How to keep nitrates down.. Tired of water changes! No pox users let me know of experience with it

[nano reef]

How in the heck do reefers keep nitrates down while feeding corals? I was not feeding for a while and nitrates were staying around 10 I am now back to feeding 2 xs a week with reefroids and scallop meat for meat lovers! I just did a water change and one 2 weeks prior and nitrates are at 25! I have a 36 gallon bowfront with a very small sump, since not much room below.

I know there is media to keep phospates at bay like phosguard and chemipure elite which I have used both with great success but as far as I know there isnt any media like that for nitrates!

I had a bad experience with nopox so kind of scares me to use but I am sure I did it wrong! I kept dosing because I couldnt get nitrates to go below 10 instead of just changing water! Newbie days! LOL. After I did a change water they bottomed out, both no3 and po4 and I got dinos!

I am pretty sure there is media to use with a reactor but really rather not use one, for one thing I have no idea how to set one up and hubby wouldnt be happy if I asked him plus there inst really any room!

What in the heck can I do beside keep doing water changes? I dont own a rodi unit so gets expensive to keep buying water!

If I use nopox and dont over do it like last time is that something I have to keep using?

I have read a lot of posts of people saying nopox gave them dino"s so frankly rather not but dont know of any other way!

Please anyone let me know and if you have used nopox successfully please tell me how you went about it!

 

[mdb_talon]

If I use nopox and dont over do it like last time is that something I have to keep using?

Yes you have to continually keep using it assuming inputs are more than exports via other means(and it seems there are). If you have space for refugium in sump that is my advice. If not space in sump itself then a turf scrubber or cheato reactor i would recommend. I feed a ridiculous amount of food daily and struggle to keep nutrients above 0.0. i am fortunate to have a very large refugium(and i use a large skimmer).

 

[nano reef]

Thanks for reply. I have about a 10 gallon sump at best! Very tiny and my skimmer takes up a lot of room so there is no room for a refugium. I sure wish there was.!I do have a large skimmer but apparently its not doing the job! I probably need to get an ato instead of topping by hand. I try to keep level consistent but very hard since I seem to have a lot of evaporation and would need to top of several times daily and dont always do that!

I dont feed alot really, just 2 x's a week for corals and only have 3 fish I feed pellets to but the hawk has a hard time so some of the food makes sit to the sand bed but I usually leave it for snails, crabs to eat.

I will look into those other options or maybe nopox again but this time not over dose it! LOL

I just dont get why there isnt a media for nitrates like their is phosphates. I was thinking maybe there was and just didint know about it! I also dose mb7 which is suppose to help but dosnt appear to!

Anyway, Thanks for advise. I dont seem to get many replys on here I was hoping to hear from some nopox users as well!
Scared of dinos and I think they are coming back as well! I just got a bunch of new corals. Maybe thats another reason why my nitrates are so high now is I am not used to the bioload and the feeding of so many, when I wasnt feeding for a while. Do you think it will catch up and maybe my nitrates wont always be this high? Maybe I should cut feedings to 1x a week for now! I also target feed. I might try broadcast!

 

[Quietman]

Used NoPoX for first year successfully. Does require some patience and a good skimmer. Does half of what recommended and don't skip weekly nutrient testing. Shoot for 3-5 ppm N and .05 - .09 P as its really easy to bottom out and get dinos.

That said...I switched to an ATS took out my skimmer and am very happy. Doesn't take up the room a refugium does and it does better against GhA in tank than a fuge.

 

[Lyss]

Thanks for reply. I have about a 10 gallon sump at best! Very tiny and my skimmer takes up a lot of room so there is no room for a refugium. I sure wish there was.!I do have a large skimmer but apparently its not doing the job! I probably need to get an ato instead of topping by hand. I try to keep level consistent but very hard since I seem to have a lot of evaporation and would need to top of several times daily and dont always do that!

I dont feed alot really, just 2 x's a week for corals and only have 3 fish I feed pellets to but the hawk has a hard time so some of the food makes sit to the sand bed but I usually leave it for snails, crabs to eat.

I will look into those other options or maybe nopox again but this time not over dose it! LOL

I just dont get why there isnt a media for nitrates like their is phosphates. I was thinking maybe there was and just didint know about it! I also dose mb7 which is suppose to help but dosnt appear to!

Anyway, Thanks for advise. I dont seem to get many replys on here I was hoping to hear from some nopox users as well!
Scared of dinos and I think they are coming back as well! I just got a bunch of new corals. Maybe thats another reason why my nitrates are so high now is I am not used to the bioload and the feeding of so many, when I wasnt feeding for a while. Do you think it will catch up and maybe my nitrates wont always be this high? Maybe I should cut feedings to 1x a week for now! I also target feed. I might try broadcast!

I use NoPox, and I started months ago with a very low dose. Now I’m at the recommended dose and like where that gets me so I have stopped increasing it. I also skim pretty wet and have a lot of surface agitation. My advice would be to start low and increase little by little, and test frequently until you find your tank’s sweet spot dose.

 

[homer1475]

Many cheaper alternatives to nopox(vodka, and vinegar, thats really all nopox is), and loads cheaper.

Your input > output. Hence the high nitrates. You can also be phosphate limited. Meaning you do not have enough phosphate for the bacteria to consume the nitrates. It's a balancing act that not that hard to follow once you get the gist of it.

Just do a search here on carbon dosing. Many, many threads on it(Look for @Randy Holmes-Farley article as that will give the DIY recipe, and dosing instructions). Thats what nopox is, carbon dosing. Usually once you start carbon dosing, you don't stop it.

 

[homer1475]

A gallon of vinegar, and a handle of the cheapest vodka you can find will be about the same as a small bottle of nopox, but it will last you 5x longer.

 

[X-37B]

1. I dont feed the corals only the fish. Lps that need meat I do feed.
My no3 was 2-3 for 18 months then slowly creeped up to 20.
I feed heavy in my 120 for 15 fish at 8+ cubes a day.
I upgraded my 9410dc skimmer to an oversized 9430dc and no3 went down to current <3 level with no other change.
In a nano over feeding is common when trying to feed corals.
Feed the fish more and stop using reef roids is my recomendation.

 

[homer1475]

1. I dont feed the corals only the fish. Lps that need meat I do feed.
My no3 was 2-3 for 18 months then slowly creeped up to 20.
I feed heavy in my 120 for 15 fish at 8+ cubes a day.
I upgraded my 9410dc skimmer to an oversized 9430dc and no3 went down to current <3 level with no other change.
In a nano over feeding is common when trying to feed corals.
Feed the fish more and stop using reef roids is my recomendation.

I was going to suggest this, but people aren't to keen on not feeding their corals. So I have stopped giving out that advice, although it's spot on.

 

[nano reef]

Used NoPoX for first year successfully. Does require some patience and a good skimmer. Does half of what recommended and don't skip weekly nutrient testing. Shoot for 3-5 ppm N and .05 - .09 P as its really easy to bottom out and get dinos.

That said...I switched to an ATS took out my skimmer and am very happy. Doesn't take up the room a refugium does and it does better against GhA in tank than a fuge.

What is an ats?

 

[nano reef]

Many cheaper alternatives to nopox(vodka, and vinegar, thats really all nopox is), and loads cheaper.

Your input > output. Hence the high nitrates. You can also be phosphate limited. Meaning you do not have enough phosphate for the bacteria to consume the nitrates. It's a balancing act that not that hard to follow once you get the gist of it.

Just do a search here on carbon dosing. Many, many threads on it(Look for @Randy Holmes-Farley article as that will give the DIY recipe, and dosing instructions). Thats what nopox is, carbon dosing. Usually once you start carbon dosing, you don't stop it.

I use chemipure elite and little by little phospates are rising. Its not cash yet so dont want to throw it away but thought about adding a tiny bit of phosguard when it starts creeping up. Its at 0.09 now. Maybe time to do that. When this bag is cash I think I will switch to gfo and separate carbon because I think that all chemipure elite is anyway!

 

[nano reef]

1. I dont feed the corals only the fish. Lps that need meat I do feed.
My no3 was 2-3 for 18 months then slowly creeped up to 20.
I feed heavy in my 120 for 15 fish at 8+ cubes a day.
I upgraded my 9410dc skimmer to an oversized 9430dc and no3 went down to current <3 level with no other change.
In a nano over feeding is common when trying to feed corals.
Feed the fish more and stop using reef roids is my recomendation.

 

[zaga]

I don't think 25ppm is bad at all. If you're able to let it sit at 25 ppm I wouldn't worry.

Also have you tried just feeding once a week? I don't think direct feeding corals is necessary to begin with.

 

[X-37B]

What is an ats?

Auto Turf Scrubber.

 

[homer1475]

.09 phosphates isn't bad either.

I shoot for somewhere between 0.1, and 0.2.

 

[nano reef]

Thanks for advise! I am definitely going to stop target feeding! I may try a little broadcast and only feed the meat eaters directly and see if that helps as well. I also started feeding amino acids. I think its called recover by brightwell. I havt feed since. I need to do more research on it. I am not sure if I am supposed to feed anything else or not. I watched a youtube by brs about it. I used red sea part ab I believe its called for a little while away back. Its no good since I didnt refrigerate so I know that said it took the place of feeding and I believe it was amino acids!

 

[zaga]

Also how are your corals doing? At 25 ppm?

 

[nano reef]

I watched an old video the other day on keeping nitrates down by marine depot and they suggested a media I think it was called blueline or bluelife I jotted it down in my notes I need to look through. Has anyone ever heard or tried that? It seemed like something you could put in pantyhose and use like I use chemipure elite! I put it in filter sock and works pretty well even though they say dont put media in a filter sock! haha. Works for me! I was also thinking that maybe my nitrates are high because my rock isnt porous enough! Half of my rock is just cement! I literally have to drill holes for frags! Its that pretty tonga tock and bridges that is painted purple. i think its made buy seachem! I have a lot of bio balls for that reason but I have a lot left. I think I will add more a little at a time since they arent seasoned or whatever the term is! But dont have a biofilm yet! Do you think that might help?