high nitrate

[andysmith]

bit of an update

i have been doing 50% changes every other day but the nitrates have not moved or they might be but it is still off the scale on the test kit.
spoke to a woman at my lfs and she said to try carbon in the filter i did say it does not remove nitrates but she said it will help keep the nitrites down which should then bring down the nitrates.
i put one lot in last night and going to do my other filter tonight at £8.50 i though it is worth a shot.

i will let you know if it works

 

[carsona246]

I'd look into some form of floating plant, like water lettuce just to help, it would be pretty maintance free except for getting rid of the extras, because water lettuce grows crazy fast

 

[Repz]

what are the ideal conditions for growing water lettuce, mine just don't seem to be growing.

 

[dee_nice83]

bit of an update

i have been doing 50% changes every other day but the nitrates have not moved or they might be but it is still off the scale on the test kit.
spoke to a woman at my lfs and she said to try carbon in the filter i did say it does not remove nitrates but she said it will help keep the nitrites down which should then bring down the nitrates.
i put one lot in last night and going to do my other filter tonight at £8.50 i though it is worth a shot.

i will let you know if it works

I am having the same trouble as you are. But i remember reading a thread on trying to rinse out the biomedia. But not sure if that would take away the good bacteria. So what i did was bought more Biomax for my fx5 and put some of the established bio on top of the new stuff. So gradually i will be taking the old stuff as i put in new bio. As soon as the new biomax has been properly seeded i will then completely remove the old biomax. Ive been rinsing out the biomax with the tank water not tap.

Is this a good idea MFKers?

 

[knicks791]

It is your water supply. There has been others from the UK with bad water(high nitrates) out of the tap. The only way to fix the water is with a RO system if water. Having bio media and water changes will help but only to a certain extent.

 

[kurare]

40 out of the tap? Yikes... with that kinda figure you'll have to resort to unorthodox methods for sure. Having a heavily planted tank would only do so much, things people have done for such issues is having an algae scrubber and ya might as well combine it with a small Remote deep sand bed, granted having all three is a hell of a work-around, but getting 40 out of the tap is abnormal for many.

 

[knifegill]

Plants might help a little, but it's just wrapping the hammer with a rag. My 75g is not fully stocked but I allowed water lettuce to cover half of it and gave it a two-week test. NitrAtes were at 80ppm which is what I would expect if there were no plants at all in the first place. It appears, in my case at least, that nitrAtes are good for growing plants but plants do not really use them up significantly in a normal set-up. Perhaps in a refugium with strong lighting.

My 125g is now fully stocked and I am also looking at ways to cut the nitrAtes without changing water every other day. Right now I'm testing two remote deep sand beds on a slightly overstocked feeder tank. Seems promising but it's really soon to draw any conclusions. I am really holding out a lot of hope for low-maintenance anaerobic denitrification.

 

[andysmith]

at the moment this is what i am looking to get to combat the nitrates from the tap.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NITRATE-FILTER-/160449781578?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item255b8d5f4a

i did have an ro unit but i dont have the space for the tubs when you need 700 litres to do a 50% change its a bit of a nightmare thats why i sold it.
has anybody tried one?

also i was looking at one of these

http://cleartides.com/page17.htm

it would be the nr350 anyone had any luck?

i am looking into a sump with an algae scruber but that may take some time so thought this maybe a quick fix.

 

[knicks791]

Actually I stand corrected. I forgot about this..... http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180385&highlight=nitrate+remover

 

[carsona246]

what are the ideal conditions for growing water lettuce, mine just don't seem to be growing.

I haven't heard anyone complain about having a hard time growing water lettuce, are you sure your lights have the right light spectrum for growing plants? if not you might have to switch out the bulb for one with the proper spectrum, just so you know that doesn't mean you have to buy those rediculously expensive ones at fish store, mines a fish and plant bulb from lowes that costed like $5. Water lettuce is a legal replacement for water hyacinth over here, so it should grow like crazy. I'm actually getting some from a pond store for free because they're not gonna be able to sell any over the winter and it's completly taking over their ponds in the green house.