How to lower Nitrate. Experts??

[ouling]

So what is your idea of lowering nitrate? I have a proven method that does not involve water change, or buying long hoses to work out a coil denitricator, or getting the useless nitrate reactor or the filter media. What is yours? I want to hear from all the experts and their secrets of reef keeping. I'ma tell you mine later.

 

[cameron]

Lower feeding, Purigen, Mangroves, DSB, Autotrophic denitrifiers are some of the tricks.

I personally use a strange variant of a time tested method. I wet skim my tank heavily and mix in a light salt mixture in the top off. I basically do water changes pulling the nastiest of the water out via my skimmer into an MRC collection cup and refill the tank via top-off. So far the downside has been getting the salinity mix right in the top off, but I almost have that zeroed in.

 

[showtime305]

Reduced feedings, maintain a low to medium bio-load, a DSB and chaeto worked for me. When I had my bigger tank regular water changes was very uncommon, so that did not play a major roll in my nitrate control.

 

[ouling]

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5158">http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5158</a>

Dump half a bottle of Seachem polygluconate calcium in that thing and the other half next day, problem solved, and zero nitrate for sure. I don't feel like explaining the chemistry of the thing but you can read it in the last long post. I thought it would raise the nitrate but I confirmed it will actually lower it pretty substantially in chem lab, i'm having an affair with my lab instructor so i get special useage. It looks almost like a sugar molecule, just with the extra calcium and 3 less oxygen, and the bacteria works by using that as fuel to break down nitrate. It is their food.

 

[ouling]

Cameron;49842 wrote: I wet skim my tank heavily and mix in a light salt mixture in the top off.

This one is what works for me also when nitrate is under control. I adjust my Terminator II so it skims out about 1/4 gallons per day, and since i don't have a collection cup, the hose brings the water into a big jug and i don't have to worry about it too often. Very very large clams, or alot of them can help to a bit too. But if your nitrate is at like 20-40ppm and don't want to change the water... go with the Ouling Lu's proven Seachem method. I can tell you how to correct your chemistry afterwards.

 

[FutureInterest]

I thought you were going to reveal that your "sandbed" of carbon in your sump was the secret . However, it sounds like you're just dosing a carbon source. I know you discovered it independently and I think its neat that you put a lot work into figuring it out... but dosing with a carbon source like sugar or vodka has been done for quite some time from my understanding. I believe it started in europe, but there were a few long threads on it at RC. So hold off on the bottle of calcium gluconate , and break out the alcohol!

Found the thread. Hopefully you'll find it useful.

 

[cameron]

I would give you some rep for that vodka post FI, but I have to spread some around first.

 

[cameron]

OK I downed a ton of reading on this and it as far as I can tell falls into the voodoo category. It works seemingly by a bacterial explosion, but none of the big reefcentral guys is for sure including Holmes-Farley. What seems to be true is different tanks react differently to the treatment. I suppose that greatly depends on the oxygen content and the type of bacteria already in your tank.

I did run across a high nitrate is good if you can super oxygenate your water article that was very interesting.

 

[jeep9783]

I do it the simple way just wet skim and chateo along with a pretty decent size clam and only three fish in the tank, (lawn mower, yellow clown goby, mandrian) i use the K.I.S.S. method never fails...sorry i am not a lab tech to throw some chemistry out there to bewilder people.

Chris

 

[flyingarmy]

I think I like the vodka method....but I drank all the top-off!

 

[reeferjw]

I just use cheato, and purigen for my 3g nano... I have the smallest ac power filter with floss and the purigen bag in there. I don't have a very high bioload either, several small pieces of coral, 2 blue hermits, 2 scarlet reds, 2 nassarius snails, 1 astrea, and 2 gold coral banded shrimp... but it seems to work fine, apart from the occasional algae outbreak, but they all seem to cycle through with water changes.