Nitrate Problem

koralkeepers

koralkeepers

Member
Is there ANY other way to remove nitrates without water changes? It seems that ive done enough changes, but it never fails to amaze me that my levels are exactly the same as before a water change... I do not over feed my fish. I feed them every other day, and as much as they will consume in a minute or so, and no more. So, uneaten/leftover food isnt the problem.

I dont know what to do. It always seems that my Nitrates are at 20, and never budge in either direction. Any suggestions reefers?
 
C

CA Reefer

Member
I've always had great luck with a coil denitrator. It's a good DIY project that you can build in a couple of hrs with some 4" pipe and some 1/4" drip irrigation supplies.

It took my nitrates from 20 - 30 to 0 in about 20 days after it cycled. I've run one of these on my tank for 2-3 yrs

Reef Show - Coil Denitrator
 
sambrinar

sambrinar

Well-Known Member
You can use phosban in a mesh bag in an area of high flow and/or chaeto, both work very well, but the key is finding the source of the high nitrates (over feeding, decomposing something etc). A lot of nitrates come from the food we feed our fish, try soaking the food in ro/di water for about 10 minutes (including flakes), strain then feed. You would be surprised how much phosphates are in prepared food
 
C

cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
What size tank ? How much LR do you have ? Are you using bio-balls ? Do you have a DSB ? How many fish do you have ? Do you use RO/DI water ? Which test kit are you using ? How often do you do water changes and what % ? Which skimmer are you using ?

Some ways to reduce nitrate:

Reduce bio-load
Strong skimmer/strong flow
Deep Sand Bed
Large water changes {RO/DI}
Vegetable filter
Denitrator
 
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