just trying to get nitrate free,

[brockwell]

hey everyone,,, new here,,,great info on the scrubbers,,,EXACTLY what i needed,,thanks,,,will keep you informed as i will building one for the next 2 days,,,yea 2 days,,,might have to revise on the second day,,lol

 

[little_fish]

Hello and welcome to the site. A better idea is addressing why you have high nitrates. A scrubbers works well, but it isnt a miracle maker.

 

[brockwell]

I convinced it is the bio ball system perhaps holding matter and decaying,,i caame to this after much discussion. so i am going to try a scrubber,, i will keep my skimmer im just going to modify[haha] my deal hopefully it will improve,,,thanks for the reply,,,any thing you can add i will appreciate,,thanks again

 

[little_fish]

I would remove the bioballs. But how many fish do you have? How much and what do you feed? How often and how much do you change out when doing a water change? Are you RO/DI or distilled water?

 

[brockwell]

okayyyy,,,here we go,,, i am on well water,,it has been tested,,,A+ I also have a 55 gal plastic barrel with my water premixed,as it seems to be the way to go,, i have only 3 fish 2 clowns and a goby,,,2 shrimp,,,10 hermits,,, 2 conchs,,,3 naccius[sp} 5 nerites 3 emerald crabs,,, i change approx,,20 gals every 10 days,, i really thinki was feeding tooooooo much,,,, this could be the problem with the balls and such,,,any ideas??

 

[little_fish]

how did you test your well water? It needs to be tested with a TDS meter, and anything higher than 10 means it is unfit to use. I would be extremely suspicious of well water because they often have very high mineral content, nitrates and phosphates.

And how much were you feeding?

Fish sound perfect though, as does your CUC

 

[brockwell]

oh yea,,,and 1 carpet and 1 bubble for got about them,,lol

 

[little_fish]

eeek!!!!!! i would be extrememly worried about them dying with the high nitrates. They are such sensitive creatures, i would never suggest someone own one unless they have perfect water conditions and their tank is over a year old.

 

[brockwell]

OMG i was feeding like there was NO tomorrow! now everyones on a diet,,,light feeding every other day,,,it seems to be fine for them,,, the LFS tested my sample and said the phates and trates were fine,,,how they did it i do not know

 

[brockwell]

yea last check the nitrates were at a 10.

 

[brockwell]

so i should check on geting a TDS meter you think? i havent lost anything,,nor do i want to, im almost suspect of my test kit now,,,i just dont know

 

[little_fish]

yes, i would get a TDS meter, and the first thing i would check is your well water. I suspect you are going to want to switch to RO/DI water

 

[brockwell]

Okay,,,then i will get one asap. so you think the water switch is also will clear me up? Thanks for your time,,,I got to get on top of this before anything bad happens,,Thanks again little_fish

 

[little_fish]

It might not solve all of your problems, but between switching and feeding less, it should clear up.


Also you can get a TDS meter on ebay for around $10, but make sure to get the calibration fluid for it.

 

[brockwell]

thankyou,,,im sure the feeding was a big part of the problem,,,so we start with the basics and work forwards,,, thanks again

 

[little_fish]

sure thing!

 

[Bifferwine]

Hello and welcome to the site! Nitrates at 10 is not bad, but lower is generally better.