Nitrates - What to do about it

[howdy20012002]

I have high nitrates in all of my tanks..and haven't been able to get rid of it.
Could it be that i am feeding my fish too much?
I feed flakes in the morning and mysis in the afternoon.
All of the tanks have been up and running for a few months and haven't really had any new additions or anything that would cause problems
All my other parameters are fine...
Is there other options than water changes to bring down nitrates?
I was doing about a 25 percent water change a month
However, water changes are time consuming and a bit costly
My bio load is about average..not too high in any of my tanks
Does anyone know of any other ways to get rid of nitrates?
Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Neal

[Ruth]

I usually have nitrates in my tanks as well although it is slowly going down as I have been feeding quite a bit less.
Basically good skimming, water changes (I do at least 25% in all my tanks bi-weekly) and less feeding. Personally I prefer to skim fairly wet as this seems to help.
Also when you are doing a water change really baste the hell out of your live rock and follow behind your baster with the suction hose to help get some of the crap that gets caught in your rock out of there.

[Delphinus]

It can be a very frustrating thing -- been there. It's basically a bioload input versus output thing. Lots of factors .. feeding, amount of live rock, amount of skimming, macro algae growth, amount of skimming, denitrators, deep sand beds; all can be tweaked to help. Really advanced ideas include sulfur reactors and dosing vodka, I don't know much about them but you could try a search.

Good luck!

[Stab_Master_Arson]

I heard of that solution that you put in your tank and it removes nitrate but I haven;t heard any good things about it and I doubt it works.

25 percent water change a month isn't really that much. I am not saying one of those abrasive reefers and say it isn;t enough and start to preach but in the scheme of things 25 percent a week is possible. It takes longer but it isn't that much of an inconvenience. I would start changing your water more frequently for starters. try a 25 percent every two weeks and if it isn;t enough try it every week. Also, if you are skimming the skimmer will not remove the nitrates, it will only remove the dissolved organics (pre nitrate material) so you will basically have to dilute the water enough with fresh water and then use a skimmer to prevent the nitrates.

Also, you will find if you put more nitrate in your tank and leave some of the algae and coraline on your glass sides and back so it doesn't obstruct view) you will see the nitrates PREVENTED.

Certain filter feeding inverts like clams and some corals absorb dissolved nutrients for nourishment. If you stick some of these creatures in the tank they should also PREVENT nitrates...but make sure the water is below 10 ppm before you try this.

In conclusion, the only true way to get rid of nitrates is to add new water

There is an old adage:

The solution to pollution is dilution.

So use the advice I gave you to keep the nitrate in check, after you get rid of it.

[AndyL]

Macro algae's! Chaeto works really well.

One can also do research on the sulfur and coil denitrators, both are well proven technology. Both work well if setup, sized and used correctly.

I'm waiting on albert to chime in on zeolite based systems :D

[andrewsk]

Just to jump in here. I agree that you should do water changes. I do 10% per week myself.

As long as you are changing at least 25% per month it will help. It is just better to spread it out to bi-weekly or weekly is even better.

Do you have a deep sand bed in your tank?

A lot of testing has been done running a bucket filled with reef sand outside of the aquarium. It must be kept UNLIT and the sand is generally about 8 inches deep. You can use one of those big instant ocean tubs or the ones at home depot. Cut a hole in each side (1 a bit lower than the other). Add a bulkhead to each and feed water from the sump into the bucket at the higher bulkhead and then back to the sump through the lower one.

Most accounts have this reducing nitrates to nothing.

Also Chaeto Algae in the sump can do wonders.

[howdy20012002]

http://www.aquadirect.com/store/product.php?productid=66&cat=104&page=1.

anyone ever tried something like this?

[andrewsk]

Here is the link on Deep Sand Buckets. (IE Fluidized Sand Beds) It is a great, if not long read.

Follow this and you will have no Nitrates.

Enjoy.



http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/printthread.php?s=&threadid=595109&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

[TheReefGeek]

What skimmer(s) are you using, and what is your total water volume(s)

In conclusion, the only true way to get rid of nitrates is to add new water
I disagree. I am lazy, I don't keep up on my water changes like I should, and I have never had a nitrate problem (other than one catastrophy due to a bad batch of IO salt), and I keep medium to heavily stocked, well fed tanks.

I would start up a big-ass macro algae refugium, and blast it with a cheap 400w magnetic ballast & bulb from the electrical/lighting store. The macro algae will suck up your nitrates and phosphates.

Another solution to nitrates is a remote deep sand bed. Fill a couple old salt buckets with regular play sand 80% full, install 2 bulkheads above the sand level at each end, and pump water slowly over the top. There is a huge thread about RDSBs on reef central. This is so cheap, why not try it? You already have the buckets, I bet you have a powerhead, all you need to buy is cheap play sand, and some bulkheads. The theory goes that passing water over the top, water will slowly diffuse through the bucket, to anerobic zones where denitrifying bacteria are, and this will strip away your nitrates over time.

[Delphinus]

I found that the DSB in a bucket was not as effective as it was claimed to be. In 6 months 60lbs of aragonite in a 8gallon bucket did not touch my nitrate levels anywhere near the same level as was done with growing cheato in a wee little aquaclear lit by 2 9w PC's.

I'm not saying it's useless, but I am saying that I tried it, exactly as was suggested in that thread listed at RC, and I found the results vastly underwhelming compared to the promises made therein. Perhaps my tank had a problem that counter acted the benefits but nobody was able to offer any solid suggestions. Tank is now tore down anyhow so it's a moot point, but just thought I'd throw my experience out there.

You can still try it of course, the theory is solid. Nitrate buildup is a result of the balance between that which produces nitrates and that which consumes or reduces nitrate (be it water changes, skimming, nutrient absorption, whatever). A DSB should have nitrate reducing ability so adding a DSB should theoretically help, but I find a 5g or 8g salt bucket doesn't give you enough surface area to truly be an optimal method. I think 60 lbs. of aragonite 4" deep over a larger surface area (so say a sump or remote shallow tank or something like that) would be far superior to 60lbs of aragonite 15" deep over a 12" diameter circular surface area (or whatever it is those buckets are). It's just that the bucket is cheap and everyone has hundreds of them so why not put them to use. But it's just not the optimal use of the idea.

[TheReefGeek]

I don't run RDSBs because I don't need to because of my fuge as well, just thought I would throw it out there as a potentially cheap fix.

I think the concensus was that you need 1 bucket per 80 or 90 gallons of water in your system.

I would do a fuge first. You can also include a "xenia basket". This a floating basket that you throw into a large fuge, and put xenia into. Xenia grow quickly and pull crap out of your water too, but you need the basket or they dont get any light due to the macro algae, especially chaeto.

[Murminator]

I threw out all my sponges, bio balls etc......viola no nitrates....well just a liitle:mrgreen: