How is everyone keeping nitrates up?

[AKL1950]

Check out my thread with Randy Holmes-Farley. See alternates to NeoNitro and NeoPhos.

Question on Low Nutrient System

Got a question about my system. It’s only 10months along now, and I keep it fairly clean……maybe too clean. First Corals have been in since September. My NO3 and PO4 keep dropping to near zero. I have very little algae in the system and I feed twice daily and two medium algae clips a day for...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Lasse]

bunch of extra media to my tank to seed the media for a couple new frag tanks I’m planning to start up next week so iv been adding microbacter7 daily so I believe that’s the actual reason my nitrates have been dropping

Here is your answer - if you want to rise NO3 level without adding nitrate - just stop dosing Microbacter7


The WC you do will also affect the concentration of NO3

This example shows that an input 0.2 mg/L NO3 and a daily WC of 15 percent will give a steady concentration of around 1-2 mg/L NO3 if the adding is the only source and the WC the only export way

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Reefing.with.Rich]

Here is your answer - if you want to rise NO3 level without adding nitrate - just stop dosing Microbacter7


The WC you do will also affect the concentration of NO3

This example shows that an input 0.2 mg/L NO3 and a daily WC of 15 percent will give a steady concentration of around 1-2 mg/L NO3 if the adding is the only source and the WC the only export way

Sincerely Lasse

Yeah dosing the MB7 is only temporary so come next week once I set my frag tanks up the MB7 won’t be dosed anymore
Thanks!!!

 

[bobnicaragua]

I was having to dose nutrients, but I added a pellet auto feeder and lowered the water level in my skimmer to where it barely produces any skimmate at all.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Reduce water changes, turn off skimmer and fuge (if installed). Nitrates will climb.

 

[Reeferbadness]

I feed the heavily stocked fish (2 x 200g tanks) 2x a day and both tanks were reading 0.00 nitrate (even with the LR Hanna Nitrate checker). I started dosing Brightwells Neonitro daily and slowly nitrate's are coming up,. Hope to get better colors on SPS as well as control Phos naturally. The Hanna LR checkers is a real pain in the butt (it takes around 20 mins to test) but it's worth it to know 100% where you are at from time to time. I'll continue dosing the minimum amount of Neonitro and measure 1x a week until i get things under control. Also slowing down on water changes.

 

[ilikefish69]

More fish equal more nitrate more fish!!!

 

[rtparty]

I don't.

Nitrates are pointless as nothing in our tank prefers or uses them. They simply measure excess ammonia in the tank. One can have enough ammonia to feed our inhabitants and show 0 or close to 0 nitrate. Stop chasing it

 

[Lasse]

More fish equal more nitrate more fish!!!

True - buts equal to more PO4, C and K too

I don't.

Nitrates are pointless as nothing in our tank prefers or uses them. They simply measure excess ammonia in the tank. One can have enough ammonia to feed our inhabitants and show 0 or close to 0 nitrate. Stop chasing it

There is more reason why have a NO3 concentration in the range between 2 and 5 mg/L than direct nutrient uptake. The most important - it reduces the risk of hydrogen sulfide formation in the upper part of the anaerobic layers in a sand bed. There is also a lot of experiences that shows that an aquarium with 2 - 5 mg/L NO3 are more likely to lack cyanobacteria mats compared with 0 in NO3


It can also - sometimes - be a good way to force the corals and macro algae to use NO3 as a N source because many microalgae lack the capabilities to process NO3. With a fast and effective nitrification you reduce free NH3/NH4 and give some of the the nuisance algae a harder environment. Is a trick known from planted fresh water aquariums

Sincerely Lasse