Amquel + in reef tank to control NITRATE

[tnv102]

As most of you know, Amqel is an amazing product I use it in my 4000 gallon koi pond to neutralize chlorine for city water or potassium permanganate treatments. It also neutalized all aspects of the nitrogen cycle.....which leads me to this.......My 100 gallon reef tank has a moderate fish load, the nitrates have always been in the 10-20ppm range. The entire tank is thriving (thankfullly), however I just can't, no matter what I do or use, reduce that number to 0ppm. I realize it's because of the fish. So, I isolated a small amount of water with a nitrate level of roughly 20ppm and added a VERY small amount of Amquel + (plus), and then tested again for nitrate. The reading was zero. Does anyone use amquel plus to control nitrates in their established reef tanks? The bottle states that is can be used in saltwater, but will it bind up some of the essential elements rendering them useless? I will be checking tonight to see what the effect is on calcium and KH...my guess is that it will have no effect. My main concern is the other trace elements. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I would be concerned about the effect it would have on your corals and any inverts in the tank. I'm not familiar with the particular product in question... but I'd be leary of putting it in my reef tank!

10-20ppm... is as low as you can get it? It sounds like there is an equipment failure somewhere. I assume that you are doing regular water changes and have a more than adequate skimmer?

It would take some doing, but you may also consider putting in a 45-50g fuge as an algae scrubber. I've always wanted to run a big algae fuge, but just never had the room.

B

 

[tnv102]

Thanks for the reply B. Yep, I do regular water changes with RO/DI. I also use purigen and have a 250 gallon rated skimmer. I don't have any dead spots (that I know of). I've also used nitrate sponge by Kent (which doesn't work very well in my opinion). I've used everything short of a nitrate reactor...which I refuse to buy. The amquel label says it's safe for inverts. Maybe I'll do some experiments in my 30 gallon. A fuge would be great, but I too don't have the room.....I do plan on one if and when I do upgrade the tank size. Thanks again.

 

[jhemdal1]

tnv102,

I don't believe that Amquel+ will remove a significant amount of nitrates, nor do I think that it will change the nitrogen to a form that is not biologically active. Here is an interesting link written by John Kuhns the inventor of Amquel in which he comments on Amquel+

http://aquascienceresearch.com/AmQuel+2.doc

(Be sure to read the section about test kit interference)


JHemdal

 

[tnv102]

Thanks JHemdal. That's a very interesting article.

I'd like to know what "indications" that the product was masking or interfering with the color indicator associated with the testing procedure. The article goes on in detail about ion chromatography, but yet explains nothing about the chemistry that involves the "masking" or "interfering" with test kits.

Do you know if the author of this article is the inventor of just Amquel, or both Amquel and Amquel+? If it's just Amquel and not Amquel+, I'd be a little skeptical for obvious reasons.

I'll write to ARG for a copy of the report. Thanks again!

On the label...
"AmQuel Plus will not interfere with pH, nitrite, or nitrate test kits. Please note, however, that when testing for ammonia, your test kit must be based on the salicylate method, not those using Nesslers method. Also AmQuel Plus will react and give false, low readings of oxygen tests using Winkler reagents."

Product Specifications:
A standard dose (1 teaspoon (5 ml) for every 10 gallons of water) will remove at least the following amounts of toxic compounds:

At least 1.2 mg/L (1.2 ppm) of all ammonia compounds.
At least 2.0 mg/L (2.0 ppm) of nitrites.
At least 13 mg/L (13 ppm) of nitrates.
At least 3.0 mg/L (3.0 ppm) of chlorine and chloramines.

 

[tnv102]

This might be a long shot, but does anyone know of any studies that expose nitrate-sensitive inverts to high nitrate levels and then try to neutralize it with amquel +?...of course using a control as well. This may be the only way to determine if it really works or not.