Nopox limit/High nitrate help

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Is their any other quicker way to lower nitrate quicker or to to speed up the bio pellet process even though its been a while?? My fish and corals are good.

Water changes are the fastest way to reduce nitrate (not phosphate).

Growing macroalgae or turf algae, and soluble organic carbon dosing are the next fastest ways.

 

[ninjastar310]

I do not think the UV is a problem, Pellets take a very long time to get going because special bacteria are needed. Soluble organics like NOPOX or vinegar or vodka get going much faster because far more types of bacteria consume those.

If your nitrate was 500 then 400 then 300 the 200 then 100, it is declining nicely. You potentially just are not detecting it the way you are testing.

This does make sense. Did another 30% waterchange today with a totale of 6x30% water change and N03 color hasnt went down and for some reason PO4 which was going down smoothed slowed down. Checked my refugium and it still looks the same even tho I added more cheato 2wks ago.

With times be a little hard. I already wasted a good amount of money on trying to get the tank back up. I just used all my salt today for another water change today.

Water changes are the fastest way to reduce nitrate (not phosphate).

Growing macroalgae or turf algae, and soluble organic carbon dosing are the next fastest ways.

Now my main question now is is their no other way to speed up the bio pellets? I just dont want to spend money on more equipment and struggle with tons of water changes even though Ive done 6 back to back.

4/1 nopox @20ml
30%Water change
po4 @ .65ppm
no3 red sea @64+ppm
no3 API @ 160+ppm

4/2 nopox @ 20ml
30%Water change
po4 @ 0.60ppm
no3 red sea @64+ppm
no3 API @ 160+ppm

4/3 nopox @ 20ml
30%Water change
po4 @ 0.45ppm
no3 red sea @64+ppm
no3 API @ 160+ppm

4/4 nopox @20ml
30%Water change
po4 @ .37ppm
no3 red sea @64+ppm
no3 API @ 160+ppm

4/5 nopox @ 25ml
30%Water change
po4 @ 0.37ppm
no3 red sea @64+ppm
no3 API @ 160+ppm


4/6 nopox @ 25ml
30%Water change
po4 @ 0.30
no3 red sea @64+ppm
no3 API @ 160+ppm

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I am not aware of a way to speed biopellets except by taking someones old pellets and scraping the bacteria off them and adding them to your tank.

I'm not really a fan of pellets anyway since they are much harder to control than liquid dosing.

 

[sunnyc90]

Maybe a silly question but wouldn't daily large water changes cause tank to cycle again?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Maybe a silly question but wouldn't daily large water changes cause tank to cycle again?

No. The bacteria that drive the nitrogen cycle are primarily attached to surfaces,not free floating in the water.

 

[ninjastar310]

I am not aware of a way to speed biopellets except by taking someones old pellets and scraping the bacteria off them and adding them to your tank.

I'm not really a fan of pellets anyway since they are much harder to control than liquid dosing.

Dam I guess I'll do more water changes next week and see how much nopox can help out.

Is dosing 25ml to much??

Reason why I went with bio pellets is because it helps out with the low maintance idea.

 

[Rmckoy]

Dam I guess I'll do more water changes next week and see how much nopox can help out.

Is dosing 25ml to much??

Reason why I went with bio pellets is because it helps out with the low maintance idea.

I’m not trying to be that guy .
but perhaps your idea of low maintenance is part of the reason you’re battling nutrients now ?
I’m just as guilty for getting lazy and cleaning up a System with old tank syndrome ( lazy reefers syndrome )
No pox works ....
but it takes a while I started dosing 4ml per 25gal volume for the first month . Got nitrates down below 80ppm
And cut the dose in half .

 

[GainesvilleReef]

I have used all 3 of the methods you are attempting and they all work.

First, the refugium should not be lit 24/7. 18-20 hours a day max. 24 hours will kill your macroalgae. I have learned this accidentally . Also, you do need a strong refugium light to compete with your display lighting.

Second, nobody is good enough to dial in 3 different nutrient export methods simultaneously. The NOPOX is probably starving the other 2. And the macroalgae is probably becoming a nutrient source.

I would step back and get the refugium working first. If you are harvesting a lot of algae from the refugium and still have high nutrients then add some NOPOX, vinegar or vodka. My experience with bio pellets are they are too hard to control. It's much easier to control carbon dosing with NOPOX, vinegar or vodka.

 

[ninjastar310]

I’m not trying to be that guy .
but perhaps your idea of low maintenance is part of the reason you’re battling nutrients now ?
I’m just as guilty for getting lazy and cleaning up a System with old tank syndrome ( lazy reefers syndrome )
No pox works ....
but it takes a while I started dosing 4ml per 25gal volume for the first month . Got nitrates down below 80ppm
And cut the dose in half .

Im not going to lie. This tank has had its ups and downs for the past couple years. This tank has probly been up for maybe 5+ years and I had it perfect for a couple years but then life threw curve balls and its just been a roller coster since. With me leaving a couple months a every year, it just started going down.

I redid all my equipment the beginning of the year to start things new and to better equip my self for a low maintance tank. I was hoping going bio pellets would get me their and all I have to do is dosing everything else.

So as of now im doing 6ml per 25gal and all my nitrate test are still above 160ppm with api and 64ppm with red sea. Its been 3 months since Ive started dosing with the stantard 3ml and just recently to 6ml per 25gal.

I have used all 3 of the methods you are attempting and they all work.

First, the refugium should not be lit 24/7. 18-20 hours a day max. 24 hours will kill your macroalgae. I have learned this accidentally . Also, you do need a strong refugium light to compete with your display lighting.

Second, nobody is good enough to dial in 3 different nutrient export methods simultaneously. The NOPOX is probably starving the other 2. And the macroalgae is probably becoming a nutrient source.

I would step back and get the refugium working first. If you are harvesting a lot of algae from the refugium and still have high nutrients then add some NOPOX, vinegar or vodka. My experience with bio pellets are they are too hard to control. It's much easier to control carbon dosing with NOPOX, vinegar or vodka.

So switched my refugium to 12hr and the lightt is a Finnex refugium and its bright as hell.

LED Refugium Light

Grow macroalgae like a champ with Finnex Refugium Plus LED light that includes the perfect blend of red and blue colored LEDs for maximum photosynthesis and macroalgae growth. A total of 120 individual LEDs spread evenly throughout the entire face of the fixture results in a uniform and...

www.marinedepot.com

So even though I have high numbers in nutrients it can still starve off another source??

As far as the refugium goes its still the same size as it was 2wks ago just very dense.

I do not think the UV is a problem, Pellets take a very long time to get going because special bacteria are needed. Soluble organics like NOPOX or vinegar or vodka get going much faster because far more types of bacteria consume those.

If your nitrate was 500 then 400 then 300 the 200 then 100, it is declining nicely. You potentially just are not detecting it the way you are testing.

I was doing some math and with 6x water change at 30%, my nitrate had to have been over 800ppm

 

[ReefAndBeer]

I have the same problem, for months, my nitrate is 50+ and my phosphate level is fixed as 0.50. I tried a bio pellet, but the PS completely disappeared and started working just like an air pump. When I removed the bio palette, PS started working effectively again. I made 40% water change at once, but there was no change in the test results. As of yesterday I started dosing 36ml AF Nitraphos. I also use Frtiz 460 monsters as a bacterial culture. The test results I had in an LFS turned out to be the same with me, so I didn't have to suspect the test kits I had. Now I'm going to experiment with a daily dose of 36ml.

 

[ninjastar310]

I have the same problem, for months, my nitrate is 50+ and my phosphate level is fixed as 0.50. I tried a bio pellet, but the PS completely disappeared and started working just like an air pump. When I removed the bio palette, PS started working effectively again. I made 40% water change at once, but there was no change in the test results. As of yesterday I started dosing 36ml AF Nitraphos. I also use Frtiz 460 monsters as a bacterial culture. The test results I had in an LFS turned out to be the same with me, so I didn't have to suspect the test kits I had. Now I'm going to experiment with a daily dose of 36ml.

What size tank are you running to dose 36ml and even with a 40% water change nothing.

Going off of what randyu said early it does make sense that my nitrate had to have been over 800ppm since Ive done multiple water changes and still read above both api 160ppm and red sea 64ppm.

But now for the past couple days since my last post. I havent done any water changes but just dosed nopox and for some reason im stuck at po4 at .30

Anyone have any idea of why it hasnt been going down??

 

[ReefAndBeer]

[QUOTE = "ninjastar310, yayın: 7319016, üye: 94459"]
Hangi boy tankını 36ml dozlamak için çalıştırıyorsunuz ve hatta% 40 su ile hiçbir şey değiştirmiyor.

Randyu'nun erken söylediği şeylerden çıkmak, birden fazla su değişikliği yaptığımdan ve hala hem api 160ppm hem de 64ppm'nin üstünde okuduğumdan beri nitratımın 800ppm'den fazla olması gerektiği anlamına geliyor.

Ama şimdi son yazımdan bu yana geçen birkaç gün. Herhangi bir su değişikliği yapmadım ama sadece nopoks dozu ve nedense .30'da po4'te sıkıştım

Herkes neden aşağı gidiyor değil hakkında herhangi bir fikri var mı ??
[/ ALINTI]

The total volume of my tank is 320 gallons. I will renew the RO filters and make 120 gallons of water again this week. I still add 36ml nitraphos under these conditions.

 

[ninjastar310]

So after 2x30% water change and going up to 25ml of nopox for the 150gal tank my readings are now

Po4-.21
No3 api-40ppm
No3 red sea closer to 32ppm
Dkh-11.2
Ph. 7.8

So should I keep dosing 25ml of nopox till it gets to 5-10ppm?

 

[Sneaks]

Is their any other quicker way to lower nitrate quicker or to to speed up the bio pellet process even though its been a while?? My fish and corals are good

A good skimmer to remove the nitrates is essential

Since I researched how to tune a skimmer and set to wet skimming, my nitrates dropped significantly. Was up to 50ppm, started dosing nopox and no change. Set skimmer to wet skim, nitrates started coming down. Now at 1.4ppm so will reduce my nopox dosing. Was running GFO but changed to phosguard to help reduce silicates as well (came up in ICP as high so thought I'd give it a try). Also started monthly water changes and dosing trace elements after following guidance in ICP. not sure if all that contributes to low nitrates but definitely look into tuning your skimmer, I run a curve 5, set to 1 for wet skim

A good skimmer to remove the nitrates is essential

 

[Sneaks]

It’s rated for but is it actually skimming ?

i had the bubble Magnus curve 5 for my 90 Gal .
I didn’t like it .

I run a curve 5, just needs tuning to wet skim and give it time, doesn't work overnight. Took a few weeks in my experience