High Nitrates

[marrone]

.. I also think that the fish wouldn't benefit from high nitrate levels either....

Some people run FO or FOWLR tanks at very high levels of Nitrates, anywhere from 100-200 or higher, without and problems. I use to run very high levels in my tanks and all my fish were fine, grew very large and lived a very long time. As a matter of fact I probably still do running high, I just never even bother testing my nitrate levels to see.

There was an article a # of years back where the Aquarium in Chicago was running their fish tanks at very high levels and everything was fine.

 

[jackson6745]

Does anyone have any recommendations to get rid of high nitrates?

Get A Bigger Skimmer!!!

I've been wanting to say that for a while:cheers: Seriously, a bigger/better skimmer will help keep nitrates and phosphates in check. You'll have to keep up the water changes to bring them down and the the skimmer will keep them down. Reducing your feeding is a good idea as well.

Pierce, no skimmer can help your FOWLR tank. You feed them more food than Warren eats in a day:tongue1: Sell that POS BK300 and give the Reeflo a try.

 

[Bob 1000]

Some people run FO or FOWLR tanks at very high levels of Nitrates, anywhere from 100-200 or higher, without and problems. I use to run very high levels in my tanks and all my fish were fine, grew very large and lived a very long time. As a matter of fact I probably still do running high, I just never even bother testing my nitrate levels to see.

There was an article a # of years back where the Aquarium in Chicago was running their fish tanks at very high levels and everything was fine.

Okay so now I'm totallly lost and wonder why I should do water changes at all because I can just let the nitrates skyrocket....lol...just kidding But I like to keep some delicate fish and don't think that fish should be kept in anything less than your best attempt @ real ocean water....

What Type of fish do you fellas with High nitrates & phosphates keep???

And do you even own a ro unit???
LMAO this is really driving me insane....lol Oh yeah, why do water changes again???

 

[meschaefer]

..lol Oh yeah, why do water changes again???

Replace trace elements, remove organics that will build up in the water causing algae blooms (high phosphates coupled with high nitrates will lead to high amounts of algae), and remove accumulating non-organic elements that will not be skimmed out of a tanK.

 

[meschaefer]

"If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way"

 

[Bob 1000]

Okay correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't high nitrates and phosphates the result of dissolved organics.. ie: overfeeding, lack of RO use, mysis not rinsed, lack of water changes and so on..

 

[meschaefer]

Okay correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't high nitrates and phosphates the result of dissolved organics.. ie: overfeeding, lack of RO use, mysis not rinsed, lack of water changes and so on..

They are. But high nitrates could also be symptomatic of an imbalance in the tank cycle, which could lead to a problem with Nitrates and not phosphates. This is the problem with bioballs, which don't have an anaerobic area for the bacteria that break down Nitrates. The bio-balls effecively break down Nitrite into Nitrate, but don't further break down the Nitrate. The rest of the system is busy playing catchup, potentially causing Nitrate to rise.

 

[Bob 1000]

Okay that is what I figured... It seems to all point to not doing something right, but that must not be the case if people are having successful systems.....:headache:

 

[jackson6745]

High Po4 and No3 shows a failure in your filtration system's ability to export wastes, a failure in your reefing ability for not reading the situation correctly and stocking accordingly, and a failure of the skimmer capacity recommendation (they all lie).

You should be spanked

 

[cali_reef]

High Po4 and No3 shows a failure in your filtration system's ability to export wastes, a failure in your reefing ability for not reading the situation correctly and stocking accordingly, and a failure of the skimmer capacity recommendation (they all lie).

You should be spanked

First , it is not possible for BK to overrate their skimmer's capacity, at least according to some peeps here :lol2:.

Secondly, some people just don't worry about Po4 and No3 as long as their corals are looking good, especially after they tried just about everything to control them without success.

 

[Bob 1000]

I have never known anyone to say I have high No3 or Po4 and have healthy fish and corals that just goes against all the I have read and heard from people who I have seen and tested their water...

So you guys with high nitrates and Po4 can test your water with a aquarium pharmaceuticals test kit for No3 and get high readings????
I say that test kit because if it's high there I've only seen coral death followed by fish death....

 

[cali_reef]

I have never known anyone to say I have high No3 or Po4 and have healthy fish and corals that just goes against all the I have read and heard from people who I have seen and tested their water...

So you guys with high nitrates and Po4 can test your water with a aquarium pharmaceuticals test kit for No3 and get high readings????
I say that test kit because if it's high there I've only seen coral death followed by fish death....

The blue stag you pickup earlier this week came from a super high No3 and Po4 tank, grew it from a frag.

People whom have seen my fishes can tell you all of them are a bit over weight.

 

[Bob 1000]

And I tip my hat to you for the high No3 and Po4 with success..

 

[danny]

nitrates

I thought the bacteria breaks down ammonia to nitrites & then nitrates are the end product. a large capacity refugium with a small bioload absorb the nitrates. Phos reactor with take care of the phosphates. When I say large capacity I mean at least 50 % of the main tank. I had a 120RR with a 60 gal refugium. Now I have a 30gal oceanic cube with a 21 gal trigger systems fuge with only a mated pair of percs. that's all the fish that will see the 30gal. I feed them once a week & let them eats pods the rest of the time.

 

[loismustdie]

I thought the bacteria breaks down ammonia to nitrites & then nitrates are the end product. a large capacity refugium with a small bioload absorb the nitrates. Phos reactor with take care of the phosphates. When I say large capacity I mean at least 50 % of the main tank. I had a 120RR with a 60 gal refugium. Now I have a 30gal oceanic cube with a 21 gal trigger systems fuge with only a mated pair of percs. that's all the fish that will see the 30gal. I feed them once a week & let them eats pods the rest of the time.

Danny, this has been the issue with fuges on this site and we are having a difficult time getting that point across for some reason. I stopped calling what is called "fuges" on this site and now call them dirty sumps with lights on them.
One guideline of fuges is that at a minimum, they be 1/3 (33%)the total water volume for them to be considered slightly worth installing. Most recommend far larger to include those who feel the fuge should be larger than the display. 99% of those who employ fuges on this site are barely pushing 5 to 10% total water volume. Fuges that small do nothing more than accumulate detritus and further pollute the tank, especially because they typically have way to low of flow and far too much cheato. When they are that small, they also do nothing to help offset pH at night. This is why we have had so many members experience better water quality when they removed their "fuges". They basically cleaned up their sumps.

I remember when I first saw Pierce's tank. I didn't believe him when he told me how high his PO4 and NO3 were. Now, while Pierce was able to get away with this (until this day, I don't know how) I wasn't. On top of that, when my water quality improved after I made some adjustments, some of the coral I got from Pierce started to die. He was keeping some rare stuff that I couldn't keep in my tank. But this is common with a lot of coral. Things that look a certain way or survive in one tank, may not make it in another. BTW, Pierces water purification system he ran was crazy. RO was not the nutrient issue for him.

 

[JLAudio]

I am still an advocate for a refugium. I was able to keep my nitrates almost undetectable in a 110 gallon reef, with a fairly large bioload (8-10) medium sized fish.

I had a huge algae problem previous to installing it, so I than did 5-10 gallons a day W/C for a week or so. I added a hang on fuge (28x5x16 or so) w/ calurpa, sand and some rock, and within a few weeks my nitrates were undetectable. I had to add a phos reactor to get my phosphates down, but a hang on completely controlled my nitrates for over a year.

At this time I only used DI tap water filter and did weekly 5-10 gallon water changes, but it definately kept my nitrates under control and it was only about 3-5 gallons fuge with alot of calurpa

 

[danny]

nitrates

You are totally right Chris. I feel that you need a large refugium with a small bio-load to make it work. If you are going to add a large amount of fish I would use a large skimmer. Even though my refugiums have been 50-70% of the tank volume, my next cube tank & fuge will have the same water volume. (60 gal. cube & 60 gal fuge)


danny

 

[Mario]

IMO get a refugium, You can find a nice hang on for pretty cheap on here. This along with a phos reactor. Fill the fuge with sand, some rock, and chaeto, and a light of course. These to devices along with 5-10 gallons a day or every other day for a week or so and you should be good. my fuge got my nitrates down to 0 in no time and phos reactor did same for phosphaters in a week.

This along with weekly water changes and reasonable feeding and your ready to go reefing.

Hey, thanks for the reply. I found it useful too...

However, I am getting a different type of algae that is growing....it is a light coverning of a brown type, very light, but there nonethe less...it seems when one controls one type of algae, another sprouts up....

What type of phosphate test would you recommend?

 

[meschaefer]

I am still an advocate for a refugium. I was able to keep my nitrates almost undetectable in a 110 gallon reef, with a fairly large bioload (8-10) medium sized fish.

I had a huge algae problem previous to installing it, so I than did 5-10 gallons a day W/C for a week or so. I added a hang on fuge (28x5x16 or so) w/ calurpa, sand and some rock, and within a few weeks my nitrates were undetectable. I had to add a phos reactor to get my phosphates down, but a hang on completely controlled my nitrates for over a year.

At this time I only used DI tap water filter and did weekly 5-10 gallon water changes, but it definately kept my nitrates under control and it was only about 3-5 gallons fuge with alot of calurpa

I find your anecdotal success intriguing. Do you have a current FTS for us to look at.

 

[loismustdie]

Matt, I looked in his gallery. He's got a pic in there from July. It looks like every other tank I've seen from fuge advocates. You can see tons of algae where his mag float doesn't reach. Cleaning your front glass and taking pictures doesn't constitute controlling algae.
I wasn't going to reply to his statement, because this discussion isn't meant to be about fuges, but I will say that I find it odd that any success would be given to a 3 gallon fuge and not to the fact that his sand bed has finally become mature enough to assist is reduction of NO3 along with his frequent water changes.
Either way, it is a nice tank and I'm not trying to bash here. I would like to know what kit you are using that shows such low nutrient levels while your tank photos show otherwise.