Best way to bring down Nitrates?!

[higorc]

I am trying to figure out what's the best way to keep nitrates down in a reef tank (besides water changes obviously. I do 30% water changes at least once a month. Sometimes twice.).

I don't overfeed and I currently don't have an issue with Nitrates. But I don't like under-feeding either... I have started keeping more SPS, so I would like to make sure my Nitrates in check.

I am thinking of getting a reactor, but I am not sure what's the best media to run. Carbon, GFO or Bio-Pellets?

I would love to hear opnions and experiences with any of these methods.

Thanks guys!
Higor

 

[jokersplayground]

do you have a fuge with sand and cheato

 

[delta]

Go back to basics
Water changes
make sure you skimmer is work at its best capacity
siphon off any detritus
Before water change take a power head and blow out the Live rock
run a sock after the water change for 24hrs
check your pumps and clean if necessary for optimal performance
looks for dead spots (no flow low flow areas)
make sure you skimmer s taking in raw tank water i.e placement as close to the drain as possible
Check to make sure the sand is not hard any where. Deep sand bed? old?
if you have deep overflows make sure nothing have gotten trapped in the bottom
check you RODI is working properly and you have Zero TDS

All I can think of off the top of my head and that anytime you do will take a little while to actually make a difference

 

[higorc]

Got all that...deep sand fuge w/ chaeto and Gracilaria algae growing in my fuge...plus a lot of LR. I am looking for some kind of chemical filtration here.

Thanks
Higor

 

[delta]

my opinion is that they all have their place but they are more work than they are worth long term.

the system should adjust just move up feeding slowly, what makes you think the system is maxed out?

 

[higorc]

Go back to basics
Water changes
make sure you skimmer is work at its best capacity
siphon off any detritus
Before water change take a power head and blow out the Live rock
run a sock after the water change for 24hrs
check your pumps and clean if necessary for optimal performance
looks for dead spots (no flow low flow areas)
make sure you skimmer s taking in raw tank water i.e placement as close to the drain as possible
Check to make sure the sand is not hard any where. Deep sand bed? old?
if you have deep overflows make sure nothing have gotten trapped in the bottom
check you RODI is working properly and you have Zero TDS

All I can think of off the top of my head and that anytime you do will take a little while to actually make a difference

Hear u on all that... Thanks

But I am looking for something else u know...Some Chemical filtration.

Not a big fan of socks. They trap a little too much No dead spots I can see. RO is running like it should. I stir my sand bed every so often and vacuum it every water change. Skimmer is running like it should, I clean it once every other week.

Like I mentioned, I don't have an issue with Nitrates. It reads about a 5-10 ppm. But I would like to get it to Zero. That's why I want to start running an reactor...

Thanks for the imput guys.

 

[higorc]

my opinion is that they all have their place but they are more work than they are worth long term.

the system should adjust just move up feeding slowly, what makes you think the system is maxed out?

I really don't think my system is Maxed Out. But I am just trying to prevent and get the Nitrates to 0. I have heard of people running Bio-Pellets to get their Nitrates down and hurting their soft corals.

So I am just trying to get an idea for member's experiences with these methods and which one is the best for dealing with Nitrate...

 

[dz6t]

get rid of the sand bed was what I did.

 

[delta]

that can happens if you use too many carbon dosing/biopellets it a tailored brew. I know as many that have had success as have not.
I had success with it but I also like the ease of not having to deal with it. I didn't use biopellets but it is all the same principal. I would look for people who are currently using it and make a few visits and pick their brains. That alone will answer a lot of your questions.

 

[dcforester1]

I have had bio pellets running since this post. I dont know if I have good results from them, but the results I have achieved nI dont want to screw up by taking them down.


http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?92607-I-just-setup-NP-BioPellets-on-my-system

 

[P-Nut]

Hear u on all that... Thanks

But I am looking for something else u know...Some Chemical filtration.

Not a big fan of socks. They trap a little too much No dead spots I can see. RO is running like it should. I stir my sand bed every so often and vacuum it every water change. Skimmer is running like it should, I clean it once every other week.

Like I mentioned, I don't have an issue with Nitrates. It reads about a 5-10 ppm. But I would like to get it to Zero. That's why I want to start running an reactor...

Thanks for the imput guys.

I thought you weren't supposed to disturb the sand. Maybe siphon the top layer a little, but that's about it.

 

[Joedes3]

Would a hob filter ad to the load and cause a possible feeding ground to increase nitrates etc?

 

[higorc]

I don't stir up the whole sand bed...just the top layer maybe once a month...

Higor's EVO 3D

 

[higorc]

I have had bio pellets running since this post. I dont know if I have good results from them, but the results I have achieved nI dont want to screw up by taking them down.


http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?92607-I-just-setup-NP-BioPellets-on-my-system

Have you seen any adverse/bad results from it? Thanks for that link Derek. I didn't finish yet, but it's good reading...

 

[JohnK]

I am thinking of getting a reactor, but I am not sure what's the best media to run. Carbon, GFO or Bio-Pellets?

Back to the original question that no one answered- Bio-pellets is the only one of the three mentioned that are effective for removing nitrate. GFO is specifically for removing phosphate, carbon removes organics but not nitrate. Bio-pellets (carbon dosing) remove nitrate and phosphate by encouraging bacterial growth which takes up both.

 

[higorc]

I guess that answers that question... Thanks John

 

[inverted]

carbon removes organics but not nitrate.

Now, where do you think the nitrates come from?

I also have mixed feelings on sand beds. They can accumulate detritus and then slowly leach nitrates. A lot of people who have nitrate issues find it goes away after removing the DSB. Really the benefit to a DSB is to add surface area for denitrification, but usually you don't need it. Shallow sand beds and live-rock, really have plenty of capacity for denitrification.

Also, I'd add that for detectable nitrate to accumulate, unless every inch of your tank is covered in algae, some other nutrient, such as phosphate, or iorn, or another resource, such as light, has to be in low supply. Reefs are very competitive, if there are extra nutrients, some algae, or bacteria etc.. will use it, unless there is a limitation of something else. For bacteria, the something else is usually carbon, then probably phosphate. BP therefore supply the carbon, and then usually the limitation becomes phosphate. For macro algae, the limitations are usually iron and phosphate IME. Sometimes dosing a bit of iron helps, although, I probably wouldn't dose phosphate ever. Nitrate is not actually harmful in itself, at any level. Although, at high levels, it will drive algae and bacteria, and other organisms that can secrete toxins, or become more or less pathogenic in excess levels. It can also cause corals to be brown, although, this usually isn't harmful, just ugly.

 

[Matt L.]

Back to the original question that no one answered- Bio-pellets is the only one of the three mentioned that are effective for removing nitrate. GFO is specifically for removing phosphate, carbon removes organics but not nitrate. Bio-pellets (carbon dosing) remove nitrate and phosphate by encouraging bacterial growth which takes up both.

Despite being (falsely) advertised as such, bio-pellets do not remove phosphorous to any significant extent. There is no way to do biological phosphorous removal in a reef tank.

Bio-pellets are nothing more than a slow-release organic carbon source which can substitute for ethanol dosing.

And I do personally run bio-pellets in a reactor to help provide organic carbon for denitrification.

Matt

 

[Matt L.]

Hear u on all that... Thanks,...

There is no more effective way to reduce nitrates than through a water change. A 30% water change a month is actually very little. I do 25% a week or every other week depending on my water quality.

...But I am looking for something else u know...Some Chemical filtration.

There's no chemical means to polish nitrate from the reef tank that is reef safe.

...Not a big fan of socks. They trap a little too much No dead spots I can see. RO is running like it should. I stir my sand bed every so often and vacuum it every water change. Skimmer is running like it should, I clean it once every other week...

That's all very good. I wouldn't use a filter sock either.

...Like I mentioned, I don't have an issue with Nitrates. It reads about a 5-10 ppm. But I would like to get it to Zero. That's why I want to start running an reactor...

It likely won't ever read zero, and a reactor likely won't help. There will always be some residual nitrate concentration in reef water for two interrelated reasons.
1. There is always a hold-up reservoir of intermediate nitrogen species, including ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate. These concentrations are never zero even in the best run reef system.
2. the higher the concentration of a species, the more thermodynamically favorable the reaction is, and thus reducing nitrate to zero is chasing a target you would never reach. As the concentration of nitrate lowers, the kinetics become less favorable.

Matt

 

[JohnK]

Now, where do you think the nitrates come from?

Good point, I was trying to avoid typing out a longer post so I went with the simpler answer. Activated carbon certainly can remove waste before it's broken down into nitrate.