I'm not one for chasing the numbers, so to say this problem of mine has been going on for months is not exaggeration. Starting in January '14 No3 started climbing, .2 to .5 then jumping to 4ppm. In June it was up to 12ppm and since Aug it's been rock solid at 16ppm using red sea pro test kit. Also had my values verified at LFS. So I'm pretty sure they are high. I've taken all the usual steps to reduce it naturally. I have stopped using ammino supplements for the SPS, no longer feeding with coral food like reef frenzy & reef chilli. For about 4 or 5 weeks I jumped the water changes up to 50% which did cut the No3 in half only to have it raise back up within a week so I stopped doing that as well. My Po4 during this time was about .08 so I started using rowaphos and it stays down around .02 -.03 now (since feb '14). I'm starting to see a few of my SPS corals fade so I'm thinking the high no3 is starting to show itself. Not sure if this is related or not, but my Mg is elevated to fight bryopsis, so it's been at 1600 - 1700 ppm since about June. (Tech-M)
My tank is a 2.5 years old, it's a 29 gallon biocube. I do weekly 5 gal waterchanges. I feed fish freenzy daily which I rinse before each use. I have a media rack with filter pads that I change out twice a week, the media rack contains a bag of nuclear grade carbon, a bag of purigen, & a bag of rowaphos. The skimmer is a Aquamaxx HOB-1.
Finally, we are where I need to bounce the ideas around, 3 days ago I added 5 tbls of biopellets to a bag in my media rack. My plan was to use this as a way to lower the no4. But "friends" are suggesting Nopox or perhaps vodka dosing. I was always under the impression that once you started vodka dosing you were committed to it, and I was also concerned with a daily dose and what to do while I was away from the tank. I thought the pellets were the best option for me but now not so sure. I wanted to start small and see how it performed. Instructions called for 1 cup/50 gallons. I think the pellets need 2 or 3 weeks to develop the bacteria, so I left the rowaphos in until it's exhausted.
Thoughts, suggestions, or comments?
My tank is a 2.5 years old, it's a 29 gallon biocube. I do weekly 5 gal waterchanges. I feed fish freenzy daily which I rinse before each use. I have a media rack with filter pads that I change out twice a week, the media rack contains a bag of nuclear grade carbon, a bag of purigen, & a bag of rowaphos. The skimmer is a Aquamaxx HOB-1.
Finally, we are where I need to bounce the ideas around, 3 days ago I added 5 tbls of biopellets to a bag in my media rack. My plan was to use this as a way to lower the no4. But "friends" are suggesting Nopox or perhaps vodka dosing. I was always under the impression that once you started vodka dosing you were committed to it, and I was also concerned with a daily dose and what to do while I was away from the tank. I thought the pellets were the best option for me but now not so sure. I wanted to start small and see how it performed. Instructions called for 1 cup/50 gallons. I think the pellets need 2 or 3 weeks to develop the bacteria, so I left the rowaphos in until it's exhausted.
Thoughts, suggestions, or comments?