Protein Skimmer Question

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RedLion

AC Members
Aug 25, 2009
92
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6
Houston, TX
Hey All,

I was wondering if it would be beneficial to my tank to remove the "Bio-Bale Biological Filter Media" from my CPR Bak-Pak 2 protein skimmer. The guy at the LFS store told me it could be causing my nitrate levels to be elevated. Any thoughts on this? Should I remove this stuff since I have approximately 36 pounds of Fiji live rock and a good layer of live sand. The tank has been running for over 6 months now. I am also using Chemi Pure Elite in my external filter along with some Poly-Filter.

36 Gallon Parameters:
Temp = 80 deg
S.G. = 1.0264
pH = 8.3
Ammonia/Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 30 ppm (approx)

Thanks,
Joey
 

Amphiprion

Contain the Excitement...
Feb 14, 2007
5,776
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0
Mobile, Alabama
Real Name
Andrew
Well, it won't hurt to remove it. It does have a high likelihood of trapping detritus, but depending on how much is in there, it may or may not be causing higher nitrate. There's no need to have it though, as all filtration is easily done by live rock, sand, etc. I can't say if it is doing anything detrimental at this point in time, but by taking it out, you'll be making sure it doesn't ;)
 
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