Reducing Nitrates

[aic]

Are there any ways to reduce nitrates other than doing water changes. I've still got 40ppm after a 20% water change. Ammonia and Nitrites are at 0.

I'm afraid that if I change too much water, I could knock the tank back into a mini-cycle.

[vhuang168]

Originally Posted by aic

I'm afraid that if I change too much water, I could knock the tank back into a mini-cycle.

Why do you think that?

You can do a 50% water change and be fine, as long as the tank is FULLY cycle.

You need to provide more details on your tank setup.

Sump?

Reactors?

What are the rest of the parameters like?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ron Reefman]

The natural way is with a refugium and some Chaeto or other macro algae. But that's a longer term solution.

Why don't you want to do a bigger water change. The beneficial bacteria are mostly attached to the rock, sand and glass, not free floating in the water column.

[PatW]

A large water change should not create a mini cycle.

The whole point of cycling a tank is to develop a large population of bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrites and nitrite to nitrates. The bacteria are largely attached to the surfaces of rock and sand. A water change even a large one should have little or no effect on the bacteria population.

As for reducing nitrates, I do not know of any chemicals commonly used in aquariums that will absorb nitrates. You can use algae like chaeto in a refugium to reduce algae but that is usually done as an ongoing procedure.

Another method of reducing nitrate is carbon dosing. You add either alcohol, vinegar or use bio pellets in a reactor. This process stimulates the bacteria to multiply and as they multiply to consume nitrates. You use a skimmer to remove the bacteria and in the process to reduce nitrates. The process requires a skimmer that is "oversized" for the system. And like using chaeto, the process is generally used to control nitrate levels in an aquarium and not as a one time reduction.

For your situation, water changes are probably the easiest and cheapest way to go. You can either do a couple of large water changes or a series of smaller ones.

[Crusinjimbo]

Research incorporating an algae turf scrubber into your filtration system. Simple, inexpensive and very effective and removing NO3 and PO4.

[Nickmcc]

Look up carbon dosing. Only advisable if you're using a skimmer.

[AlSimmons]

Originally Posted by aic

Are there any ways to reduce nitrates other than doing water changes. I've still got 40ppm after a 20% water change. Ammonia and Nitrites are at 0.

I'm afraid that if I change too much water, I could knock the tank back into a mini-cycle.

Just out of curiosity when your doing these water changes are you removing as much detritus as you can as well? The Nitrates are probably high because your tank is struggling to process all the crap within it. Remove this and you'll lower that. Just as an example, depending on the size of the tank, if something dies you might see a Nitrate spike. Until that fish/invertebrate either decomposes completely, is consumed by the CUC or is removed from the system the Nitrates will continue to be elevated. A water change would just be a Band-Aid IMO. Kind of masking what's really going on.

[gmlee]

So tell me then. My tank has been set up for a year and right from the beginning my nitrates have been 50 ppm or so. There was no crap in my system. I'm not even chasing it anymore.

[Dealseer]

Originally Posted by aic

I'm afraid that if I change too much water, I could knock the tank back into a mini-cycle.

I've never heard of this.

[AlSimmons]

Originally Posted by gmlee

So tell me then. My tank has been set up for a year and right from the beginning my nitrates have been 50 ppm or so. There was no crap in my system. I'm not even chasing it anymore.

What kind of rock did you use? If you used live rock maybe it was full of organics from the start. You add a few fish/corals, start throwing food in the tank and voila. If you weren't making an effort to remove this crap from the beginning then it's fairly easy to understand why you might be battling an elevated Nitrate reading now IMO.

[OldReefGuy]

AIS,

Agree with your statement regarding proper husbandry and keeping Nitrates in control.

[joeybemate]

There are a few main ways that people use:

1. Carbon dosing. This requires the least set up if you already have a protein skimmer, and is the one I employ as I have a red sea tank which has it's filtration system attached to the back of the tank and no sump. This one can be done with red sea's nopox or you can diy with vodka. Research it first.

2. Set up a refugium with some macro algae like dragon's breath, caulerpa or chaeto in your sump. The macro algae will consume nitrates to grow and when you trim back the growth you will remove the nitrates permanently from your aquarium. Research how to set up a refugium.

3. Set up an algae scrubber. Of the three methods, this one is probably the most complex to set up, but is also extremely effective and the effort you put in will pay off. This one also requires a sump.

[gmlee]

Originally Posted by AlSimmons

What kind of rock did you use? If you used live rock maybe it was full of organics from the start. You add a few fish/corals, start throwing food in the tank and voila. If you weren't making an effort to remove this crap from the beginning then it's fairly easy to understand why you might be battling an elevated Nitrate reading now IMO.

The rock was new.......IMO

[AlSimmons]

So see the latter of my post. lol

A lot of people tend to forget that this is indeed a hobby and just like every other hobby out there some people are just better at certain ones than others. Maybe your husbandry just sucks, but you might be a computer wiz.

[chueu]

Carbon Dosing
Algae Scrubber
Macroalgae export
Bio Pellets

[PsychoticBeauty]

Couldn't you just do the work and bypass all that?

[sde1500]

Originally Posted by gmlee

The rock was new.......IMO

Could have been high from the start due to a big ammonia spike starting the cycle.

Originally Posted by PsychoticBeauty

Couldn't you just do the work and bypass all that?

What work, and skip all what?

[AlSimmons]

lol, I can't put this as eloquently as a respected member did one time, "but everybody want's a pet these days but nobody want's to clean up after them it seems."
Sooner or later perhaps...

[JeffyT]

I use to waterchange biweekly and clean out my mechanical filtration and had chemipure and purigen replaced every three months and i just couldnt figure out why my nitrates werent dropping.

it was from my past horrible husbandry that caused my initial problem. and i found out it was leeching from my sand bed. all the dead snails and trapped food from overfeeding, i did a soft stir of my sand bed, more like combed through it a little everytime i water changed to help release some of the trapped detritus and wahtever else was trapped there.

NoPox from Red Sea helps too, this is a form of carbon dosing.

[AlSimmons]

I've done that... (Vinegar) After awhile though that reef rash held court. (work/husbandry)

Just as an example, the cycle is the same no matter what. I've kept some big bruisers cichlids with a UGF and a couple HOB filters as well. The Nitrates were high, but not disgustingly high... That lace rock was purely aesthetical. FWIW I've tested the NItrates of my LFS water once before. BLOOD RED.... Everythiug from the sps to the LPS seem to be ok for some reason. (go figure) There not really in the business of keeping these things for long periods of time though.

[djbon]

Nutrient management is very subjective. Some are complex and expensive, a few are simple but effective. I chose the later, and here are my tank and sump. Most mportantly don't do these if you are having nutrient issue:

1) Overfeeding
2) Overcrowding
3) Topping up using other than RODI

[Tautoga]

Originally Posted by aic

Are there any ways to reduce nitrates other than doing water changes. I've still got 40ppm after a 20% water change. Ammonia and Nitrites are at 0.

I'm afraid that if I change too much water, I could knock the tank back into a mini-cycle.

No one has asked this yet, but do you use tap water or RODI water for water changes and for the original tank set up?

[joeybemate]

The only issue that nitrates really cause from what I've seen and heard and IME is algae problems, which high phosphates also cause. So if you can get your phosphate under control 40ppm nitrates are fine anyways. Unless I'm wrong and someone can correct me?

[AlSimmons]

Originally Posted by Tautoga

No one has asked this yet, but do you use tap water or RODI water for water changes and for the original tank set up?

True, but there are a lot of absolutely stunning tanks out there that do indeed use tap water. What baffles me is the amount of threads I see where an individual is using RO/DI water yet they still have the same problems that tend to accompany bad tap water. Maybe they're just bad at this hobby, because that is what it is, a hobby... We can't all be winners unfortunately.

[Mad_Reefer]

Tap water must be considered case by case. And therefore no one should base their own decisions on others, in this regard.