Zero nitrates!!!!!

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by wfb2270, Dec 12, 2009.

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  1. wfb2270

    wfb2270 Corkscrew Tentacle Anemone

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    i finally got my first zero nitrate test reading. kind of a long story but i have been fighting this for about 6 months now. i got my tank from someone moving. The tank was in REALLY bad shape. i started out with nitrate readings off the scale. at first when i would add the second bottle from the api test kit the drops would instantly turn blood red as it hit the water sample. here is a kinda run down on what happened

    started doing massive water changes about 50% every two weeks or 25 every week. also tried a bunch of nitrate removing chemicals without any luck (algone, amquel plus) . brought it down to at least the scale of the test card but still way over 60ppm. did that for about a month then went to about 20% every 2 weeks/ month, from then till now.

    started cleaning the canister filter weekly, helped a lot especially after the first major cleaning. and added an skimmer, Aqua C remora. came down to about 40-50ppm.

    removed the canister filter and biowheel from HOB filter about 3 months ago. and started "blowing" off my rock with a powerhead when changing water. came down to 20-40ppm

    added a deep sand bed about 1.5 months ago (about 4 inches). didnt do much at first obviously, but after a couple weeks came down to 10-20 ppm.

    last week i started using chemi-pure, did a water change 2 days ago and tested my water tonight...........0. i am really excited.

    i am going to buy a few more test kits tomorrow so i can start check the "reef" essential parameters. probably going to start with Alk, and Ca. (advice here would be cool). maybe next week I'll actually have a reef tank.

    anyone that thought a new tank cycle was hard should have tried it this way....fixing a broken tank. Although i did learn a lot. (also had a fight with ich in there too)
     
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  3. Puffer Chick

    Puffer Chick Giant Squid

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  4. grubbsj

    grubbsj Gigas Clam

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  5. kcbrad

    kcbrad Giant Squid

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    Awesome!! That must be a great feeling. Job well done!! :)
     
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  6. wfb2270

    wfb2270 Corkscrew Tentacle Anemone

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    thanks, hopefully i'll keep it there. its funny my girlfriend knows very little about the tank, but she knows my reaction to the colors of the test tube. tonight she said "is that yellow? thats good isnt it"
     
  7. Barbarossa

    Barbarossa Sea Dragon

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    Now that deserves some extra karma!
     
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  9. wfb2270

    wfb2270 Corkscrew Tentacle Anemone

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    oh yeah forgot, anyone know of a good "low" range n03 test kit, cause im sure its not actually zero (number carries some absoluteness scientifically :) )
     
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  10. Telgar

    Telgar Snowflake Eel

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    kudos for the patience and perseverance

    I use red sea test kits, and silfert kits for cal,mag, alk
     
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  11. AcansUnlimited

    AcansUnlimited Plankton

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    Cool, I can get mine to go below .05 tried everything
     
  12. dreiling

    dreiling Fire Shrimp

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    good job 0 nitrates is hard to get