Nitrate Testing/Chemistry question

One easy trial, one harder:

Easy: Go to every other day feeding for a couple pf weeks and monitor nitrates.

Harder (or at least a lot messier): Reduce your substrate depth by half at least.

Forgot to ask what your filtration is?
 
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I have a Fluval 204 cannister filter rated for 180 gph. And a Duetto 100 power filter rated for 90 gph.
 
Have you tested your water source? Nitrates can be imported. For example, if your water source comes up with 10 ppm nitrates, with each water change you import nitrates, in addition to the ones produced biologically in your tank--eventually, you'll get behind the curve and not be able to export enough without doing larger water changes.
 
Heh, yeah OG. I posted that already, you musta missed it. Second post of mine on this thread up at the top.

Source/Tap water tests out with no detectable Nitrates.
 
Try doing a canister cleaning to get a feel for the quantity of mulm present, reset the unit and add a sponge prefilter to the canister intake. Rinse the sponge at least weekly, better 2x weekly, and this too will reduce your nitrate build-up. I stopped using canisters as all-in-one filters because they did give higher nitrates than my tanks with W/D (prefilters rinsed frequently), or FBF (ditto), or prefilterd (ditto) RFUG with supplement mechanical only (well rinsed at least weekly). You have seen the alternate use of canisters article, right?

Trapped particles removed from the tank before they are digested to mulm contribute no (or at least reduced) nitrate.

Frequently rinsed mechanical filters, minimum substrate (no matter how carefully you vacuum), and just sufficient food all are valuable nitrate reduction techniques - except in fry tanks, there you bite the bullet and partial frequently.
 
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Thanks RTR. I reread your alternate use of canisters article this morning to refresh my memory.

I clean out my canister filter every week. I keep a piece of poly wool cloth underneath my biological media in the canister to trap particulates. In just a weeks time it will look like it has a thin layer of peanut butter on it. Every week, I throw it away and cut out another piece to replace it as well as rinse out the mechanical filter.

I just bought a sponge from the LFS and placed in over the intake. Let's see what I catch.
 
You are much more enegetic than I am - I rarely open canisters anymore other than when overcome with guilt over the crud coating the impeller assembly. The internal canisters I use for mechanical I do service weekly, but the externals (bio-only) are rarely opened, just back-flushed every few months.

I'm the lazy type.
 
If I was looking at 24+ canister filters I'm sure I'd be the same way.

I only have one tank and do not have near enough things to do with it. D*mn it! I need more!

RTR, do you need someone to drive up on the weekends and haul water around for you? It's only about a 3 hour drive.....:p
 
Haul water? You mean buckets? You don't haul water, you pump water. :p Or Python it out before pumping fresh back in.

I do use calibrated buckets for the first fill of most tanks, just so I know how much water it actually holds for a given setup. But that is the only time. And since most of my setups are aimed at 10-year life at least, commonly more, that does not happen too often. :cool:
 
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