Ways to reduce Nitrate

[Halohalo]

hi bros ......... is there a effective way to reduce Nitrate level.

3 Feet Tank

Deltec Skimmer MCE 600

8 livestocks

Nitrate level - 25 to 50 ppm

I change water very freq - 4 days once

when it reached 50ppm - abt 40% water changed

Options

Upgrade Skimmer or

using a denitrator ......... if yes is sulphur or deniball better ......

Thanks so much

[hammy]

hi bros ......... is there a effective way to reduce Nitrate level.

3 Feet Tank

Deltec Skimmer MCE 600

8 livestocks

Nitrate level - 25 to 50 ppm

I change water very freq - 4 days once

when it reached 50ppm - abt 40% water changed

Options

Upgrade Skimmer or

using a denitrator ......... if yes is sulphur or deniball better ......

Thanks so much

do u change water with tap water?

do u have a sump.

maybe a pic of ur main tank and sump and help us analyse better ??

[Halohalo]

do u change water with tap water?

do u have a sump.

maybe a pic of ur main tank and sump and help us analyse better ??

[w3ish3ng]

get a sump and use di water. your no3 will decrease

[KTLK]

The best way imo to reduce NO3 is still by changing water, control feeding & having a powerful skimmer. Having a denitrator is good but it often require time for the unit to kick in & constant adjusting the correct flow.

its best that u read up more regarding denitrator & really uuderstand the working concept b4 getting.

[Halohalo]

The best way imo to reduce NO3 is still by changing water, control feeding & having a powerful skimmer. Having a denitrator is good but it often require time for the unit to kick in & constant adjusting the correct flow.

its best that u read up more regarding denitrator & really uuderstand the working concept b4 getting.

thanks bro ...... should i get the RO unit or DI since water changed is impt ... thanks

[w3ish3ng]

di water is the way to go.

[Halohalo]

di water is the way to go.

Cheers .... enjoy yr night .......

[w3ish3ng]

just being curious, how big is your tank

[Halohalo]

just being curious, how big is your tank

mine is a 3ft tank..... thanks

[cdckjn]

I am a newbie, I thought that you can have some algae planted in your sump, allowing the alage to grow - this will aid to bring bring the nitrates and Ph and many other things. Also good for the biological envirnoment of the tank. My two-cents worth? Please correct me if I am wrong? Any Seniors?

[w3ish3ng]

yes, those macro algaes will suck in po4 and no3 but you need to have many of them in order to do the job. provide them light all the time and when they grow too much, you will have to do trimming. however bro halo halo dont have a sump, so this is not an option to him

[Halohalo]

thanks bro for yr help...... had read old thread ...... realise dosing sugar can bring down nitrate ....... is it efficent? ..... ph drop too but after water changed it will be back to normal value? ...... any bros try tat......

[gny]

Do you keep LPS?

If only fishes, 50ppm is ok. But it is better to lower them.

Tested my area tap water is 5ppm. It goes up after normal feeding and waste buildup.

With regular water changes, control feeding and a good skimmer, NO3 can be control to 20~30ppm.

This can be further be lowered by using DI water, use Denitrator or as you said add suger.

[vidul]

How does a sump help in reducing the Nitrate? Is it because of the water circulation and the constant air contact?

[mansiz]

What are the 8 fishes you have? If they are big fishes like tang, then you will not be able to bring your NO3 to 0 no matter how many times you change the water. Actually the purpose of a sump tank is to hold more water for your whole aquarium set up, besides that, more water = nutrients spread and thus less build up. The sump can also hold unwanted to seen equipment like skimmer, fr, cr, and you can create a deep sand bed also. Btw some bros planted caulerpa (including myself) in the sump tank and it really helps reduce my NO3 to very low levels. Plus the help of a giant clam. Water change by DI/RO water is recommended, but the amount you change every time is too frequent and too much already. You may stress the LS out, especially corals. Did you check your Ph fluctuation before and after change? If Ph drops by 2 - 3, then you will have to stop doing it, as this can be more harmful than NO3. Btw the sump tank is not suppose to put any fishes in, if you fill up both main and sump tank, then I think the sump tank would not help much in maintaining good water parameter.

[Halohalo]

What are the 8 fishes you have? If they are big fishes like tang, then you will not be able to bring your NO3 to 0 no matter how many times you change the water. Actually the purpose of a sump tank is to hold more water for your whole aquarium set up, besides that, more water = nutrients spread and thus less build up. The sump can also hold unwanted to seen equipment like skimmer, fr, cr, and you can create a deep sand bed also. Btw some bros planted caulerpa (including myself) in the sump tank and it really helps reduce my NO3 to very low levels. Plus the help of a giant clam. Water change by DI/RO water is recommended, but the amount you change every time is too frequent and too much already. You may stress the LS out, especially corals. Did you check your Ph fluctuation before and after change? If Ph drops by 2 - 3, then you will have to stop doing it, as this can be more harmful than NO3. Btw the sump tank is not suppose to put any fishes in, if you fill up both main and sump tank, then I think the sump tank would not help much in maintaining good water parameter.

hi bro thanks for the advice ....... the fishes are

pair true percular

neon goby

flame goby

2 inch yellow tang

3 inch blue tang

flame angle

2 inch emperor angle .............. All this exclude inverts

during setup, decide not to have a sump cause cabinet seem small(divided portion) ..... & need to drill hole

Keeping for 2mths plus ....... & changing water like every 4 days ....... 20% - 40% ..... cause nitrate will be around 50ppm before water changed .......

Thinking whether i can bring the nitrate lower beside changing water ....

As for the PH, so far remain at 8.5 ...... using marine enviroment salt ..........

Solutions

Denitrator need some time to kick in - give up the idea

install sump - need to find a suitable sump and overflow

therefore read up old thread and there fellow reefer suggested adding sugar ...... tot of using this method ...... advisable?

yup bro .... is it tat my nitrate will be around 25 - 50 with the LS mention .... thanks .....

Enjoy yr night .... cheers

[w3ish3ng]

not really advisable. you have to find the root of the problem and tackle it. if not you keep dosing sugar also not good for the fishes. who will pour sugar into the sea everyday? no one right?

[Halohalo]

not really advisable. you have to find the root of the problem and tackle it. if not you keep dosing sugar also not good for the fishes. who will pour sugar into the sea everyday? no one right?

thanks bro .... think will control the feeding, purchase a DI and monitor the nitrate ..... and maybe adjust my skimmer ..... enjoy yr night

[jervismun]

Bro Halo

Agree with Weisheng... adding sugar is not a long term solution...

Water change every 4 days is also not the right solution as it is troublesome, expensive and unhealthy for your LS...

You need to find out the source for the constant high NO3, you may want to get another set of test kit before over reacting.

A denitrator will take time to kick-in... on the other hand... it is faster to kick-in if your tank has high NO3... so it might be your best opportunity to consider a denitrator now... if you are to introduce a sump, allocate a sizeable space for deep sand bed with plenum... I will add mine tomorrow, visit my Office Tank thread tomorrow

All the best!

[Halohalo]

Bro Halo

Agree with Weisheng... adding sugar is not a long term solution...

Water change every 4 days is also not the right solution as it is troublesome, expensive and unhealthy for your LS...

You need to find out the source for the constant high NO3, you may want to get another set of test kit before over reacting.

A denitrator will take time to kick-in... on the other hand... it is faster to kick-in if your tank has high NO3... so it might be your best opportunity to consider a denitrator now... if you are to introduce a sump, allocate a sizeable space for deep sand bed with plenum... I will add mine tomorrow, visit my Office Tank thread tomorrow

All the best!

thanks bro jervis ....... had just changed my water on tue ... will monitor again and seek bro advice .... will control feeding tooand not forgetting DI ...... thanks ... enjoy yr night

[w3ish3ng]

actually for your ls, very easy to get them to feed on pellet. get them hook on it, feed them like once a day pellets, sure wont have much nutrients.

[Halohalo]

actually for your ls, very easy to get them to feed on pellet. get them hook on it, feed them like once a day pellets, sure wont have much nutrients.

hi bro ... me feeding twice ....... morning on live stuff like mysis ........ night dry stuff like pellet or flakes ... is it too much .....

[mansiz]

hi bro thanks for the advice ....... the fishes are

pair true percular

neon goby

flame goby

2 inch yellow tang

3 inch blue tang

flame angle

2 inch emperor angle .............. All this exclude inverts

during setup, decide not to have a sump cause cabinet seem small(divided portion) ..... & need to drill hole

Keeping for 2mths plus ....... & changing water like every 4 days ....... 20% - 40% ..... cause nitrate will be around 50ppm before water changed .......

Thinking whether i can bring the nitrate lower beside changing water ....

As for the PH, so far remain at 8.5 ...... using marine enviroment salt ..........

Solutions

Denitrator need some time to kick in - give up the idea

install sump - need to find a suitable sump and overflow

therefore read up old thread and there fellow reefer suggested adding sugar ...... tot of using this method ...... advisable?

yup bro .... is it tat my nitrate will be around 25 - 50 with the LS mention .... thanks .....

Enjoy yr night .... cheers

Hi bro, the amount of livestock is a lot, but if you monitor the nutrients level well, it's no proble at all. But if i;m not wrong, pellets do have more PO4 compared to frozen food. But of course frozen food must be de-frost 1st.

[Halohalo]

thanks bro ... enjoy