Ways to lower Nitrate

[va reef walker]

Hi all,

I've had my 55g tank about 9 months now, and since we have started to really get the hang of water changes, testing etc, we've decided to start to really look at honing our water quality.

Everything always tests good, but our nitrates always seem to run 20-30 ppm even directly after water changes which are 5g weekly.

Reading on this forum, it appears we made a rather large mistake in placing crushed coral in our tank.

We are very lightly stocked only having a Clown Fish, a Six Lined Wrasse, Serpent Star, and CuC.

What I want to do is remove the Crushed Coral, and replace it with sand. I've read on here to take out a little at a time as I do water changes, but this has me concerned for my livestock. Even though we only have a few things in the tank, I'd rather not go through a die off.

At the same time I want to do what I can to lower my nitrates so that once they are lowered we are able to then start to add Corals and such.

What would be the best way to remove the Crushed Coral safely without removing too much bacteria?

Thanks in advance,
Kris

 

[sen5241b]

Sand will lower 'trates better than crushed coral. Set up a refugium with cheato.

 

[va reef walker]

Sand will lower 'trates better than crushed coral. Set up a refugium with cheato.

Thanks, I've thought of setting up a refugium before with a spare 10g we have here, but my 55g isn't drilled so I'm not positive on how to set it up. Also I don't know where to get the Cheato. I've looked around but can't find it anywhere.

Guess I'm off to do some more research.

 

[Ulta]

lol, biff will sell you Cheato ^_^

Your doing the right thing removing that crushed coral! I know first hand how many problems it will cause you in the long run.

Like you said, to remove it I would continue doing water changes like you do, but suck up that crushed coral each time untill finally you have a bare bottom tank. Then you can add the sand, make sure it is WELL rinsed!

There are many ways to lower nitates:
- Water changes just dilute the nitrates...
- As Sen suggested, grow cheato(Macro algae) in a sump.
- High populations of bacteria and using a high rated Skimmer is a great way as well! Some people run bio pellets. or some people add it to your system routinly and feed it with a carbon source ( vodka, vinegar, sugar) These methods are newer to the hobby and will require more research.
- A high rated skimmer is highly reccomended anyways, because it will pull out organics from your water before it gets broken down into nitrates!
- Also, later when you start building a better reef you may want to look into running carbon and GFO in a reactor to really clear up your water and keep nitrates and phosphates undetectable. Check out www.bulkreefsupply.com for more information on those types of product.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you research it fully before you execute (as anything in this hobby)! :)

 

[va reef walker]

Thanks for the advice Ulta,

I thought I read that someone on here sells Cheato, but couldn't remember who.

I have a Reef Octopus skimmer, we clean the collection cup every other day, and I think it does a fantastic job.

Thank you for your other suggestions as well. In time I hope to incorporate Carbon and GFO as our level of understanding grows in this hobby.

 

[Bifferwine]

I am no longer selling chaeto, sadly. :( You can find it on Ebay for around the same price as I would charge -- it's pretty cheap.

You are smart to work on those nitrates before you start adding corals. Your levels are not high for fish, but are considered high for corals. I think switching out the crushed coral for sand will go a long way in helping.

 

[bjohanson1234]

Live rock will also help lower nitrates. You really want to aim for around 2 lbs of porous rock per gallon of tank. So for a 55, around 100lbs. If you want to save money, you can very easily get dry rock and then seed it with one or two pieces of live rock.

To set up a fuge without a drilled tank, you will need a HOB over flow. It will siphon water from your main tank into the fuge, then a return pump will send it back to the main tank.

 

[va reef walker]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Bifferwine, I'm sorry to hear your no longer selling Cheato, but I am grateful for you pointing me in the right direction. Thank you.

Bjohanson, you actually hit a point that my wife and I were just discussing a little while ago. We do need to add a bit more rock because we are about 30 pounds shy as of right now. Seeding dry rock was the way we went with the first rock and I believe it's probably the way we'll go when we add more as well. We really liked what we got last time.
Thank you also for the suggestion of the HOB overflow. I've been reading all day on how to go about setting the refugium up without having anything drilled, and I was wondering if that was the way to go. It seems you have answered my question before I needed to post it.

If anyone else has any other suggestions please feel free to contribute. Now that we have began to really get the basics down, we seriously want to hone those skills before moving on to more advanced things, so any and all ideas are appreciated.