High-ish nitrates in 5 month old tank

[nathan1986]

Hello everyone, I've read thru most of the nitrate threads on here before I made this post. Couldn't really find what I was looking for.

ok so this will be my 4th tank I've set up since I've gotten in this hobby. It's a 120g with 35g sump. About 150lbs of well established live rock I got from a guy off my local forums, i used about 150lbs of dry sand. I'm running 2 filter socks changed daily, brs dual reactor with carbon and go, skimmer is a JNS sk-2 (skimming kinda dry)

So my problem is for the first 3 months I was only changing 5g a week. Decided to test my nitrates and they were above 180. I panicked and bought a 20g brute trash can. Now I change 20g twice a week, Sunday and Wednesday. Also turkey baster the rocks every 3 days. Nitrates are now down to 50ppm (salifert) but I cant get them any lower. I feed every other day, sometimes every 3 days. I dont have any algae problems or anything like that. I just can't seem to crack the nitrate issue. My question is could the nitrates be from the tank being somewhat new and from using all dry sand? I'd like to figure out the issue rather than using something like nopox. Looking for some advice to put me in the right direction. thanks in advance, nathan

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[Sugar Magnolia]

How old is the test kit you're using, what brand? Have you tested with another kit for comparison?

[nathan1986]

Salifert kit is brand new. Tested with an API test kit as well and got somewhat close results.

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[andrek787]

Sounds to me like your livestock is producing more nitrate then your liverock can process. IMO, you are missing the piece of filtration that would help remove nitrates. I would suggest adding a bio-pellet reactor, refugium or algae scrubber. I myself use both a refugium and bio-pellet reactor and despite 19 fish, the 150 gallon tank stays at ULNS.

If you already have a refugium in your sump, upgrade the light to something that is 50+ watts. I have about 70w of leds and my 18" x 18" fuge overflows with cheato in just a few days after 80% removal.

[nathan1986]

Sounds to me like your livestock is producing more nitrate then your liverock can process. IMO, you are missing the piece of filtration that would help remove nitrates. I would suggest adding a bio-pellet reactor, refugium or algae scrubber. I myself use both a refugium and bio-pellet reactor and despite 19 fish, the 150 gallon tank stays at ULNS.

If you already have a refugium in your sump, upgrade the light to something that is 50+ watts. I have about 70w of leds and my 18" x 18" fuge overflows with cheato in just a few days after 80% removal.
I'll look into a bio pellet reactor, I don't have the room for a refugium

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[andrek787]

Definitely go with a recirculating-type reactor, makes it easier to maintain the desired nitrate levels in the tank.

Carbon dosing is another option although I never had much luck with that route.

There is also the ARID (cheato) reactor but they are still somewhat pricy IMO.

[nathan1986]

Ya I'm subscribed to the arid reactor thread. I agree it's pricey but seems to work rather well. There is a guy on my local forum selling an omega bio pellet reactor, looks like it'll work pretty well

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[GimpyFin]

Sounds to me like your livestock is producing more nitrate then your liverock can process. IMO, you are missing the piece of filtration that would help remove nitrates. I would suggest adding a bio-pellet reactor, refugium or algae scrubber. I myself use both a refugium and bio-pellet reactor and despite 19 fish, the 150 gallon tank stays at ULNS.

If you already have a refugium in your sump, upgrade the light to something that is 50+ watts. I have about 70w of leds and my 18" x 18" fuge overflows with cheato in just a few days after 80% removal.


+1. I have almost the exact same setup on my 110. Refugium with rock/sand/chaeto and a biopellet reactor. My nitrate hovers near 2 ppm and phosphate between 0 and .02.

[andrek787]

The problem I see with the omega is that you cannot pipe the reactor outlet to the inlet of the skimmer, which is highly recommended. You can take virtually any media reactor and convert it to use bio-pellets and even make it recirculating.

If you consider the $ you are spending on salt for water changes, a bio-pellet reactor will pay for itself in just a few months.

[nathan1986]

What would be a good reactor? I've never used one, and have no clue what would work best. I appreciate everyone's help

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[GimpyFin]

I use the hydra aquatics biopellet reactor and it works extremely well. Although, they may have recently stopped making it, I'm not sure. Even has a screw port on the top you can just turn off the pump and add more pellets without opening/disconnecting the reactor.

[andrek787]

On my first 120g tank with light bio-load, I just used a TFL 150 reactor I had lying around and it worked. When I upgraded tanks I picked up the smaller aquamaxx bio-pellet reactor and I really liked the nozzle design and the build quality, but it ended up being just too small for my tank. Finally, I purchased the Skimz RR153 as I really liked the design and the adjustable DC pump. Skimz reactors are a good value, 100 - 200 bucks w/pump depending on capacity, but you are limited to larger pellets.

Choosing good pellets is also important. The pure PHA based pellets are the best but take more time to start working, 3-5 weeks. Some of the cheaper brands use filler material that can cause gunk to build up and foul up the reactor. There are also mixed resin pellets like EcoBak Plus and Fauna Marine, that start working faster and can achive lower nutrient levels, but could potentially cause cyano blooms. I started with EcoBak Plus and later added the pure PHA Aquavitro pellets. Reactor kicked in after about 2 weeks, but I had cyano bloom to which the EcoBak plus pellets could have contributed. I will probably only use the Aquavitro pellets going forward.

[SeattleReefer]

I use two marinepure 4" blocks, chaeto, and seachem denitrate, and GFO in my 180.

In seven months running the system I have yet to measure any nitrate or phosphate.

I'm not sure which is most effective but I suspect the marinepure blocks.

Oh, and I use tap water, no RO unit- Seattle water is some of the best in the nation so I can get away with it.

[nathan1986]

On my first 120g tank with light bio-load, I just used a TFL 150 reactor I had lying around and it worked. When I upgraded tanks I picked up the smaller aquamaxx bio-pellet reactor and I really liked the nozzle design and the build quality, but it ended up being just too small for my tank. Finally, I purchased the Skimz RR153 as I really liked the design and the adjustable DC pump. Skimz reactors are a good value, 100 - 200 bucks w/pump depending on capacity, but you are limited to larger pellets.

Choosing good pellets is also important. The pure PHA based pellets are the best but take more time to start working, 3-5 weeks. Some of the cheaper brands use filler material that can cause gunk to build up and foul up the reactor. There are also mixed resin pellets like EcoBak Plus and Fauna Marine, that start working faster and can achive lower nutrient levels, but could potentially cause cyano blooms. I started with EcoBak Plus and later added the pure PHA Aquavitro pellets. Reactor kicked in after about 2 weeks, but I had cyano bloom to which the EcoBak plus pellets could have contributed. I will probably only use the Aquavitro pellets going forward.
I looked up those skimz reactors, they do look nice but sold out almost everywhere. Also thanks for the info on the pellets, I've read that sometimes they can clog the reactor. I'll read up on those other pellets you mentioned. I don't mind spending the extra money if it means my tank will benefit from it and it'll be easy to work with

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[nathan1986]

I use two marinepure 4" blocks, chaeto, and seachem denitrate, and GFO in my 180.

In seven months running the system I have yet to measure any nitrate or phosphate.

I'm not sure which is most effective but I suspect the marinepure blocks.

Oh, and I use tap water, no RO unit- Seattle water is some of the best in the nation so I can get away with it.
I've seen local members use those blocks before. My tank is only 48" long and my sump is somewhat crowded already. Fitting a bio pellet reactor in there will be tricky. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to fit those marine pure blocks. Although I'll go measure how much space I have to work with and see if the blocks or reactor would work best. Thanks for the help!

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[oseymour]

are you sure you are reading the salifert test correctly. You are supposed to read it from the top down not from the side.

Here is a video on how to properly do and read the test - https://youtu.be/E6xyaHo91S0?t=962

[kimyatingi]

I have the non-photos,so the nitrates are common guests of mine.What was very helpfull for me is the nitrate remover spounge.Nitrates from 50+(salifert) went down to 10 in a 3 days!It's a really good rescue.
Also check your phosphates.If they are low and nitratrs are high-You have to dosate the phosphates,because even pellets or algae scrubber will not work properly.

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[kimyatingi]

Also many of my friends are fighting with the high p/n using the acetic acid.

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