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Physical filtration - Where your bioballs used to be, I would suggest using a filter sock to catch the particulate matter. You can then wash the sock out every few days or once a week. The more crap you pull out of the water before it decomposes fully the better for your nitrate issue.
Mechanical filtration - Along the same lines. A bigger skimmer will also help to pull out the organics before they turn into nitrates. Kinda expensive, but it removes the dissolved organics that a filter sock cannot.
Natural filtration - Chaeto and other macroalgaes actually use No3 as a building block. A skimmer cannot remove NO3 as it is inorganic, so a fuge is necessary to help keep this under control. As noted above, its the cheapest and easiest way to help battle your particular problem. If there is space at all in your stand just use any old container that can fit in there. You can feed it water with a maxijet, install a bulkhead and let it gravity drain back to your sump. A 10 buck light from home depot and you've got an instant fuge. I would recommend putting a deep sand bed in the fuge and it should help tremendously.
Chemical filtration - I'm not a fan of the nitrate sponges and their ilk as they really are not permanent solutions and really dont' seem to help all that much...
Nitrate reactor - not sure where this falls in the above categories I just made up
. I've heard they work very well, I've just never needed one so I don't know much about it.
Water changes - nitrates unlike phosphates are not supposed to be bound up in the substrate or the rocks. As such, technically if you do a 50% water change your nitrates should be cut by 50%. Most people are able to deal with their nitrate issues by simply doing weekly water changes.
Mechanical filtration - Along the same lines. A bigger skimmer will also help to pull out the organics before they turn into nitrates. Kinda expensive, but it removes the dissolved organics that a filter sock cannot.
Natural filtration - Chaeto and other macroalgaes actually use No3 as a building block. A skimmer cannot remove NO3 as it is inorganic, so a fuge is necessary to help keep this under control. As noted above, its the cheapest and easiest way to help battle your particular problem. If there is space at all in your stand just use any old container that can fit in there. You can feed it water with a maxijet, install a bulkhead and let it gravity drain back to your sump. A 10 buck light from home depot and you've got an instant fuge. I would recommend putting a deep sand bed in the fuge and it should help tremendously.
Chemical filtration - I'm not a fan of the nitrate sponges and their ilk as they really are not permanent solutions and really dont' seem to help all that much...
Nitrate reactor - not sure where this falls in the above categories I just made up
. I've heard they work very well, I've just never needed one so I don't know much about it.Water changes - nitrates unlike phosphates are not supposed to be bound up in the substrate or the rocks. As such, technically if you do a 50% water change your nitrates should be cut by 50%. Most people are able to deal with their nitrate issues by simply doing weekly water changes.
