high nitrates

ajolie30 · 03/03/2010, 10:41 PM

good evening everyone... I have been running my tank the new one with stuff from an established tank for almost a year now the previous tank was running for 2 and a half years.. my concern is high nitrates... I have a 180 gallon tank with I wanna say 300lbs or so of rock a very shallow sand band and a 20 gallon sump.. my dkh is 12 my calcium is 425.. my nitrites are zero not sure where stand for my mag never tested for it... I do a 30 gallon water change per week... I just added some calupera to my sump about 2 months ago.. I just harvested some out was getting really thick.. just need to get my nitates down so that I can add some new corals what should do I was gonna add a bigger refuge

Agu · 03/03/2010, 10:56 PM

Quote:

just need to get my nitates down so that I can add some new corals what should do I was gonna add a bigger refuge

A skimmer, carbon and a refugium can all help lower nitrates. But your best bet is "the solution to pollution is dilution". Takes a lot of water changes on a 180 to lower nitrates. But the good part is once they're down thay stay down (assuming good husbandry practices).

ajolie30 · 03/03/2010, 11:20 PM

I have a skimmer and a refugium that I just sent up about 2 months ago... i also have been doing lot of water changes and not feeding alot

Matt850 · 03/04/2010, 01:12 AM

Nothing will cure high nitrates better than a large water change and a change of bad habits. The problem with doing a lot of small water changes is that you will have to do many more water changes to get the same effect as a single larger one. The downside with a large water change is that it is much more important to match pH, temp and SG perfectly as to not stress the life inside your tank. The refugium and skimmer sound like a great addition and you should notice them keeping the nitrates lower once you get them to acceptable levels.

reeftanknewbie · 03/04/2010, 02:57 AM

+1 to matt850.

Large water changes are better then small ones. try to look for sources of your nitrates as well (dead livestock, dying macroalgae, etc...) to eliminate ongoing pollution. Sometimes running a good carbon for a week or two following a large water change has helped me.

03/03/2010, 10:41 PM	#1
ajolie30 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: ct Posts: 300	high nitrates good evening everyone... I have been running my tank the new one with stuff from an established tank for almost a year now the previous tank was running for 2 and a half years.. my concern is high nitrates... I have a 180 gallon tank with I wanna say 300lbs or so of rock a very shallow sand band and a 20 gallon sump.. my dkh is 12 my calcium is 425.. my nitrites are zero not sure where stand for my mag never tested for it... I do a 30 gallon water change per week... I just added some calupera to my sump about 2 months ago.. I just harvested some out was getting really thick.. just need to get my nitates down so that I can add some new corals what should do I was gonna add a bigger refuge

03/04/2010, 02:57 AM	#5
reeftanknewbie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Effort PA Posts: 1,067	+1 to matt850. Large water changes are better then small ones. try to look for sources of your nitrates as well (dead livestock, dying macroalgae, etc...) to eliminate ongoing pollution. Sometimes running a good carbon for a week or two following a large water change has helped me. __________________ 80 gallon Blue Line rimless tank, 40 gallon breeder sump, DIY ATS, SWC 160 cone skimmer, ocean revive LED. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon blue line rimless tank

03/03/2010, 11:20 PM	#3
ajolie30 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: ct Posts: 300	I have a skimmer and a refugium that I just sent up about 2 months ago... i also have been doing lot of water changes and not feeding alot

03/04/2010, 01:12 AM	#4
Matt850 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 260	Nothing will cure high nitrates better than a large water change and a change of bad habits. The problem with doing a lot of small water changes is that you will have to do many more water changes to get the same effect as a single larger one. The downside with a large water change is that it is much more important to match pH, temp and SG perfectly as to not stress the life inside your tank. The refugium and skimmer sound like a great addition and you should notice them keeping the nitrates lower once you get them to acceptable levels.