Nitrate Killer!

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BillyBlanco

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 12, 2010
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Fontana, CA
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So I've been reading up for HOURS AND HOURS about Algae Turf Scrubbers and Refugiums... Nothing seems to be giving me the exact answer I want so i think i will post it on here and see what you all think?!

I have a 90 long Festae growout and the tanks in my house have a problem with nitrates especially since my tap is over 20ppm nitrate.

I like the idea of both of these but my problem with the ats is that i do not want an ungoldy bucket or box hanging over or setting on my tank! Could i overflow syphon somehow down into pvc then pump back up into tank? I have 4 powerheads... AC50 AC70 and 2 Maxi-jet 900's... which would give me the return i needed back to the tank? IS THIS POSSIBLE AND OR A SMART IDEA?

Second idea is a Fug. What size fuge would i need? Eventually the tank will be 180g and house 2 festae right now its a 125 grow out. I have no need for all the filters and things ive seen in peoples refugiums... I have a XP3 AC110 AC70 already WAY over-filtering the tank. I'm concerned with nitrate and phosphate not mechanical or bio filtration. Could i just overflow syphon in and return pump out, blocking return pump with plasic canvas or egg crate to keep out unwanted plants. I'm not willing to take a class in glass cutting or complex drilling. Well maybe its not that I'm not willing, it's that i suck at DIY things... =(. Also with a simple fug. like this couldnt i just run tubing like that of my canister rather than buying saws and figuring out how to manage pvc pipe?
 
I think your best bet would be a planted fuge down below. Build a DIY PVC Overflow. Paint the PVC using Krylon Fusion Paint to hide it a bit and you should be good to go. Check out the DIY section for Overflows.

PS: Also throw a Filter sock on the Overflow before it goes into your Fuge. Even though your Over filtered I doubt your going to want a layer of crud sitting on your Fuge Bottom.

Mike

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Ok, I've also seen people doing fuge in the plastic storage containers like the blue ones at Wal-mart... would this plastic leach into my water or would it be fine? I dont care how it looks beacuse the only time i will see it is when im managing it. About how many gallons would a fuge need to be to service a tank that has 2 full grown festae? How much gph would be right for the return line? Would what i mentioned about covering return pump behind crate or plasic canvas work? I want a fuge or ats big enough to eliminate my nitrate and algae (in tank).
 
Modular Deep sand bed as part of refugium. Nitrates murdered.
 
It needs to be anaerobic. That's how it works. Don't believe the fairy tales about boogeyman bubbles that kill fish. I've been playing with deep sand beds for over a year and even when they do bubble, it doesn't do anything to the fish.
 
There is a way to Make a VERY simple nitrate and Phosphate killer....

Use one of those powerhead and attach a PVC Pipe FILLED with rinsed Crushed Lave Rock inside of it and sink the hole thing in the tank... Best bet is drilling a bunch of holes at the intake end. Run the thing along the very bottom of the tank in the back to hide it... Some have painted them black. At the oposite end of the intake, add a 90deg that runs upward and right into the bottom of the powerhead... PRoblem Sovled and VERY CHEAP!
 
Wow I now have 4 choices that i cant choose between instead of just the 2...lol

Mastiffman I am very interested in this and I have googled it just to hear people arguing if it works or not but can't find anything about the filter you are describing?! does this actually work? what would the thickness of the pvc be and could you be a little more clear on how i build this i am having a very hard time imagining it. also, how long would the pipe have to be? All of the rants i've heard about the nitrate lowering with lava rock say that its the anerobic bacteria in the middle of the rock turning nitrates into nitrogen, with half of the people claiming it to not be true... seems like my best bet though if it works.

knifegill how thick would this bed need to be and what size tank should the fuge be? could it work entirely with sand? how affective is this?

Just so you all know I'm not doing this because I'm lazy, I do 50% water changes weekly and will do them 50% weekly forever if that is what is best for my fish. My train of thought on this matter is with one of these options nitrates will be low or zero and fish will be in the best possible enviroment. If the W/C could go further in between that means less of me monkeying and adding and removing chroine to the tank. I'm sure my fish hate WC much more than I do. Never had a fish that doesnt go dull and cower at the bottom of the tank when i do it. They know wednesday is the day of punishment! =(
 
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