consider getting more LR. about 1 lb per gallon of water. this will help with ur biological filtration and also help reduce ur nitrate. i do agree with the use of RO water, it is much much more stable. keep up on ur partial water changes, and this should help your nitrates come down. also if u dont have a protein skimmer, try adding one. this will help draw out all of your waste material, such as fecal matter and urine. make sure there is no ammonia in ur tank, and that it is cycle. other wise the nitrogen cycle will keep adding more and more nitrate. after your parameters are where u want them, go about slowly adding more fish if u wanted too. i also agree with the refugium. this will allow you to grow algae in there, which will absorb a lot of nitrates in the process, leaving you with lower levels as they enter your tank. good luck
Nitrates
- Thread starter Don4921
- Start date
sweeTang21;785278; said:
I did get another protien skimmer in the tank and it drop the nitrates down but then a couple days later they went rite back up again
how would i setup a refugium(i never done one before,does it have to be big? any way i could get a pic of one plz)
thanks,
don
what kind of refugium you get is really dependant on the space available to you mate. the two most common ways to get a fuge on the system is either by using a sump hidden away in the stand, or buy a HOB fuge...hob fuge are ok aas you can install it on the back on the tank so its hidden from view. Once you have a fuge, you can then put in some live rock rubble and some macro algae and hopefully, the macro's will start to absorb some of the nitrates ( and phosphates if your have any ) and try and get the level down to a managable level..
here is a link to a HOB fuge as "an example". But, it depends on which tank this is going on as you mention a couple of tanks at the start of the thread...
http://cgi.ebay.com/CPR-AquaFuge-Re...0QQihZ007QQcategoryZ20755QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I dont think changing the sand bed is going to help any, unless you have used a crushed coral substrate as they are known to trap detrius and food particles which again will lead to nitrate issue...I would certainly stop churning you sandbed. If you are getting debris resting on the sand ( hence the reason why your stirring it up? ), that that means that you do not have enough flow going over the sandbed to keep dirt particles in the water column which are then removed by skimming..If that is the case, then i would check the water flow around the tank and maybe change a powerhead so it gives more flow over the sand...you will notice a dramtic difference to the colour of the sand when it has good flow over it, it gleams....or, get something like a sand sifting goby....great addition to a marine tank...
everytime you stir the sand bed, it will release any nitrates that are being trapped in there..Remember, part of the sand beds function is to convert nitrates to nitrogen gas which can then be safely released into the water without any detrimental effect on the stability of the tank...
These are just some thoughts and suggestions, no doubt someone may disagree with things if have said, but, the above steps are what i would do if the tank was mine...
Niko
here is a link to a HOB fuge as "an example". But, it depends on which tank this is going on as you mention a couple of tanks at the start of the thread...
http://cgi.ebay.com/CPR-AquaFuge-Re...0QQihZ007QQcategoryZ20755QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I dont think changing the sand bed is going to help any, unless you have used a crushed coral substrate as they are known to trap detrius and food particles which again will lead to nitrate issue...I would certainly stop churning you sandbed. If you are getting debris resting on the sand ( hence the reason why your stirring it up? ), that that means that you do not have enough flow going over the sandbed to keep dirt particles in the water column which are then removed by skimming..If that is the case, then i would check the water flow around the tank and maybe change a powerhead so it gives more flow over the sand...you will notice a dramtic difference to the colour of the sand when it has good flow over it, it gleams....or, get something like a sand sifting goby....great addition to a marine tank...
everytime you stir the sand bed, it will release any nitrates that are being trapped in there..Remember, part of the sand beds function is to convert nitrates to nitrogen gas which can then be safely released into the water without any detrimental effect on the stability of the tank...
These are just some thoughts and suggestions, no doubt someone may disagree with things if have said, but, the above steps are what i would do if the tank was mine...
Niko
Don4921;787012; said:
thats good that the nitrates went down, not good that it went back up lol. refugium's are good and no the dont really need to be that big. (i dont think). my method is using a sump and growing algae in their so that the nitrates get absorbed as much as possible. This could cause problems down the road with certain fish and corals. (the ones that scavange on algae, tangs, etc) ive never set one up either but the sump method does work for me. however it may not work for you!! keep this in mind
add sand to the sump with a light, then add some algae, yes mangroves will also help with the nitrate removal, but mangroves can grow large and therefore are not recommended,
you will be amazed at the results from starting a refugium
here is a pic of my 55 gal sump, fuge
bob
you will be amazed at the results from starting a refugium
here is a pic of my 55 gal sump, fuge
bob
sprayin70;809637; said:
As wrong as it sounds i have to agree. Althought ide still keep some to catch large particles but just clean them regularly.
