Adding more LR to control Nitrate?

W

widdledink

Graphic Design sluth
Sep 23, 2003
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Chattanooga, TN
Greetings fellow Aquarists,

I am having a problem with Nitrates. I have tried everything I know to deal with the problem...3-4" DSB, added a refugium, about 30 LBs of true live rock and about 60-70 lbs of Base rock that is about 1 year old.
My Tank specs are as follows...

75 Gal about 2 years old. (just recently moved but kept everything wet)
30 Gal Refugium (lighting is on opp schedule to main tank to help PH stay constant)
2 power heads circulating about 200 Gal Per hr
1 48" PC 50/50 light
1 Berlin Clasic Pro Skim
Sump with about 6 " of Bio balls (just add 2" more about 3 weeks ago) and 10 Gal of water

My readings as of last night: A=.25 Nitrite=0 Nitrate= 50

Now I did move the tank about 3.5 weeks ago and I did see the tank go through a small cycle, but once it finished my Nitrates just keep going up. I am going to do a 25 Gal water change tonight but not sure if I am just going to keep repeating the same kind of results. !!I want to fix this problem so I can have perfect water 0, 0, 0,!!!!!!

Is there anything else I can do to help keep the Nitrates down?
 
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More live rock may help, but I don't think it will do much. Here are some possibilities.

1. Did you have a problem before you moved the tank?

2. Did the DSB get churned up when the tank got moved. Even with perfect particle size, a lot of debris will settle into the sand in 2 years. If it gets back out, it will presumably break down and increase your nitrate, at least temporarily.

3. Why are you using bioballs? I have no idea whether they are "nitrate factories" like some people claim, but they seem unnecessary when you have 100+ lbs of rock.

4. You might increase the circulation. Is that 200 gph each, or total? More circulation will keep debris from settling, allowing the skimmer to pull more out.
 
1) Yes I did have a bit of a problem before I moved the tank. but the reading was around 20 for the NO3's.

2) The DSB did get stired during the move but I replaced about 80% new water since there is no benificial Bacteria in the water colomn.

3) I am using bio balls because when I started thats what I was told to use. But in recent weeks I am seeing that bio balls shouldn't be used. The LR is my Filtration. So Bio balls could be problem because of being NO3 Factories? :eek:

4) 200 GPH is total. I have two rios...and they die to quick!:rant2: Any other kind of pump that won't die in a year and where can I get cheep?

Also, Does anyone know if there has been a thread on Bio Balls here?

Thanks In advance,
Grady
 
I was using Rio powerheads and hated them. They were noisy, didn't seem to pump what they said they could pump, and would constantly need maintanance. I've started using AquaClear powerheads now which are about the same price and they are completely silent and they work very well. I would recommend AquaClear.

Also, the Rio powerheads have been known to release black grease like stuff into a tank if they overheat, which kills everything in the tank. I never had this happen durring the time I was using Rio but I've heard of it happening to some others.
 
I haven't found a good thread on bioballs yet, although there are plenty of rants out there on the web about them.

Here's a theory.

Part one: Bioballs are generally very good for conversion of ammonia to nitrate, especially if they are in a wet/dry sump. Any ammonia is rapidly converted to NO3. In live rock, the process is supposedly slower, and the anaerobic bacteria that convert NO3 or the intermediate products into NO or N2 (which bubble off as gases) are right nearby so the process all happens locally. Some people think you get high nitrate because the bioballs are producing nitrate faster than the live rock/live sand can get rid of it.

Part two: You stirred up your DSB, which released a lot of gunk. Teeny bits of debris, partially broken-down proteins, and so on. This was food for bacteria, which then turned it into ammonia, carbon compounds and phosphate (and it's probably still happening with the stuff that hasn't yet been pulled out by water changes and your skimmer). The bacteria on your bioballs rapidly turned the ammonia into nitrate (so you only saw a small cycle). The carbon has probably mostly been burned up as CO2, and I bet you probably have high levels of phosphate right now if my theory's correct.

You might also expect that the pH went down a bit during this process because of the high bacterial activity.

If this theory is right, the fuel for the process is being removed by bacterial activity, water changes and skimming, and the problem should slowly get better. Your nitrate may never get very low, though, until you remove the bioballs. Apparently, you can just pull out a handful at a time until they're gone. The sump might make a nice second fuge.

Only a theory, but it's somewhat testable. Good luck.
 
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and I bet you probably have high levels of phosphate right now if my theory's correct.
I will Check to see if this is true.

You might also expect that the pH went down a bit during this process because of the high bacterial activity.

I did notice that My PH did go down a bit last week. Added some Sechem Buffer and Moved on with life.

Thanks so much mogurnda

If you do find a thread about bio balls I would love to read it.

Grady
 
I too am interested to find out if the bio balls are going to raise my nitrates. Once I added my wet/dry I noticed that my nitrates had dropped to 0. I haven't done a test in a few days now but am getting ready to test now. If the bio balls are going to be a nitrate problem I will probably remove them slowly and use the area as a fuge or something.

Thanks,

Bradd
 
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