SRC Member ervine Posted September 13, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 13, 2003 Hi guys, I've been trying to battle nitrates for a few months now, and I've managed to pull it down from >20 to 10ppm but it has stopped there, I can't seem to go any futher down... I've removed all the coralchips and stuff, upgraded my skimmer, added sea lettuce, adjusted refugium timing.... Then, I finally (wonder why I didn't do this earlier) tested my tap water for nitrates... 10ppm... sigh... Could this be the cause? If so I think there are several options, would like to know which is the most viable.. 1. Stop it at the source - get a RO unit, can someone tell me what the cost of this will be? Or if there are alternatives to this? 2. Get a DSB - My current tank does not have a DSB, although I can place one in my refugium should the need arise, but the area of the fuge is rather small, approx 1ft by 0.8ft, will that be effective enough for my 1ft cube tank? (yes my little science experiment) What are your opinions on this? Thanks a bunch! Ervine Lin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuEl Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 Aiya...if your tank is doing well..what is a miserable 10ppm of nitrates? I've seen amazingly nice reef tanks even at 50ppm of nitrates. Sigh....eat full full nothing to do ah? Quote Always something more important than fish. http://reefbuilders.com/2012/03/08/sps-pico-reef/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Matt06 Posted September 13, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 13, 2003 Our Singapore tap water should only have traces of Nitrates but not that high, I tested my tap water in my HDB and found no trace of Nitrates. However, Unlike FuEl mentioned, most reefers and experts advised that Nitrate for tank should not exceed 20ppm for fishes as well as 10ppm for corals. In natural sea water, nitrates seldom goes beyond 5ppm. I suggest that you manage your feeding as well as making your water circulation better, as there should not be any "dead" zone in your tank. If you can, you might like to try Denitrator units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepBlue Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 have talked to Henry fr ML....he adviced me not to use tapwater just from the tap...even if you season it for a couple of days(get rid of chlorine).......wat U can get is the deionizer...or DI water...supposed to remove the nitrate or lower it.....it will set you back $29* for it....give him a call.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lima16_sg Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 Sigh....eat full full nothing to do ah? monitor the source from monday to sunday heard some commented there is variation and also area dependant just my view, before further investment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuEl Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 It is commendable that you are trying to achieve close to 0 nitrates in the tank. But in my opinion it also depends on the type of corals you are trying to keep. Soft corals can withstand nitrates better compared to hard corals. I find keeping nitrates in check very troublesome...so I stick to soft corals. It's all up to the individual. Monitoring nitrate levels would drive me nuts....last time I had a 2 feet tank...every week I could change up to 50-70% of the water and the nitrate level would still be the same...very very frustrating. Got tired of it and stopped monitoring nitrates soon after...just monitored the health of my corals...if they look fine then I just leave the water as it is. Instead of a deioniser...you could use maybe a distiller? From what I know it only contains pure water...as the water is evaporated and condensed again. I don't think nitrates would evaporate right? Hehe.. Quote Always something more important than fish. http://reefbuilders.com/2012/03/08/sps-pico-reef/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member ervine Posted September 13, 2003 Author SRC Member Share Posted September 13, 2003 Well u can call me obsessive lah.. but everyone wants the best for their tank right? Anyway, I think the DI or RO or distiller is almost surely out of the question... student budget.. sigh... so after some consideration I think a DSB in the refugium might work... what I need to know is if it is enough of an area to have any effect, if no effect then no point also... Actually I agree with fuel, don't try to fix what is not broken right? While the corals I have now look fine, in fact some are growing too fast... it's the blasted algae that I can't seem to stop/control... I attributed it to nitrates when I had high nitrate levels... I'm unsure if 10ppm is still considered high for algae, or perhaps the algae has already ceased to grow anymore but just hasn't died off yet... (or will it ever die off) Doubt its phosphates or silicates, I'm using phosguard.. not the best in the market but I'm sure it works... so that leaves nitrates... Or maybe I should not dwell on the nitrates too much but instead focus on how i can eliminate the exisiting algae and hope that that would be the end of it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuEl Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 Don't think it is the nitrates. Should be the phosphates. How long have you used the phosphate remover? You might want to replace it with Rowaphos or Contraphos? Phosphates are essential to make up DNA of all living things. So if you remove phosphates from your water...I'm sure your algae would already have a hard hard time surviving...even if there are nitrates and lots of light. Quote Always something more important than fish. http://reefbuilders.com/2012/03/08/sps-pico-reef/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member soggy Posted September 13, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 13, 2003 wait. does it mean that it is almost impossible to attain a 0 nitrate level? cause i'm getting slighty below 5. will that do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member ervine Posted September 14, 2003 Author SRC Member Share Posted September 14, 2003 Don't think it is the nitrates. Should be the phosphates. How long have you used the phosphate remover? You might want to replace it with Rowaphos or Contraphos? Phosphates are essential to make up DNA of all living things. So if you remove phosphates from your water...I'm sure your algae would already have a hard hard time surviving...even if there are nitrates and lots of light. Hm... have had it for 2 months? (was originally sea chem sea gel)... but changed it just last week Think I might go try contraphos see how.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member bawater Posted September 14, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 14, 2003 ervine, get a phosphate test kit to be sure of the levels. otherwise u won't know if anything is working. As for your first question, employ all methods. A DSB,A refugium and a DI unit. DSB would be the cheapest...but also take the longest to start (if your lucky by 6mths to a yr). You will need an area the same as your main tank to see the reduction capabilities of the sand bed when it starts to work. A refugium will remove small amounts of nutrients and works as a support to the DSB.The bigger the refugium, the more it uptakes. A DI unit will help in reducing the amount of nutrients you add in top off water & water changes. 10ppm is actually a little high for tapwater.(PUB site has 10ppm as the max allowed safe levels) high nitrates in drinking water can cause blue face babies (when newborn babies are not able to get enough oxygen into the blood.... or something like that) i read 2ppm in my tapwater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member onghm Posted September 14, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 14, 2003 I stay in SengKang. NO3 from my tapwater is around 4ppm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member ervine Posted September 14, 2003 Author SRC Member Share Posted September 14, 2003 Hm.. can't be my test kit right? it's a new one from salifert.... Anyway, thanks for all the advice guys! I'll go check out what my budget can withstand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member Clownfish Posted September 14, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 14, 2003 u may wan to consider getting a $75 DI unit from S%^L^%F(.... it is rechargeable for $50.... dun noe whether now obsolete already a not... u can check it out there.... Quote My Personal Blog My Wedding Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member ervine Posted September 14, 2003 Author SRC Member Share Posted September 14, 2003 u may wan to consider getting a $75 DI unit from S%^L^%F(....it is rechargeable for $50.... dun noe whether now obsolete already a not... u can check it out there.... Hm... how does that work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member williammuk Posted September 14, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 14, 2003 Hi, my tap water measures about 5ppm of NO3. That's why I'm using DI water. Previously bought it for $75 from ML. Not sure if ML still carries this product. Agree with the rest that you should get a PO4 testkit to confirm your phosphate readings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member williammuk Posted September 14, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 14, 2003 Hm... how does that work? Tap water goes in one end of the DI tube and comes out the other end "pure". Sort of like making your own "Newater". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member onghm Posted September 14, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 14, 2003 a pic if that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member ervine Posted September 15, 2003 Author SRC Member Share Posted September 15, 2003 Hm.. how much water is it good for? I think the rate of flow is actually quite slow right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xp95 Posted September 15, 2003 Share Posted September 15, 2003 ML dont sell the DI tube anymore, just asked henry last friday. He got new product hanging on the wall but never ask how much. Looks expensive though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member ervine Posted September 15, 2003 Author SRC Member Share Posted September 15, 2003 ML dont sell the DI tube anymore, just asked henry last friday. He got new product hanging on the wall but never ask how much. Looks expensive though. wasted... maybe I pop by soon to see see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member scooter blenny Posted September 15, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 15, 2003 another option is u may want to buy sea water from tengah LFS. heard they are selling at $6. may have delivery service. Total cost: not sure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member williammuk Posted September 17, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 17, 2003 Hm.. how much water is it good for? I think the rate of flow is actually quite slow right? Yes, you have to set the flow rate slow. It takes about an hour to fill up a 40 litre pail. The $75 DI tube is supposed to be rated for 1700 litres. At the half-way mark, I brought a sample DI water to the LFS to test and found that there are already lots of impurities in the DI water. I just had my DI tube recharged for about $55. This time, I'm going to have the DI water tested every 2 months just to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member SharkBait Posted September 17, 2003 SRC Member Share Posted September 17, 2003 SL selling that for $70 or subsequent recharging for $50.Do they actually recharge the resins or do they change the resins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepBlue Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 another option is u may want to buy sea water from tengah LFS. heard they are selling at $6. may have delivery service. Total cost: not sure... LCK 1** going at $3 for one big jerrycan...quite worth it. using it for a year...no problem........................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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