All you people with 0ppm nitrate how do you do it?

snaza · #1 12/29/2007, 06:23 PM

Had my tank 2 years and have never got nitrate below 5ppm. usually sits around 5-10ppm. i just want to know what setup the people with 0ppm have?

my setup

110g tank
30g sump with fUGE
Reef octopus recirc skimmer
DBB in tank and fuge
35x flow
6x54w t5s
100lb live rock
9 small fish
pepp shrimp
lots of hermit crabs
maily soft corals with a couple sps
feed frozen and flakes lightly 1 x daily
use NSW
use RO/DI for topus

thats it i think. any suggestions how i can get it to 0?

thanks

iwishtofish · #2 12/29/2007, 06:53 PM

I have a sump with as big wad of chaeto. I think it is the reason I have zero nitrates.

Sk8r · #3 12/29/2007, 07:15 PM

DBB? Whazzat, please?
Have you got anything in the system, a sponge cover on a pump intake, etc, that could be holding detritus? Do you need some hermits in the fuge?

Jocephus · #4 12/29/2007, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sk8r
DBB? Whazzat, please?

I would assume he meant DSB.

Your in good shape. How often do you do water changes?

snaza · #5 12/29/2007, 07:57 PM

sorry DSB, its gettng late.

got some chaeto in my sump. should i cut it back regularly?

do about 20% every month water change

no sponge on the return pump.

no i dont have hermits in my fuge? should i put some in? i have lots in my display

Sk8r · #6 12/29/2007, 07:59 PM

I think some cleaning in the fuge might help out that DSB: mine is a disgrace, and I'm going to get a CUC in there. [sorry for the question: wasn't being obnoxious---I just know I haven't seen everything in this hobby.

]

I'd start exporting some cheato so it has room to grow faster. That might help.

snaza · #7 12/29/2007, 08:01 PM

i dont have much water flow around the back of my tank and there is a bit of detritus on the back of some rocks. chould that be a cause?

snaza · #8 12/29/2007, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sk8r
I think some cleaning in the fuge might help out that DSB: mine is a disgrace, and I'm going to get a CUC in there. [sorry for the question: wasn't being obnoxious---I just know I haven't seen everything in this hobby. ]

I'd start exporting some cheato so it has room to grow faster. That might help.

thanks, what do you mean by cleaning the fuge? cheato export? i have a DSB and some LR in there. should i put some hermits

thanks again

snaza · #9 12/29/2007, 08:24 PM

i mix my frozen food with a small amount of tap water. would that be a problem? should i use RO water

ACBlinky · #10 12/29/2007, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by snaza
All you people with 0ppm nitrate how do you do it?

One word: Chaeto.

My sump/fuge is a 30g, and about 2/3 is full (stuffed) with chaeto. I light the fuge 12h/d on a reverse light cycle with a 20" 2x40W PC fixture (Current USA "Satellite"), the bulbs are 6500K and 10000K.

I also allow macro (Halimeda) to grow in the display, and harvest it regularly. There's a little Valonia (bubble algae) too. Anything that doesn't look hideous and uses N and P to grow is welcome in my tank! Nitrates and Phosphates have been absolutely undetectable for months (there was a brief hiccup when we moved house, but otherwise they've been zero since we upgraded from a sumpless 65g to our current 90g and started growing chaeto in the 'fuge).

If your chaeto isn't growing quickly enough, it might help to add more light. You can buy incandescent fixtures designed for small FW tanks at some pet stores, and install two compact fluorescent spiral bulbs ('daylight' bulbs are usually around 6500K) - two 15W bulbs should be enough to jump start the chaeto's growth.

mg426 · #11 12/29/2007, 10:13 PM

Refugium with Chaeto and a DSB

down and outman · #12 12/29/2007, 10:29 PM

Frozen food has a lot of phosphates and junk in it. I rinse mine out after thawing in my net. My skimmer used to go nuts after feeding, not any more.

demonsp · #13 12/29/2007, 10:38 PM

Gawd. You have a 110 gallon and i see nothing used for flow.
Whats the SB look like.Clean and sifted or brown and uncared for . If you can show a full tank pic and a SB pic i believe it could only benefit your response.

demonsp · #14 12/29/2007, 10:41 PM

Oh and the fuge with cheato is only another tool used for control.Not for elimination of nitrate.

MalHavoc · #15 12/29/2007, 10:41 PM

Agreed with more flow. flake food and processed food, as mentioned, have a lot of phosphate. Do more water changes more frequently (I change 10-15% every week). 9 fish - what fish, exactly?

demonsp · #16 12/29/2007, 10:51 PM

Its not the amount you feed. I feed flak and pellet in the morning and skipping a day 1 or times a week and no more then they can eat in 1 or 2 min. Then frozen at night mixing it up with brine ,cyclops, marine cusine ,ect.. and only what they can eat in 3 or 4 min.

But whene flow is low the the food settles in ,on around and under the rock work in low and no flow areas. Good flow keeps food suspended to be eatin or grabed by the skimmer or HOB. It takes time for low flow to show its ill affects and like now you dont even consider it. I would increase flow and CUC. Do weekly 20% changes and before you do the change use a turkey baster type divice and blow areas of rock and sand clean , but only do small areas at a time. It will take a few weeks or months but watch the readings and whene the drop you know your on the right track.Then adjust the water changes by your readings. If 10% weekly is controlling then you know or even 10% bi-weekly may do it.

ACBlinky · #17 12/29/2007, 11:56 PM

He mentioned 35x flow in his first post, just not the method. I think that should be enough - I've got about the same amount of turnover in my 90g, and it's zeros across the board.

snaza · #18 12/30/2007, 01:29 AM

i have 2 x m1500 and a K4 plus my return pump. ok i:ll do more water changes.

can i put hermits in my fuge?

i:ll get some more chaeto.

my SB is pretty clean. couple small brown patches but the crabs get to that.

thanks everyone

snaza · #19 12/30/2007, 01:47 AM

Here is a pic of my tank

demonsp · #20 12/30/2007, 02:00 AM

Hey very nice. I forgot what your problem was at firat and reread to besure. It looks very good and after i looked at it i think your main concern would be low flow in the back behind the rockwork.Increasing flow or adding additional spot flow is needed and perhaps some nass nails and a sand sifting goby would cure your nitrate problem.

In low or no flow areas waste , uneatin food , and other debris has a chance to collect and depending on amount of stock and feeding which looks low here , will collect and cause higher readings. GL.

snaza · #21 12/30/2007, 02:58 AM

thanks, i have a k4 behind the rocks which you cant see but i might get it pointing across the back of the tank. there is a bit a waste build up on the back rocks.

Sk8r · #22 12/30/2007, 10:11 AM

I use 2 opposed T nozzled Seaswirls in my 54, which keep everything agitated: just by constantly changing the angle of flow, they keep things pretty clean. About a hundred bristleworms would help you out, too: they process stuff and go into the holes in the rocks. Your softie coral is going to tolerate---even like---a little 'dirtiness' in the water; but a dead spot or two might well be a problem. A fighting conch, some nassarius snails, both helpful. Your trigger [I think that's what I see] may be eating your cleanup guys. But these larger fish can't get under the rockwork or into it to do the nitty-gritty cleaning. If food eludes them, it's out of reach. So some guys that live in the rocks, be they inverts or whatever, would help.
Pretty tank, btw, and nice rockwork!

virginiadiver69 · #23 12/30/2007, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by snaza

got some chaeto in my sump. should i cut it back regularly?

Cutting it back is the only way to export the nitrates that the cheato has taken up. Be sure to shake it out good first so you aren't throwing away any "critters".

Quote:

Originally posted by snaza

I do about 20% every month water change

Try 10% on a weekly basis.

Quote:

Originally posted by snaza
i dont have much water flow around the back of my tank and there is a bit of detritus on the back of some rocks. chould that be a cause?

I like to use a turkey baster on and around the the rock work shortly after I turn my pumps back on after feeding. This re-suspends any uneaten food to either be eaten or carried away to my over flow into my micron filter sock.

Quote:

Originally posted by snaza
i mix my frozen food with a small amount of tap water. would that be a problem? should i use RO water

Try using RO or tank water for this. I just dip a little water out of my sump. You could also skip the flake food. I have heard it contains high nitrates.

sanababit · #24 12/30/2007, 01:07 PM

if you are really worried about lowering your nitrates to 0 then you can always get a denitrifier, i have one, its a sulphur based one and it really works, dropped my nitrates from 25 to 0 in a month, and have been 0 since, just be very careful, do a lot of reading, because they can crash your tank too if you are not careful.

sana

virginiadiver69 · #25 12/30/2007, 01:23 PM

Also keep in mind there is a difference between 0 and undetectable. I would bet that all of us that THINK we have 0 really have ~3-5ppm.
From what I understand...unless you are running a sps heavy tank, anything under 20ppm is acceptable. I have seen several people that run a softy only tank and believe part of there success is in running a "dirty" tank. So snaza, if you want to try to lower it some fine, but try not to stress over it to the point of adding specialized equipment just for it.