As with everyone else here I'm always trying to find a way to keep my nitrates as low as possible. Unfortunately it's even more difficult for me because of the poor water parameters I have to deal with out of the tap. The area I live in is known for having horrible water and my test kit confirms this. 8.2 pH, .25ppm ammonia, 0 No2, 30-40 No3. The last number is the biggest problem because the fresh water has higher nitrates than any of us want to see when it's time to do water changes. It's an even bigger problem since the two most common solutions(bottled water and RO) aren't viable options for me. I also can't plant my tank because my Mbuna don't approve of the decor then.
Since traditional methods of nitrate control is rather ineffective I decided to try out the natural nitrate reducer additive I've been seeing around lately. http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=21331 I've been trying to research it, but there aren't many reviews out on it yet, and it's a new enough product that there are no long term reviews yet. I decided to take the plunge and give it a shot, so I figured I'd track my process here for anyone else who is interested in this product too.
I started out by taking a water sample today to get a base reading. The results were 8.2, 0, 0, 80. I then did my normal 50% weekly water change and dosed with prime, and then added the nitrate reducer. A standard dose is 1ml/gal and the cap is measured to 10ml to make measurements easy. I went ahead and added 11 capfuls to treat my entire 110 gal tank and will only treat the newly added water from now on just like with prime.
The first thing I noticed was that this isn't a liquid like I expected, but a thick gelatinous mixture filled with tiny beads. In fact once it was added to the water it bore a very strong resemblance to...ahem...man juice. The milky colored globules floated around in clumps until they finally settled on the decor and substrate. I haven't seen anything from Instant Ocean stating this, but I've read in other reviews that this will work better when it settles on a porous item to allow the aerobic reaction to convert the No3 into nitrogen gas.
I'm going to do my regular maintenance on the same schedule that I have been on, with the only exception being the addition of the treatment. There will be large weekly water changes of 30-50% dosed with prime, and parameters will be checked once or twice a week. I'll try to keep the current levels posted to track any changes, though they might not show up for a couple of weeks.
Since traditional methods of nitrate control is rather ineffective I decided to try out the natural nitrate reducer additive I've been seeing around lately. http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=21331 I've been trying to research it, but there aren't many reviews out on it yet, and it's a new enough product that there are no long term reviews yet. I decided to take the plunge and give it a shot, so I figured I'd track my process here for anyone else who is interested in this product too.
I started out by taking a water sample today to get a base reading. The results were 8.2, 0, 0, 80. I then did my normal 50% weekly water change and dosed with prime, and then added the nitrate reducer. A standard dose is 1ml/gal and the cap is measured to 10ml to make measurements easy. I went ahead and added 11 capfuls to treat my entire 110 gal tank and will only treat the newly added water from now on just like with prime.
The first thing I noticed was that this isn't a liquid like I expected, but a thick gelatinous mixture filled with tiny beads. In fact once it was added to the water it bore a very strong resemblance to...ahem...man juice. The milky colored globules floated around in clumps until they finally settled on the decor and substrate. I haven't seen anything from Instant Ocean stating this, but I've read in other reviews that this will work better when it settles on a porous item to allow the aerobic reaction to convert the No3 into nitrogen gas.
I'm going to do my regular maintenance on the same schedule that I have been on, with the only exception being the addition of the treatment. There will be large weekly water changes of 30-50% dosed with prime, and parameters will be checked once or twice a week. I'll try to keep the current levels posted to track any changes, though they might not show up for a couple of weeks.
