Will adding more liverock reduce my nitrate level in a reef tank? I have a 36 gallon tank with only 20lbs of liverock. I only have 3 fish, snails and hermit crabs and some corals in the tank. I have filter that filters 250 gallons per hour. My nitrate level is ranging from 5-10ppm.
Reef Tank Nitrate Advice
- Thread starter brlaskowski
- Start date
Simple answer, Yes- in the long run.
However if the rock is not fully cured, cycled, or transported correctly it may temporarily raise ammonia and nitrate production.
However if the rock is not fully cured, cycled, or transported correctly it may temporarily raise ammonia and nitrate production.
it will but with the addition of the rock you'll get a small spike but with a few good water changes over the next month or 2 you should be okay.
mr.reef24
mr.reef24
Are you directing water flow towards the rock? The use of a Koralia or other type of fan/powerhead, pointed directly at your live rock, turns the pile of rock into an extremely effective biological filter. It certainly wouldn't hurt to add a little more rock, but I wonder what results you would find by simply aiming waterflow toward what you have, rather than counting on the waterflow from the filter.
I do not have the water flow going to the live rock. I will invest in a fan this weekend. I did hear that you should have water flow towards the live rock. Unfortunately, my nitrate level is around 10. I just did another water change. Anything else I should do?
This is a good idea... hopefully you'll find the source water at zero. I have nightmares about finding Nitrate in my source water...
along with adding the rock you can also cure it in a separate container to lower the chance of higher nitrates and when you add it a 50% change of water to suck out that nitrate and add some Prime or a good filtration media to suck out the nitrates
mr.reef24
mr.reef24
Ok. So I purchased a protein skimmer, did a water change of approximately 30% and my nitrate level did not drop. Any ideas?