Quote:
Originally Posted by Reef Pilot
Don't understand why anyone would even think of running a tank that size without a skimmer!! With nitrates that high, it will take some time and effort to get back to a decent level. Skimmer, water changes, carbon dosing and/or bio pellets, and filter socks will all be needed, I believe. I don't think there is a single magic bullet.
I had about 100 ppm nitrates in a tank that I inherited after a house purchase. I used bio pellets, rinsed the rocks, vacuumed the sand, increased my flow, etc. to get my nitrates down to zero. But it took many months.
With carbon dosing and bio pellets, it is very important to start heavy dosing with MB7 (or equivalent) beforehand, to avoid other problems like cyano, cloudy water, mulm and clumping of the pellets in your reactor. Also a good idea to start slow and ramp up over a couple months.
Good luck!!
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The knowledge at the local LFS's around here about salt water is okay at best, and horribly insufficient for most of the items they sell to the customers. For example: the best skimmer, heck the only skimmer I have seen for sale in town is the coral life super skimmer. I affectionately refer to them as super soakers, since when I worked at one LFS they has a 70% return rate. The tank was taken care of previously by people who did not have the time or knowledge to upgrade them properly. Thank you all again for the suggestions. I have MB7 on order as well, I plan on using up some of my vinegar first, then I may try bio pellets down the line, budget permitting.