Bio pellets in canister filter?

[lockkeeper69]

I have a 120 Gallon FOWLR aquarium that I will eventually turn into a reef system. I have over 120# of live rock with about 3" or sugar size aragonite sand. My livestock is Blue Morph Tang approx 3-4 inches, two percula clowns, Yellow Watchman goby 1.5 in., Orange Diamond Goby 2.5", Starry Blenny 2", fairy wrasse, two skunk cleaner shrimp, Pistol Shrimp, brittle star and numerous nassarius snails.

My issue is that I do not overfeed (or at least I don't think so) but I can not get my Nitrites under control. I feed two times a day maybe three. I feed Mysis shrimp, pellets and nori sheets. I dont feed all at once but rotate. I add just enough for fish to eat and consume in about two minutes. No food hits the bottom unless I spot feed. I make approx 20% weekly water changes and the Nitrites still range from 20 - 50ppm. I have a HOB Reef Octopus 300 skimmer and have a Fluval FX5 canister filter I am using just for circulation. I have removed all filter media. I had the three chambers occupied by the sponge media that came with the filter and removed them about two months ago as I thought this may be part of my Nitrite issue. I was removing and cleaning the sponge filters weekly with the water change when I was using them.

Since I have this filter can I run Bio Pellets in it since I have all kinds or room? Do you need to use a bio pellet reactor?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[goma]

Welcome to RS! Start a tank thread so we can follow your journey!! :swmfish:

 

[DaveK]

...

My issue is that I do not overfeed (or at least I don't think so) but I can not get my Nitrites under control. I feed two times a day maybe three. I feed Mysis shrimp, pellets and nori sheets. I dont feed all at once but rotate. I add just enough for fish to eat and consume in about two minutes. No food hits the bottom unless I spot feed. ...

In my opinion you are grossly overfeeding your tank. Just to give you some idea, I have a 125 gal reef with a similar amount of livestock. I feed about 2 to 3 times a week. Unless you have fish, such as anthias damsels, which require an almost constant food supply, feeding your fish every 2 or three days is fine.

Also, be sure to thaw and rinse out any frozen foods before feeding. Feed pellets sparingly, as they can be a big contributor of nitrates and phosphates to your system. I suggest that you feed a wider variety of foods, especially the better frozen ones.

To answer you r specific question, there is no reason you can't use the bio pellets in your canister filter. However, before you spend money on them, your efforts would be much better directed to finding your sources of nitrates.

I have already mentioned feeding. I would also check the makeup water your using and water change water. Even if you are using RO/DI water, there can still be issues here. In some rare cases people have discovered that the replacement water had more nitrates than the water in the tank.

You didn't mention anything about additives. Use them carefully. In some cases, they can be contributing factors to algae growth.

 

[lockkeeper69]

Thanks Dave. I had no idea I should feed that sparingly. I guess I want my fish to be healthy and not stressed or starve because they are not eating. I will cut back my feedings and monitor with water change schedule as I am doing. I eventually want to go reef and add coral but if I can not control the water quality with what I have I don't want to set myself up for failure. I am saving money for lights and power heads that will support a reef.

I do rinse the frozen food prior to feeding. Any suggestions on better frozen foods would be appreciated.

On the RO/DI I do check the water for nitrates and it always checks 0. I currently add no additives.

 

[mikecc]

What are nitrates prior to the water change? And post water change? What problems are observed leading to belief that 20-50 ppm is too high for your system?

 

[mikecc]

BTW, I doubt that a canister filter is controllable enough to use as a bio pellet reactor, but I do not know. I just guessing.

 

[StirCrayzy]

Maybe I'm missing something, ...
according to the OP I read "Nitrite" is the problem, and "Nitrate" measures Zero.

How long has the tank been up, because this sounds like cycling issues unless the two terms are being accidentally transposed.
Also it wouldn't hurt to get a second test kit to confirm your results.

 

[lockkeeper69]

Ok. I am a dork. I wrote nitrite but I meant nitrate. I am not having cycle issue as my nitrites and amonia are 0. My tank has been set up for 5 years. The reason I want to teduce nitrates are algea and diatom issues. I also want to go reef at some point and know I have to keep the water pristine.

 

[StirCrayzy]

Figured as much, but ya just never know

Turf scrubbers are great at exporting excess nitrate.

 

[landshark]

You might want to think about adding some kind of algae like cheato to export excess nitrate.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

 

Start a new tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along - we love pics

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/red-sea-max-owners-club/77551-nitrate-problem.html#post1074453

 

[Mischko]

You can use a canister filter. It is basically nothing else than a tumbling filter/reactor. Only problem I see using it, how to adjust flowrate since you can't see through most of them properly to adjust the flowrate. The pellets should tumble gently in a constant swirl/flow to rub off the bacteria film on them. Then the outlet of the canister filter should be pointed to the intake of your skimmer. Only this way the rubbed off bacteria film will be skimmed out by your skimmer and by this Nitrate/Phosphate will be taken out off your tank. Can't tell if that will work properly with a canister filter. Might need some fiddling and fine tuning. Otherwise it will be a Nitrate bomb for you.
Another problem might be the ratio of Nitrate and Phosphate. I am pretty sure you have heard of the Redfield ratio of which I personally think it is often forgotten when it comes to biological processes in tanks. If you have high Nitrates and very very low Phophates adding carbon sources as pellets, vinegar, vodka or Red Sea NoPox won't really help then. Phosphate is needed to replicate the DNS.
I wouldn't add any algae or turf filters to your sump/system there now. I doubt it is your feeding raising the Nitrate level since in frost food you add mostly Phosphates. If your Nitrite -> Nitrate chain is somehow broken, you wouldn't have a 0 level on Nitrite. Check your tank, mostly filter sponges, low current around your life rock, filter socks can be true Nitrate bombs. Check for 'dead spaces' in your tank where the current won't reach to have a proper flow and water exchange.
There are two things I would do in your case. Either add more life rock in your filter sump, if space is available and flow rate or add a pellet filter. Both will by time adjust themself, but that will take for sure about 6 weeks, specially with a pellet filter.
Diatomees don't grow on Nitrates, they grow on Silicates, so you want to check your water/RO system first to solve that problem. And on that note, also check the Nitrate level on your RO.