Nitrates down through water changes

[dewboy1127]

I have 75 gal roughly total water volume and my nitrates have gotten up to 25ppm.Is there an amount of water changes or change i can do to get down to at least 2-6ppm?

 

[JimWelsh]

Well, to get it down to 6 would take a (25-6)/25 = 76% water change. To get it down to 2, would take a (25-2)/25 = 92% water change.

 

[dewboy1127]

Wow..well not sure how could manage that because either of those will drain my dt down to barely nothing leaving lot of corals out of water. Anyone have any suggestions here? Im trying get it down as soon as possible being RAP is this weekend.

 

[dewboy1127]

Even when doing 20gal wc i leave some acro out of water for few mins till fill back up.

 

[Mike in CT]

Sometimes even large water changes will not lower your nitrates for a appreciable amount of time, although they will definitely help short term.
Some times you need other ways of exporting nitrates.....algae scrubber....carbon dosing etc.
I did massive water changes on my 75.... Like 40g at a time, several times a week, and it only had a small impact on my nitrates. Finally after a couple years my rock has matured and my nitrates stay below 5 or so.

 

[dewboy1127]

I should add that mu nitrates were testing lower to undectable for past few yr ...i was trying to bring it up a lil with some calcium nitrate and dooohhh i apparently added to much raising my nitrates to 25 ppm range ive done a 20 gal water change and changed nothing. So im really just looking for a quick fix to get them back down as i dont feel theyll rise on there own.

 

[Aussie paul]

As the saying goes nothing happens quick in this hobby. +1 with Mike try dosing and drop it slowly with water changes as well.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

This is why water changes alone are often not sufficient to bring nitrate to appropriate levels, and folks use other methods, which can work very well. Growing macro algae, ATS, organic carbon dosing, specific denitrating media, and various types of denitrators.

 

[rock_lobster]

You need to add some chaeto to your tank. Also coral are fine out of the water for a few minutes. Some softies can live for days without water.

 

[Mike in CT]

Is it possible since they were reading so low before, that eventually the bacteria will catch up with the nitrate you dosed and it will find its equilibrium
again? I'm guessing enough water changes will get you back to where you were before you dosed shortly.

 

[sc50964]

Have you tried skimming wet or adding/using some chemical filtration such as seachem Purigen or redsea nopox?

 

[dewboy1127]

Buddy had some Prime by seachem supposed to help break down nutrients in tank to make them easier for filtration to filter out.Im hoping that with a 40 gal wc or so will help put a good dent in it.So far ive lost couple of tabling small to med colonies one of which was my pink lemonade

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Buddy had some Prime by seachem supposed to help break down nutrients in tank to make them easier for filtration to filter out.Im hoping that with a 40 gal wc or so will help put a good dent in it.So far ive lost couple of tabling small to med colonies one of which was my pink lemonade

I do not believe that Prime will do anything useful to deal with a nitrate problem. It is useful for ammonia emergencies.

 

[dewboy1127]

I do not believe that Prime will do anything useful to deal with a nitrate problem. It is useful for ammonia emergencies.

Agreed...as i dont think it so much directly effects nitrates but it says on bottle it detoxify nitrite and nitrates this why i was guessing it probably just helps break down organicsfor skimmer to pull out ...i could be completely wrong in that and correct me if i am.So is there no way to get my nitrates down before this weekend? Man that will be disappointing i havent bought much for my tank in a while waiting on RAP orlando.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

While Seachem is vague on what is in it, I'd be surprised if it reacts with nitrate, and even more surprised if the product is less toxic than nitrate. I've never seen any data to back that claim. Nitrate is already fairly nontoxic in seawater, as is nitrite. Why not show us data if it makes it even less toxic? Does the claim even apply in seawater?

Many companies write things in tricky ways that sound appealing, but do not necessarily have the meaning that consumers assume they do. Reading the Prime claims carefully, they may just be claiming that the reaction product with ammonia is less likely to be converted into nitrate, so nitrate may slowly decline and is "detoxified".

I'm not certain this is the basis of the Seachem claim here since they do not give any details, but in general, folks should be wary of hobby chemicals claims, especially when the chemistry is not revealed or explained, and no supporting data is provided.

 

[dewboy1127]

While Seachem is vague on what is in it, I'd be surprised if it reacts with nitrate, and even more surprised if the product is less toxic than nitrate. I've never seen any data to back that claim. Nitrate is already fairly nontoxic in seawater, as is nitrite. Why not show us data if it makes it even less toxic? Does the claim even apply in seawater?

Many companies write things in tricky ways that sound appealing, but do not necessarily have the meaning that consumers assume they do. Reading the Prime claims carefully, they may just be claiming that the reaction product with ammonia is less likely to be converted into nitrate, so nitrate may slowly decline and is "detoxified".

I'm not certain this is the basis of the Seachem claim here since they do not give any details, but in general, folks should be wary of hobby chemicals claims, especially when the chemistry is not revealed or explained, and no supporting data is provided.

Ok...so at this point is big water changes my only quick way of getting nitrates back in check?

 

[toothybugs]

I have a similar volume to yours and short of a huge water change that would destabilize your system, I personally would do a 20% change with 2 tbsp of vinegar with it and each morning til you get back. Then get going on a proper dosing routine, or macro, etc.

 

[dewboy1127]

I have a similar volume to yours and short of a huge water change that would destabilize your system, I personally would do a 20% change with 2 tbsp of vinegar with it and each morning til you get back. Then get going on a proper dosing routine, or macro, etc.

I did a 20 gal water change with no noticeable difference on nitrates.what would the vinegar do and what all would i need to monitor when adding it?what kind?...i probably wont need any source to export it once it gets back down as it is up because i dosed calcium nitrate to get it to come up to detectable levels and well lol its detected now.

 

[toothybugs]

Regular white vinegar is perfect. It will become bacterial food and spur growth, which consumes nitrogen and phosphorus in the growth process (Redfield ratio, google it or search the term here on the forum). Nutrient reduction will be limited as one of components hits zero, which is how you see tanks with no nitrates but detectable phosphates, or vice versa.

No noticeable difference could also be testing noise, our hobbyist kits aren't the most accurate tests out there.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No noticeable difference could also be testing noise, our hobbyist kits aren't the most accurate tests out there.

That would certainly be the case. Unlike phosphate, nitrate is lowered exactly in proportion to the amount changed (assuming none in the new salt water).