hi, im running a RSM 130 with a strevieT media rack and tunze 9002 skimmer,on the rack i have the usual media-filter wool,purigen and chemi-pure elite,the tank has been set up for just over a year and although the livestock has always been healthy the nitrate reading has always hovered between 40 and 50ppm,initially i thought the filter wool was the cause although it was changed weekly,so i removed it and tested a week later,40ppm, so the nekt step was to remove the purigen and chemipure elite making the media rack completely empty,a week later i tested for nitrate again-0ppm,so if anyone has a nitrate reading it may pay you to let the live rock do the filtration,i certainly worked for me
high nitrates
- Thread starter ausreef
- Start date
imaccat
Active Member
Hi Ausreef,
Glad you have got the nitrate down, but something doesn't seem quite right here to me. As I understand it, the main (if not only) way to bring nitrates down is through water changes, even if you have found the generating source of the nitrates and removed it there would still be the resulting nitrates in the water. To get from 40ppm to zero in a week would need something like a 80-100% water change, if you did this then great, but if not there may be something else wrong.
What test kits are you using? And have you verified the readings with another set?
Glad you have got the nitrate down, but something doesn't seem quite right here to me. As I understand it, the main (if not only) way to bring nitrates down is through water changes, even if you have found the generating source of the nitrates and removed it there would still be the resulting nitrates in the water. To get from 40ppm to zero in a week would need something like a 80-100% water change, if you did this then great, but if not there may be something else wrong.
What test kits are you using? And have you verified the readings with another set?
Interesting. I agree with Iain - a second test kit would be good to confirm the reading. What kit are you using? I know the API kit has in the past given goofy nitrate readings if the test solutions aren't shaken for several minutes before use (the reagents can settle out).
well ive tested with a salifert kit and i still get zero,i have done a 20lt water change but i think most of the biological filtration was being done by the filter media,by transferring the filtration to the live rock completely more denitrification is happening thus reducing the nitrate
the tank has a very low bioload,live rock,a bubble tip anenome and a breeding pair of ocellaris,and i dose prodibio biodigest ans bioptim
the tank has a very low bioload,live rock,a bubble tip anenome and a breeding pair of ocellaris,and i dose prodibio biodigest ans bioptim