Nitrate reductor

HI - has anyone here have - had any experience with nitrate reductors? There are a few versions on the net, one from drs foster smith, another aquamedic, I think, and another I forget.

I have extreme nitrates that I will never be able to control with H20 changes. Because of my bio load I would need to do 100% water changes every day - not kidding.

So, I need to find another source to control this issue.

I hope someone here has some info.

Also, my refugium cannot handle it either - bio load too high. So, I only want to know about nitrate reductors or some other mechanical way of helping nitrates.

Thanks.

 

there are people who make them here and put them for sale. i think tangster was the one selling them.
but honestly im not sure they will provide the huge relief you are expecting. i would think a very large fuge would be more effective. you may want to thing of upgrading it.
but i dont have any personal expierence with the denitrators. so i expect some one else could give you a more reliable answer

 

If the nitrates are as bad as you state, then no mechanical device will be suitable. Sounds like you need to get rid of some fish

 

I second that.

 

Sounds like sound advice, but I would like to know what he considers
"extreme nitrates". I would also like to know a little more info on his set up. Luna

 

I'd be tempted to say get a refuge. Altho that being said it does depend on what the nitrates actually are and what the bioload is.

 

Hi everyone and thank you for your advice and interest - it gives me hope and I really appreciate it.

First I'd like to say that this is not a reef tank. I do not mean to be an interloper but reef keepers are at another level all together when it comes to aquaria - not dissing myself or fish only's - it's just the truth. This is precisely why I love to read reef forums, esp. this one as it is so informative.

I apologize for such a long post, but here is goes;

My tank is actually 2 tanks with 2 sump/refugium

Top tank is 48 inches wide , 87 inches long, 38 inches high

Bottom (3 tank areas): 1. Sump with 2 protein skimmers and 2 socks
48 inches wide, 22 inches high, 19 inches long

2. "Refugium" - really just another tank
48 inches wide 22 inches high 34 inches long

3. Intake/outake water tank
11 inches wide 22 inches high 16 inches long

Custom built system, used a crane to put into house, took out a very large picture window to put into house and replaced with another window. 2 100 gallon plastic containers, one with r/o and one with salt water under house in the garage with plumbing to and from tank for water changes - no buckets or hoses necessary, of course. Large pump for circulation, cooler under house near containers. 4 power filters 3 on top 1 in refugium to help circulate more water.

In refugium tank - that algae that starts with a ch (sorry) but supposed to be the best kind. Have tried numerous attempts with mangroves - no success they die within weeks.
Looking for more algae at this time. Also have some calpuera (sorry spelling on some of this - should have been more prepared).

Problem lies here:
top tank:
4 sharks - bottom dwelling all fat and happy
6 fat and happy eels
4 tangs happy
1 panther grouper fat and happy
1 wrasse happy
A ton of live rock

Sump with 2 protein skimmers:
2 triggers

Refugium tank: 2 small eels and 2 puffers

So, as you can see I am over populated. I do weekly changes of about 100 to 125 gallons r/o water with coralife salt.

I think I am just going to bite the bullet and spend around $1500 on the aquamedic nitrate reductor - maybe it's going to cost more - you need a doser and a reader and it's just so complicated. I tried not to make my system complicated and am scared of the cost and difficulty with this reductor. There are at least 3 kinds, yet I can't find anyone who has had them and no one seems to even have heard of them so I don't understand how they can sell them in the first place - it's really irritating - there seems to be no information on this vast web - yet they are for sale...

Thanks for your patience, just don't want to have to have you guys wondering things...
Also, no chance that I am going to rid myself of the animals - I just have to figure out how to fix things - whether some think I should or not and trust me, some forums get really mean and I am not interested in an argument. Thanks again.

 

Oh, I noticed you wanted to know nitrates - ahhh, they are around 100 to 120 - so there, no yelling, be nice - it's always better to be nice than to point fingers......Again not going to give away fish. You would not believe how rancid some other forums can be - hope you guys are a lot nicer. You are the only forum I've gone into such detail with so be careful with my feelings, please. Use API tester for nitrates - the very red color always shows up so could even be higher

Also, I forgot to mention I have a ton of rock in all the 3 tanks under the larger tank, so I have so much rock there is no room for anymore rock - I spent at least $1000 on rock. So more rock will not help either. I feed my tank around every 2 days and they eat 95% of the food - I can't say 100 % cuz you can never be sure. Thank you.

 

well a fuge shouldnt really have any animals in it. i think the macro you have is cheatomorpha.
i would not worry about mangroves.
is your fuge full of cheato or does it just got a chunk in it?

edit: also what kind of lighting do you have on the fuge?

 

In a tank like that NO3 are of little concern you are proberley growing enoght algae in there to lower them to where they are now , You can add a NO3 coil and or the aquamedic deni ball units or a sulfure fed system either of these will remove them in time .. They all work like any other reacotr it takes tile to slowly remove the problem..And on a side note in a large prediator tank like this the money you wasted on rock would have been better spent on filtration and pumps ozone and a denitrater unit