nitrate problems in a 75g reef

[Keelo]

I've heard the marine pure block is like live rock how does it contribute to nitrate reduction? Does it create a low oxygen area for denitrification ?


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[Keelo]

I will try to post pictures of my sump later on hopefully to also get some insight as to how I can improve my refugium


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[bertoni]

The Marine Pure blocks seem to function as live rock, although they might be more effective per unit volume. I think it's reasonable to try them, although they might affect soft corals. Generally, I suspect the tank needs less food or more filtration. Whether the fish eat all the food or not isn't all that important. What goes in, mostly comes out.

[Keelo]

Hey bertoni, I feed once a day with pellets you think that might be too much food ? My fish seem to have conquered that , feed me I'm hungry face, but I just try to feed as lightly as I can while ensuring good health to them. Should I reduce feeding ?


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[Keelo]

I would also like to get more out of my Refugium. I can't get my chaeto to grow much. I was thinking of red led lights however I'm not too sure if they provide the best spectrum to grow chaeto. Any advice here would also be much appreciated


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[bertoni]

I'd probably cut back on the feeding. The fish should be fine.

For Chaetomorpha, I got reasonable growth from fluorescents in the daylight spectrum.

[Keelo]

Should I feed every other day? I might place 2 bulbs on my Refugium since I just can't get the chaeto to grow much. Would you advice me to monitor my nitrates at the current level and see how much they rise to? If they weren't to rise by much I'm thinking of just doing a sequence of big water changes to knock them down to 0 ppm and continue to keep them in check with regular water changes. Currently they are about 40-50 ppm


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[DBR_reef]

I would incorporate some mechanical filtration- skip the breakdown of food/poop into nitrates that then have to be exported. A daily or every other day changed filter sock, rollermatt, or diy automatic mechanical filter. Alternatively a feeding ring/ tube could help


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[Keelo]

I just ordered 12 filter socks I used to have a sponge in the last baffle before the return pump which I completely forgot about and it was full of gunk when I pulled it out. This is why I just removed the filter sock because the more I have to do the lazier I tend to get. I will try to incorporate some mechanical filtration.


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[reeftivo]

I'll bet that sponge was your nitrate factory.

[Xxero]

Originally Posted by reeftivo

I'll bet that sponge was your nitrate factory.

+1.....I said the same thing to myself whenever I read that you found a funky sponge.

[tmz]

Originally Posted by Keelo

I was looking into the sulfur denitrator but those can be very pricey


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They can be,but if at some point you are inclined to use one , a dyi version can be had for about $100. There is a thread on the DIY forum I found helpful ; you can find it by going to the diy forum and searching sulfur denitrator. It's one approach that I found effective.

[Keelo]

Well since removing the dirty sponge I still can't get them down to where I would like. I have removed about 40 gallons since removing the sponge.


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[Sk8r]

Your skimmer is good for your size. Skim 'wet' to get out as much crud as possible and watch your salinity. Put a small pump into your sump to agitate crud into suspension and catch it in a filter sock. Blow out any rubble pile. I went so far as to take down my sump and hose it out, then reassembled with new salt water. This helped. NoPoX is a good product that can hype the skimmer. And of course you're using ro/di...tapwater is a nitrate source. Do what you can to clean things up, and test often.

[bertoni]

I think that feeding the fish every day is fine, just feed them less. How much has the nitrate level dropped since you removed the sponge?

[Keelo]

well the nitrates havent really dropped since i removed the sponge they still have remained very high. Upod seeing how dirty it was i removed the sponge and performed a 20 gallon water change with ro/di water free of nitrates. 2 weeks after that water change i performed another maintenance water change of 20 gallons. Let me see if i can post pictures of the nitrates test. I use salifert and api.

[Keelo]

hey Sk8r, how "wet" should i skim and generally what a good indicator of wet skimming in terms of bubble size in the skimmer. Let me try to post images of how my skimmer is running currently, photobucket is acting weird though!

[Keelo]

Im scared of the diy sulfur reactor mainly because of the flow issues. Ive heard too much flow it can release nitrite and too little can cause hydrogen sulfide.

[Keelo]

okay here is the skimmer currently
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[Keelo]

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Have it about half way open, should i close more or open more??

[Keelo]

here is the sump, refugium, and system
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[reeftivo]

you shouldn't need a denitrator. Just give it a while.

wait a day and do another WC then don't fiddle with things and let that skimmer bed in.

It WILL start pushing waste into that cup. Get a pic of the body of the skimmer (running) so we can see the air/water line in there.

[reeftivo]

you state you'll be running wet for a spell so get a tube on that small CO1 cup and run it to a bottle for now. You dont want to dump that skimmate back into the system when the skimmer decides to kick in.

[sil40sx]

Another +1 here for Red Sea no3/po4x,. Works great, I only dose for 2 weeks (maybe a little less). I forgot the numbers, but it was a huge difference.

[Keelo]

api looks like 40ppm and salifert, well im not too sure about that one.[IMG][/IMG]