Best nitrate and ammonia remover (to all the pros out there)

[Hawaiianfishkee]

What's the best to remove the combination of nitrates and ammonia in freshwater tank? Algae filter screen, planted refugium, zeolyte crystals or Denitrator? Any other good ones and which works the best?

 

[Austin]

a fully cycled tank will do a bad ass job of removing ammonia and water changes will work wonders on nitrates. it's insane.

 

[Knowdafish]

This WILL do it:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...80385&highlight=Mega+powerful+nitrate+remover

 

[tcarswell]

a fully cycled tank will do a bad ass job of removing ammonia and water changes will work wonders on nitrates. it's insane.

Spoken like a true pro.

Really Austin? Read the stickies about cycling and mechanical chemical and biological filtration.

Then read about water changes and Nitrates and if you feel so compelled move on to learn about an algae scrubber. Im not trying to be rude but this is stuff you really gotta learn to have a healthy tank bud

 

[Hawaiianfishkee]

yah i think ima go with the algal scrubber... i found this video on youtube about equalizing the ecosystem.. check it out seriously...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8KQcWjdhgU

 

[Austin]

you do understand this doesn't take the place of water changes right?

 

[Hawaiianfishkee]

well it gets the harmful particulates out right, nitrates? i know i would have to syphon the debris out every now and then i only have one fish in there.. it helps with ammonia too right? cuz i figure ammonia>nitrite>nitrate?

 

[Noto]

Yes, once established the algal scrubber will remove all nitrogenous wastes. You won't have to do water changes nearly as frequently, though there are still some things in the water (pheremones, metals, etc.) that can build up without water changes and other things (various minerals and trace elements) that your plants or algae need that they can only get from water changes. So, you will be exchanging frequent water changes for infrequent water changes + weekly maintenance of scrubber.

 

[tcarswell]

Yes, once established the algal scrubber will remove all nitrogenous wastes. You won't have to do water changes nearly as frequently, though there are still some things in the water (pheremones, metals, etc.) that can build up without water changes and other things (various minerals and trace elements) that your plants or algae need that they can only get from water changes. So, you will be exchanging frequent water changes for infrequent water changes + weekly maintenance of scrubber.

Why would metals build up in a normal system without water changes? unless your constantly topping off the water level I guess

 

[Noto]

I meant metals from fish food, not from water. Looking at the back of my TetraMin can, it lists cyanocobalamin (copper-containing), manganese sulfate monohydrate, zinc sulfate monohydrate, ferrous sulfate monohydrate (iron-containing), and cobalt nitrate hexahydrate, as well as the fish-toxic preservative ethoxyquin. Many of these are toxic at modest concentrations and should be removed via occasional water changes.

You are right though that topping off but not changing the water would allow minerals present in the tap water to reach higher concentrations (because the minerals do not evaporate). Just another reason not to give up on water changes altogether.