Nitrate, nitrate, nitrate...

[Manon]

Here is my question?? I have Nitrate in the range of 25-30 on a regular basis. I cut it down somewhat with water change but it comes back. My system has a deep sandbed, about 3", I used to have a biowheel in the sump but I removed it along with removing the filter trays. The only wet dry part would be the sponge I hang off the skimmer to quiet the water flow. I tried AZ-NO3 but my hammer coral started to shrink, it did not like that. I try to be careful with feeding, twice a day only small portion making sure everything is eaten.

I wander if my cleaning ritual is the culprid??? I change water weekly about 4-5 gal using the vacuum. Am I disturbing the sand bed too much????

I have to say that the level of Nitrate does not seem to bother my inhabitant b/c everybody appears healthy however....My built in overflow keeps building algea and the water level keeps going up in the tank!!!! That is the main problem.....

Thank you for your help!

Mia

[Shark Bait100]

I had the same problem. Nitrates around 20, until I installed a refuguim with Chaeto. Now the nitrates are almost undectable.

[macman7010]

yeah I would suggest vigorous protien skimming and a nice refugium

[Manon]

I forgot how the refugium would help because it seems to me that the built in overflow is kind of a refugium in a way???

Mia

[Shark Bait100]

You grow macro algea for nutrient export in the refugium. When the chaeto grows and is harvested out, it takes nitrates and phosphates with it. My refuguim has a med sandbed, and mangroves. Its also a great pod factory that gives my display a constant source of food.

The overflow might have hair algea, but is not the same as a refuguim.

[dhnguyen]

And that sponge would in time become a nitrate factory as well. Have you cleaned it lately?

How often/how much do you feed your fish?

25-30ppm isn't too bad unless you have SPS. But a refugium and macos will definitely help.


D.

[weblance]

Originally posted by Shark Bait100
You grow macro algea for nutrient export in the refugium. When the chaeto grows and is harvested out, it takes nitrates and phosphates with it. My refuguim has a med sandbed, and mangroves. Its also a great pod factory that gives my display a constant source of food.

The overflow might have hair algea, but is not the same as a refuguim.

I also have both mangroves and caulerpa in my refugium and it defenately works! About algea growing in the overflow isn't that a bad thing?

[Manon]

I feed my fish twice daily with a mixture of fresh food, I would say about 1/4 tsp. In my larger tank I have about 10 fish all together along with corals, a shrimp and hermit crabs. My 65 gal has only 6 fish and a few crabs.

I clean the skimmer sponge about once a month or less often. Perhaps I should be more careful. I don't really have room for a refugium!!! Perhaps a small one hooked on the side of my tank but I don't know how much it would help???

Mia

[dhnguyen]

One more thing... You are using RO/Di water right?

D.

[Shark Bait100]

clean the sponge once a week. food gets trapped in there and just rots.

[Manon]

D. I am using RO/DI water. I will clean my sponge more often. Do you guys think I was vacuming the sand too often???? I read another thread where somebody was saying that they almost never vacuum the sand!!!

Mia

[Shark Bait100]

It depends on what you want your sand to do. A med/deep sand bed should not be vacuumed IMO, but that's all it is. Like most info out there, its all opinions. I seeded my sand bed with Garf grunge, it added a nice assortment of critters and worms to break down ditritis along with a strong water movement, I haven't seen the need to vacuum. I also heard that you disrupt the anaerobic layer (oxygen free zone), and the denitrifing process is disrupted.

[dhnguyen]

I never vacuum my dsb either.

D.

[vessxpress1]

I read in a book that it's not necessarily bad to stir up the base a little. It said the stuff you stir up will feed your filter feeders, mushrooms, zoa, etc.. I occasionally stir mine up.

[Poolrad]

Hmm lots of stuff... 3" isn't really a DSB (4-6" is preferred if you go the DSB method). Second you should never vaccuum the sandbed, get sifters and use water movement to keep it clean. You seem to feed a lot, I used to feed twice daily then went to daily and am now ever other day. By changing my feeding schedule and adding a refugium with chaeto I went from 25ppm trate to 10ppm trate over the course of two months. Almost at 0ppm trates now (3 months later)...

[vessxpress1]

Have the same problem as you by the way. Stuck at 20 ppm, even immediately after large water changes. And I don't have anymore room on the back. Been looking into those little hang on fuges but would like to use an overflow box to clean my surface. Might run something off one side of the tank eventually. They say any fuge you can get will help a lot but get the biggest you can.

[mthedude]

I have the exact problem you do except I currently have a fuge w/cheato and it's not effecting my nitrate level. I had a similar thread on here about a week ago. You can search my username and find the thread, lots of good info on there. I think my problem was water movement combined with inadequate skimming. I had my 3 water pumps high in the aquarium all pointing up to keep the film off of the top of the water, so all that was happening was the detritus was building up on the sandbed. Now I have all my powerheads pointing down into the corners and I added another skimmer. Hasn't produced any dramatic results yet but seems to me it'll make my nitrate problem go away with time. Another thing; I've never cut or harvested my cheato, I suppose I should be doing that too.

[weblance]

Try Zeolith. I have a good dosage of it in my sump and never had problems with nitrate since!

[Fred_J]

There are a lot of things you can do to make your skimmer more efficient. Try reading the protein skimmer thread at the top of Anthony Calfo's forum. If you can skim out ammonia and nitrite before it is converted to nitrate then there will be less trates.
Fred

[weblance]

Originally posted by Fred_J
There are a lot of things you can do to make your skimmer more efficient. Try reading the protein skimmer thread at the top of Anthony Calfo's forum. If you can skim out ammonia and nitrite before it is converted to nitrate then there will be less trates.
Fred

Any www-address to go with that?

[Holyreefer]

Weblance,
There is a thread called "thumbs up for ozone" her on RC it talks about all kind of stuff, like making your skimmer more effective, so one of the ways is to add ozone to your tank.

Manon,
I also was having major Nitrate problems like a couple of months ago. My main problem was the water (not ROdi), another hting that may pay a factor is the amount that you feed like Poolrad said if you can try cutting down on the amount you feed per day. And adding any type of Macro will help export those nitrates away like mangroves or even Cheato, or even Calupera (which a lot of us here on Rc DON'T like) because it goes asexual on you and youve got a problem on your hands.

Have you considered doing weekly water changes as well instead of monthly that will also help reduce the nitrate levels your dealing with

[Manon]

Thanks a lot for all of your suggestions; I actually do water change weekly not monthly. I have tried Caularpa, whatever the spelling is..., and gave up b/c It would "bloom" reproduce and It was too risky as some of you know. I'm going to look at a small refugium I could put on the side. The feeding change worries me b/c when I cut down my yellow tang does not look as healthy!! Her stomack kind of poke in...

I have decided to remove the filter off the skimmer and will try just putting a tube that goes right into the water instead.

Mia

[dascharisma]

Originally posted by Manon
I try to be careful with feeding, twice a day only small portion making sure everything is eaten.

The fact that everything is eaten only means that it will turn into poop. Twice a day is clearly not cutting it. Try feeding once a week and doing 20% water changes twice a week. I promise that your fish will be just fine. You could even stop feeding all together and be fine for a month or more.

[Broodingwolf]

that is pretty dangerous advice to give out without knowing what his stocking list is, dascharisma.

[Holyreefer]

for the tang if you place a piece of nori in the tank i proimse cutting back on your feeding will be ok and your tang will PLUMP up 4SURE! Just let them get it loike once a week (all vegitarian fish)
Tangs, Angels, Rabbitfish...

What does your stocking list?