Reducing Nitrate in 125 gal reef

[cr500_af]

gregoryleonard;618113 wrote: That would be awesome. Maybe we could go in together and bulk order the media and other items we may need.
PM me and let me know when you are planning to do this.
Are you coing to the "soft opening" of Atlanta Aquarium this weekend?
I plan on going in the early afternoon. I look forward to meeting you and working on this project.

Will do. I'll be out of town, so I'll miss Rit's party!

 

[morganatlanta]

How about an algae scrubber? Can be very cheap DIY, but you can purchase one as well.

 

[acroholic]

My sulfur denitrator effluent has a lower pH that my calcium reactor effluent.

 

[gregoryleonard]

That is what I've read in many articles, that a reading of 20 or below is good and is not a reason for alarm. Like everyone in this hobby, you get to "know" your tank and inhabitants as to if they are happy or not. My main reason for my initial question about Nitrate levels was to try and find out if there would be a MAJOR difference/effect on my tank inhabitants if the Nitrates were near zero as possible.

misu;618112 wrote: nitrates 20 is not that bad, I would say live with it if it's stable at that and you're happy with your current schedule.

 

[gregoryleonard]

After all the advice and referenced articles that everyone sent me. I have decided to start dosing my tank with Vodka in an effort to see if I can bring down my Nitrates below the 20 they currently are at, to below 10 or even below 5. I will be doing this very slowly and testing the water every other day. After reading many threads and articles, I have decided to follow the following dosing regimen (Slow and gradual).

Approximate tank water volume is 100 gal (125 gal reef + 40 gal sump/refugium=165 gal TWV - live rock and sand displacement of 65 gal = 100 gal, give or take a few).

Day 1-3 - 0.4 ml - Check water quality after day 2
Day 4-7 - 0.8 ml - check water quaity day 5 and day 7 - look for decrease in NO3
Day 8-14 - 1.3 ml - check water quality day 9 and 11 and 14 for any additional reductions
Day 15-21 - 1.8 ml (if NO3 is not coming down at previous dose) - I hope to not have to add more than 1.8 ml to get NO3 to move down, and to be able to maintain that dose or less at an every other day dosing schedule of 0.5 ml to 1.0 ml, or not having to dose at all, once acceptable NO3 levels are achieved. (Once the levels get below 5, I expect my Chaeto and refugium to keep NO3 levels under control,along with scheduled Water changes -but not 25 gal every week!)

I have taken water readings before starting the regimen, they are as follows:
SG: 1.0245
PH: 8.2-8.3
Mg: 1300
Ca: 450
PO4: 0.5
NO3: 20
AK: per Red Sea test kit results-in the "Normal" range (1.7 - 2.8)

I have created a spreadsheet with all the pertinent test measurements and will monitor them closely to see if there are any significant changes that would be alarming, and adjust or stop dosing should the readings get out of balance.

I will alo be watching and observing the tank inhabitants to see if there is any visual changes that are happening that would require any adjustments to this regimen.

I have a little bit of Cyano in two or three small areas that I have read this treatment can/will (hopefully) take care of, in addition to lowering my NO3 levels (keeping in mind this is the PRIMARY reason for me to utilize this method).

I will also be observing Softies, Fish, Inverts (GBTA, Long tentacle Anemone, Maxi mini nems, brittle Star and hundreds of tiny Atlantic star fish from my live sand), LPS, SPS, and Chaeto, Chocolate Chip star in sump/refugium, as well as monitoring my protein skimmer to make sure it's pulling out the gunk it should be when dosing with Vodka.

Looking forward to telling everyone interested what MY results are with MY tank.:up:

Stay Tuned.

 

[sree]

gregoryleonard;617974 wrote: I have a question for the experts in this forum about reducing nitrates in a 125 gal reef. I read about these tanks that have zero nitrates and have incorporated what I have read intomy system to try to get to zero nitrates forthe optimal environment, but can't seem to get mine below 20ppm no matter how many water changes I perform. I have a 125 gal reef that has been setup for 9 months (took contents of 55 reef and transferred over to 125, so I had a good start on live rock, live sand etc.) with a 40 gal. sump/refugium with protein, 6" sand bed, Protein skimmer, chateo about the size of a football to help reduce harmful build up (nice growth from a softballsize). Most LPS and SPS corals and fish are doiung well and growing, but wondered if they would do even better at lower nitrate levels?
I've been reading about de-nitification devices and was wondering if they are worth the $400+ I see they cost? Is that a must have? Should I add other live based items (shaving brush,mangrove shoots,etc.) to my sump?
I recently (last week) added Seachem denitrate substrate in the sump in the water flow to help absorb the nitrates.
I perform a water change (25 gal.) every 6 weeks. Have RO/DI system, just tested newly mixed water (last week) and had 0 phosphates,and 0 nitrates. I feed my fish and corals once every other day.
Based on this information about my setup, does anyone have any suggestions I can incorporate that will help? Or should I leave well enough alone and live with it?
Your expertise will be greatly appreciated.

Chateo usually reduces nitrates. If you are still having nitrates, probably the system is overloaded. What kindof fish do you have? How much liverock do you have ?

 

[misu]

gregoryleonard;618564 wrote:
Day 15-21 - 1.8 ml (if NO3 is not coming down at previous dose) - I hope to not have to add more than 1.8 ml to get NO3 to move down, and to be able to maintain that dose or less at an every other day dosing schedule of 0.5 ml to 1.0 ml, or not having to dose at all, once acceptable NO3 levels are achieved. (Once the levels get below 5, I expect my Chaeto and refugium to keep NO3 levels under control

Sounds like a good plan, I have about the same voulme of water as you and I dose around 3ml of VSV. The only problem I see is that after this treatment there won't be much chaeto left I was growing the green stuff like crazy but now I can barely find small strings of it.

Interested in your results.

 

[gregoryleonard]

Did you drive your Nitrate level down to zero? I have read that if you keep some Nitrates (around 5) the Chaeto will survive. We will see.
How long have you been dosing? what were your Nitrate levels before you started? What "other" beneficial results did you experience?
I would love to hear about it.

Edit: I have a Powder Brown Tang - 4", RegalBlue Tang - 3", Gold strip maroon clown- 2", Cinnamon clown - 2", Black & white clown - 1.5", Yellow clown goby - 1", Blue & pink spot goby - 5", Lawnmower blenny - 2", six line wrasse - 2", Coral Beauty Angel - 2.5" at least 60 Lbs of live rock and live sand. Don't believe the tank is over populated!

Sree;618593 wrote: Chateo usually reduces nitrates. If you are still having nitrates, probably the system is overloaded. What kindof fish do you have? How much liverock do you have ?

 

[johnmackay70]

+1 to atlweb : "IMO, more live rock would definitely help out, but you would have to slowly add it."

65-75 lbs of LR is not a whole lot for a 125 gallon system, you would really do yourself a favor by increasing this.

If you are worried about tank cycling, you could always add dry rock to the sump and let it seed - as the new rock seeds, you should see the nitrates start to fall.

 

[tromblydavid]

I used this once and it worked for me.

 

[ichthyoid]

These all work-

-a denitrification filter

-carbon dosing (alcohols, vinegar, sugar, etc.)

-biopellets

 

[misu]

gregoryleonard;618638 wrote: Did you drive your Nitrate level down to zero? I have read that if you keep some Nitrates (around 5) the Chaeto will survive. We will see.
How long have you been dosing? what were your Nitrate levels before you started? What "other" beneficial results did you experience?
I would love to hear about it.

I can still detect some nitrates before water changes but I feed a lot and skimmer is crappy so that may have something to do with it. The chaeto survives it just won't grow much.
Only dosing for about 5 months in the big tank, never had really high nitrates because I just started the tank last year but VSV probably helped keep them low.
Other beneficial results mostly what commonly described, water clarity and nicer coral coloration.

Forgot: I also have little live rock in the display but I added a lot of Seachem Matrix in the sump