Are water changes the only way to keep nitrates down?
- Thread starter Black96WS6
- Start date
Anything that grows fast, doesn't need to be fed from an external nitrogen or phosphate source, and fixes nitrogen is a good candidate for Nitrate reduction. The larger Tridacna clams also fit the bill.
Keep in mind though that the Nitrate isn't really removed until you physically remove the nutrient sink from your system. ie. If the Xenia, Clam, Sarcophytum, Macro, Bristleworm, whatever, dies before you remove it then the Nitrates are put back into the water column. Also keep the chemical products in mind like Caulerpins, Aleopathy chemicals from leather corals, etc.
Jim - Consider the hobbiest with limited space for a refugium (most hobbiests). Using Xenia in a remote shallow refugium with a lot of light can be effective because they can grow to pest proportions. Macro algae does better if you have a large container, Xenia just needs the light and a rock to grow on. It's not for everyone for sure.
Keep in mind though that the Nitrate isn't really removed until you physically remove the nutrient sink from your system. ie. If the Xenia, Clam, Sarcophytum, Macro, Bristleworm, whatever, dies before you remove it then the Nitrates are put back into the water column. Also keep the chemical products in mind like Caulerpins, Aleopathy chemicals from leather corals, etc.
Jim - Consider the hobbiest with limited space for a refugium (most hobbiests). Using Xenia in a remote shallow refugium with a lot of light can be effective because they can grow to pest proportions. Macro algae does better if you have a large container, Xenia just needs the light and a rock to grow on. It's not for everyone for sure.
Black96WS6":3cevmiee said:
Not only no but woopsies this is a family board
Nitrates, as with all other parameters, will not be maintained at optimum levels through water changes alone. In this case at 0.0 even with 0.0 nitrates in the replacement water.
To me the best way of maintaining any parameter is to setup a system where the system itself is maintaining that parameter. In the case of nitrates, IMO, the best method is through thriving plant life. IME I have add nitrates go from ~ 120-180ppm to 0.0 in three weeks with no water changes and a very light bioload. After I added macro algaes. With a heavier bioload on my 55g it took much longer. But the did come down to 0.0. And again with no water changes.
beaslbob":q5ftogd7 said:Black96WS6":q5ftogd7 said:
Not only no but woopsies this is a family board
Nitrates, as with all other parameters, will not be maintained at optimum levels through water changes alone. In this case at 0.0 even with 0.0 nitrates in the replacement water.
To me the best way of maintaining any parameter is to setup a system where the system itself is maintaining that parameter. In the case of nitrates, IMO, the best method is through thriving plant life. IME I have add nitrates go from ~ 120-180ppm to 0.0 in three weeks with no water changes and a very light bioload. After I added macro algaes. With a heavier bioload on my 55g it took much longer. But the did come down to 0.0. And again with no water changes.
Gotta pic? ....ya gotta move on dude, if ya don't. Last pic I saw, I wasn't impressed with your all-tapwater-plant ideas. :roll:
~wings~
wings8888":1s4rqze7 said:
Gee who said anything about tap water in this thread. Just getting nitrates down.
anyway here is a pic from this thread:
http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthr ... t=beasl%2A
Looks pretty good to me and has lowered nitrates it that tank. Which is all this particular thread is all about.
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Just a caution to those admiring Razor's Refugium. Those Calcareous Algae look awesome but they are typically not the easiest to keep and they grow far too slow to be a good nutrient export. Halimeda is an exception if you can keep the water loaded with carbonate and calcium.
In other words, they don't meet the criteria for a good export mechanism in my opinion.
In other words, they don't meet the criteria for a good export mechanism in my opinion.
By far the best and most reliable way is to remove the material before it breaks down. Skim wet to remove particulates and organic materials that would form nitrates. Live rock also has plenty of denitrification ability. Problem with DSB is that unless they have the correct amount of low O2 space, they won't convert nitrates all the way back to N2 gas, just to ammonium.
I agree with the need for caution with calcerous algae as an export mechanism. I kept some clumps of halimedia that were growing vigorously for a while, but it really sucked up the calcium, it wasn't worth it to me.
When you pull halimedia out and examine it, especially if you dry it, you can really see how much of the plant is calcerous material. I really think it is self defeating to grow something for nutrient export, that is also pulling out loads of calcium at the same time. But if you have the means to keep up with Ca demands, it is a pretty algae.
When you pull halimedia out and examine it, especially if you dry it, you can really see how much of the plant is calcerous material. I really think it is self defeating to grow something for nutrient export, that is also pulling out loads of calcium at the same time. But if you have the means to keep up with Ca demands, it is a pretty algae.
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