Nitrate levels..

MikMcgyver

MikMcgyver

Vlamingi owner 4 life!
I know I should not be concerned with nitrate levels between 5-20ppm , I freak a lil bit and test like 3 times a day and its getting expensive.

I have my lil 12 gallon, till i get the 125, and it doesnt really have much filtration, cept the bunch of filterfloss I have jammed in the back compartments..I rinse the filterfloss about once a week or so, when I remember

All my parameters check decent

Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5-20ppm
Alk 300ppm
pH- 8.2-8.4
Dont know ammonia or my salinity yet, gotta get a test for ammoni9 and get a refractometer for salinity.

My question is:

Without a skimmer or some type of mechanical filtration will my nitrate levels always be there?

I would like to mod the back chamber area of the tank, where all the filterfloss is located. In a perfect world there would be a skimmer that I could just drop in there and be done, but this most likely will not be the case.

Here is a basic diagram
tanktop.jpg


If I removed wall 2 in the diagram joining chamber 2 & 3 together Is there a skimmer out there that would fit in there, be able to be submersed fully in water, and still get the job done? the chamber is approx 7 3/4" wide, 2 3/4" front to back, and 9" deep.Possibly the sapphire nanoskimmer? ne1 have any luck or experience with one of those?

Help and opinions, as always, are appreciated..
 
You can do water changes or use a deep sand bed for natural nitrate reduction. Another option is dosing sugar or vodka to you tank to build bacteria that eat nitrate. You want to dose I suggest you do some serious research before you try.
 
Dont really want to dose much. Have about 20lbs in LS(3" deep), 15 in LR, do water changes everyother day, nitrates still high..
 
What is your level at? I would add a skimmer. For a small tank you dont need one, because you can easily do more or larger water changes to keep it low, but a skimmer will help keep it low and you wont have to do soo many water changes. My tank has been set up a year now and it has always had nitrates, but they stay at about 10
 
I tried using a Fission Nano skimmer on my 29g - took it off in the end as I just didn't like it - it relied upon a piece of sponge to force the foam up into the collection cup, so as the sponge gets clogged it changes the performance of the skimmer... needed constant attention. I am now back to 10-20% water changes once a week and all is well (i don't test for Nitrates, but algae growth tells me if I have a problem...)

If you do want to add equipment, you could get stuff that you could then use for your 125... ie a skimmer rated for the 125 and just keep it out the back of the Nano.

On my larger tanks I use a Koralin BioDenitrator to keep Nitrates at zero. They replace the sugar/vodka dosing idea by providing an environment where Nitrate-eating bacteria thrive... they are very effective. Depends how badly you want to chase zero Nitrates.
 
Why not just put some cheatomopha macroalgae in the sump?

I used the Fission Nano skimmer on my 30g and had the same results at Joeman. When it works, it works great. But tomorrow, it will need probably need to be adjusted again. In the sump--where the water level is constant-- it would probably do better. I had mine in the tank and a water level fluctuation of just 1/4" would throw it all outta whack and it either wouldn't produce any foam--or if the level got too high, it was watery foam. But, it might do better in a sump where the water level is constant. I just took my sponge out and rinsed it under the tap about once a week.

They measure 2" diameter X 6.5" height. The powerhead can be placed under it or to the side. With the powerhead under it, the height ends up like 9". If you place the powerhead on the side, it ends up about 5" wide.

If you want to try one, I have one that only has a couple months use on it. I'll ship it to ya for $20. Includes a couple extra sponges. It's not squeaky clean, but I did rinse/scrub it pretty well. It's got a few spots of coraline on it.
 
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The cheapest way to cut down on the nitrate is to cut down on the bio-load.If you have three fish,try having two instead.Doing water changes every other day is too often.Spending all that money on denitrators and skimmer isn't worth it on a nano.BTW,20ppm nitrate isn't so bad.
 
Freak is right, water changes every other day will be way more stressful to your tank inhabitants than nitrate levels of 20. Take a chill pill :D. I had nitrates spike to 150 one time (DAMN SEA CUCUMBER -- STAY AWAY FROM CUKES!!!!) and I don't think I lost anything. I'm not saying that things can survive in nitrates of 150 ppm, I'm just saying 20 isn't bad at all.
 
THE onlt time that nitrates at as high as 20 are bad,is when your keeping SPS corals.
There are also a lot of soft corals that actually do better if you have some nitrates in the water.
 
i say that ther is only one god cuke and thats the pink and green ones mines been through a lot and never let out toxin. ill share one story the cleaner attacked him so i took the shrimp out and traded it for a star.
 
Thanks guys, I have actually gone all day without testing, I just said "NO" I will not test today... :) Im just gonna deal without a skimma in the nano.. Just mess with it a bit
 
LMAO,
Mike,I know its hard not to test.I'm just now,after a little over a year getting to where I only test once a week.
I'm paronid about my tank.
 
The only thing I will test more often then once a week is my salinity.. this 12 gallon has wicked swings in salinity...
 
I only test the salinity before I do a water change, and thats it. I used to test alot but I hardly do it at all unless I think there is something up. Which reminds me I should test the calcium; it has been along time.
 

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