Just about had it now!!!

[kooma]

I am no expert that's for sure... but I fixed my Nitrate problem with two simple things.

1) I threw out my existing food(s) (everything, flakes, pellets, seaweed, etc) and remaining bucket of salt that I used for water changes.

2) I replaced with new top of the line products recommended in various threads for no nitrate, phosphates etc. My personal choices were:
- Ocean Nutrition for the food
- Red Sea Coral Pro Salt
- Coral Frenzy for the corals

I cut back feedings to every 3rd day and 25% water changes every week. I did not add anything to the water other then a bit of food and the new water for changes.


I might have just got luckly but I was at zero nitrates within 3 weeks and have been there since March 2007.


I'm guessing my problem was old food and old salt......


Well that's my 2 cents for what it's worth.

[Delphinus]

I wouldn't pass on the idea of a denitrator even though I have problems with mine. The theory is sound, it should work. My problems come from that I'm trying to adapt something that wasn't really designed to be a sulfur reactor. It was drawing in air at one point which killed off the anaerobic bacteria, it has a bad flange that leaks under the slightest bit of pressure, etc.

Another idea is to try a coil denitrator - it will cost you about $20 in parts so it really wouldn't hurt just to try it and see where things go. Albert has some in his store, so you can ask him to show you one maybe. There's also a thread on Canreef where "howdy20012002" documented the build process.

Probably what happens is the nitrates just get bound in the rock and sand ... until you have a mechanism that proactively reduces nitrates it will likely be a problem that persists for a while.

Hearing advice from me, while I'm suffering the same problem, might be a bit of a "pot calling the kettle black" so - forgive me if this does seem odd, but here are some suggestions I can come up with. Whether they're good or not .. well .. who knows.. but, these are the things I'm considering:

- denitrator (as discussed)

- remove the sand (sell anything that requires sand - conches, etc.)

- consider swapping out some rock and replacing with new. Sell off part of your rock, or put it in a rubbermaid with some SW and a heater and a powerhead and let it sit there for a few months. (This is called "cooking" your rock - it's supposed to be a good way to rejuvenate rock which may be "haggard" - which - yours and mine - with levels like these, probably is the case).

- Zeovit is supposed to reduce nitrate and phosphates. If you're considering trying this anyhow, maybe this is a good opportunity to put the method to the test and see how it measures out.

- Set up a refugium and actively grow/prone macros. Chaeto, caulerpa, you name it. Get a bright light so it grows fast and start sucking up those nutrients.

There's definitely something askew here, it's just a question of finding it and correcting it. It definitely IS possible to have a tank with nitrates <10, most people don't seem to have to deal with a problem of this magnitude, so it's just a question of finding the right groove. We can beat this!!

[trilinearmipmap]

I had some nitrate problems due to overfeeding, the nitrates were about 5 to 10 range, this was earlier this year.

I started adding sugar, went to barely detectable nitrates on the Salifert test, accompanied by much improved skimmate production.

My understanding of how sugar works is bacteria feed on the sugar, the bacterial population locks up nitrates and phosphates, then the bacteria get skimmed out by the skimmer.

I started adding 1/8 or 1/4 tsp of sugar daily in a 120 gallon (I forget which) and gradually increased it to 3/4 tsp daily. Lately I have slacked off and just add 1 tsp every few days when I remember.

Adding sugar is easy and worth trying. I saw no bad effects on my corals though I suggest starting slow and gradually adjusting the sugar dose.

[Reefer Rob]

I'm going to out on a limb here and say I think it's your sand. In my 180G that's been running since January I've gone to 1" of sand for aesthetics that I gravel vac once a month or so. Looking back, the only thing sand has ever done in my tanks is increase nitrates. The more sand I had, the more nitrates I had.

In my last tank I run an remote DSB and had 20 ppm nitrates. After I took it off-line they went to 10 ppm within a week.

With 2"s of sand you would be safe to suck out 1" and gravel vac the rest. Guaranteed you're going to get a ton of crud out of there