Nitrates driving me nutty

W

waltmag41

New Member
Hi there.....been a few months since I posted. 60 gallon FOWLR started in May. For the most part things are going great but recently (last 5-6 weeks) my nitrates have jumped up to 20ppm. Went on vacation beginning of August and came home to a small bloom of red algae which I attribute to too much lighting and overfeeding by my fish sitter =) Did a big water change and that, for the most part took care of the algae but nitrates still at 20ppm. I do weekly 10%-15% water changes and siphon sand biweekly. Setup is sunsun hw303b canister with various size foam, ceramics rings & bioballs, eshopps psk-100h HOB skimmer, 50 lbs live rock. Current livestock consists of 2 clowns, 2 green chromis, 2 pajama cardinals, a coral beauty and inverts (snails & hermit crabs). I know I need to clean the canister on a more regular basis (usually 1-2 times a month) but I was wondering if there is any other preventative measures I should take. I'm thinking a fuge would be beneficial but funds are tight atm and was wondering if anyone had a easy mod for a DIY...................thanks for the help!!!
 
Oxylebius

Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
Have any pics you can share?
:camera:

You can look into items that take both nitrates and phosphates out of the water, something with GFO helps. There are many brands on the market that can help.

Cleaning out the canister weekly will also make a huge difference as well.
 
SubRosa

SubRosa

Well-Known Member
Properly done, organic carbon, aka vodka dosing is a very good way of eliminating nitrate and phosphate.
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
waltmag41 said:
... Setup is sunsun hw303b canister with various size foam, ceramics rings & bioballs, ...
Click to expand...

The canister filter is a big part of your problem. Not all of it, but it's a big factor.

In a SW system the live rock in the tank is the biological filtration for the system. The live rock typically gets higher flow, and there is usually far more biological activity than you can get in a canister filter. If not cleaned weekly, a canister filter can become a big nitrate factory.

This means that the media in a canister filter on a SW reef system should be minimal. mechanical filter media, and optionally, chemical media. If you have enough live rock, and most people do, remove the biological media from the canister filter. This includes the ceramics rings and bioballs.
 
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