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dankoos
10/03/2010, 08:26 AM
I have read on here how a lot of people have trouble with high nitrate levels. I have a 90 gallon tank and a 55 gallon sump. I have 5 fish and a bunch of inverts. My sump has cheato growing in it. I have probably 90lbs or more of live rock. My tank has been up and running almost 9 mos now. My test kit has NEVER shown even a trace of nitrate..bright yellow in the test tube. I occasionally get some green ball algae and had a hair algae phase early on, but ever since, no major issues. I use RO/DI water. Am I lucky? Is it the chaeto? I only do a water change, on average, once every other month (about 30 gal). Just curious on what I am doing right so I can keep it up. I do plan on adding about 3-4 more fish over time.
jeff@zina.com
10/03/2010, 08:54 AM
Might want to double check your tests with another kit or your LFS, but chaeto can remove nitrates quite well. As can water changes.

Jeff
dankoos
10/03/2010, 08:58 AM
Well, I have seen nitrates show up before....on my QT tank when first getting it up and going. So I know the kit does catch them when present.
AaronM
10/04/2010, 04:25 AM
90g, 55g sump, 5 fish. MINI bioload.
thegrun
10/04/2010, 07:00 AM
By using good ro/di water and having a refugium, you are doing all the right things. The two tanks that I run with refugiums never show traces of nitrates unless there is a problem in the tank. Keep up the good work.
dzfish17
10/04/2010, 08:11 AM
Like the previous post said you have a small bio-load right now so you can get by with less water changes. It took me 20 yrs. as an aquarists to finally learn to lightly stock my tanks. There is a tendency in this hobby to see how many fish we can pack in a tank. My fish are happy with the extra room and I dont have as much maintenance to do. Keep an eye on things when you start adding more fish.

Dave
RcToners
10/04/2010, 08:25 AM
90g, 55g sump, 5 fish. MINI bioload.


Yup.
RocketSurgeon
10/04/2010, 09:29 AM
I'm sure that I overfeed, but watching them eat is the best part for me. Not only that, but I only get a few minutes in front of the tank, so for those couple minutes, food brings every one out for me to see them.

As a result, I'm chasing nitrates!