat the price of dosing vinegar (carbon dosing) for Nitrate control.

Reef Tripp · Mar 23, 2023

Donovan denitrator,

Poor Man's Nutrients Control - Donovan's Nitrate Destroyer

Hello fellow reefers!. I have been in the hobby for more than 3 years, the first 2 years was tough. Cyno, diatom, nuisance algae, high NO3 (120ppm at one time) and ich/velvet. I have tried several nutrient control method (poor man, so most of it were DIY project). GFO, water fall scrubber...

www.reef2reef.com

toomanymatts · Mar 23, 2023

add some macro to the sump....

cpschult · Mar 23, 2023

toomanymatts said:
add some macro to the sump....

They said their chaeto wasn’t growing.

StatelineReefer · Mar 23, 2023

Counterintuitive, but, and this is just a suggestion here, don't worry about it?

Run carbon (or run more) to get SPS to grow near softies. Allellopathy is a thing.

Saaqib_Ansari · Mar 23, 2023

StatelineReefer said:
Counterintuitive, but, and this is just a suggestion here, don't worry about it?

Run carbon (or run more) to get SPS to grow near softies. Allellopathy is a thing.

I’ve added many sps over the years but eventually they all just die. Even hammers and torches I had several go from 1 head to 8 heads and then they all vanished once the nutrients went up

Troylee · Mar 23, 2023

I wouldn’t mess with it! Don’t worry about the numbers it’s only gonna cause you problems down the line! Get some Sps and jump right in! I had the same problem and threw some tester pieces in and they took off! Then I started carbon dosing to bring them down from 100 and all it did was cause a huge imbalance that I’ve been fighting since.. rrrrrrr lol

Saaqib_Ansari · Mar 24, 2023

Troylee said:
I wouldn’t mess with it! Don’t worry about the numbers it’s only gonna cause you problems down the line! Get some Sps and jump right in! I had the same problem and threw some tester pieces in and they took off! Then I started carbon dosing to bring them down from 100 and all it did was cause a huge imbalance that I’ve been fighting since.. rrrrrrr lol

I’ve tried sps in the past when my nitrates were 50-100 and they just wouldn’t survive theyd

Troylee · Mar 24, 2023

Saaqib_Ansari said:
I’ve tried sps in the past when my nitrates were 50-100 and they just wouldn’t survive theyd

I’d guess you got something else going on honestly.. I have yet to see any I’ll effects on Sps with elevated no3…

olonmv · Mar 24, 2023

Give this thread a read, it’s really simple to build AND does a fantastic job of reducing N03.

edit: when I started to dose a DIY stock solution of manganese, my cheato started growing like wildfire.

Poor Man's Nutrients Control - Donovan's Nitrate Destroyer

Hello fellow reefers!. I have been in the hobby for more than 3 years, the first 2 years was tough. Cyno, diatom, nuisance algae, high NO3 (120ppm at one time) and ich/velvet. I have tried several nutrient control method (poor man, so most of it were DIY project). GFO, water fall scrubber...

www.reef2reef.com