NOPOX or Algae Reactor?

[jimmypencil]

if you suddenly had very high nitrates (100+) what would you use? algae reactor or NOPOX? Neither? more water changes?

as mentioned in my previous post, my nitrates are 150 (according to ATI ICP test) and above 75 according to hanna nitrate hr. my nyos test kit (that i was using for months) was giving me false/low readings of 12-15ppm and i was dosing neonitro multiple times weekly to keep nitrate around 20ppm. recently got a new nyos kit that is reading 65-95ppm and hanna checker that is reading 75+. my current nutrient export is filter floss, protein skimmer, chemipure blue, ceramic media, and weekly 10% water changes. i feed pellets and flakes in the morning and either a mysis cube or nano reef frenzy in the evening. Ive already done 50% total of water changes in the past few days and nitrate still reading 75+ on hanna.

Here is a graph of my nitrates from past ICP tests, i always figured icp tests were very innacurate for nutrients but i guess i was wrong.

all corals - especially sps look great so im afraid to do anything fast, but id be suprised if they can grow and thrive in 100+ nitrate going forward.....

I have had a tunze 3181 on hand for months that i have yet to take out of the box. my plan is to export nutrients slowly and make sure to dose neophos to keep phosphate stable at .1 while i allow nitrate to drop eventually to 20ppm range. not trying to chase numbers but i dont think 150ppm is sustainable.

 

[jimmypencil]

i realize that a none of my filtration REMOVES nitrate, so what's my best course of action to REMOVE nitrate. i was hoping water changes would help but apparently, they are ineffective? if i up my filtration and optimize my feeding, at best it will only keep my nitrate from rising, correct?

 

[Uncle99]

Nopox is more of a longer term solution to higher nitrates.
I would do some water changes to remove that waste down to a more traditional level say 5-20ppm.

Then, I might consider the algae reactor to help maintain both nitrate and phosphate levels going forward.

While Nopox can reduce nitrates, IME, it does little for phosphates.

Using the green will mop up both.

 

[Pillahump]

The best method to lower nitrate in the short term is water changes. NOPOX will work but it takes a long time for it to really grab hold of the levels and reduce them. Basically, NOPOX feeds the bacteria that reduce nitrate and it takes time for that population of bacteria to grow and then reduce the levels.

If I was in your situation I would change water every 2 or 3 days while dosing NOPOX.