Nitrate Levels & Water Changes

Just curious...what's your WC schedule?

 

Such as?

Thank you for chiming in

 

The best way to control a natural thing is to let nature do the work. Bacteria and algae are your friends. They are natures nitrate control.

Denitrifying bacteria live in low oxygen ares... sand beds and deep inside live rock. You need plenty of livable space.

Do not use bio balls of filters with high flow. The media traps waste and bacteria colonize them in high oxygen areas... producing only nitrates and not passing it deeper into rock and sand allowing other bacteria to finish the job. You break the cycle. If you use mechanical filters.. floss... then it needs to be changed frequently to keep it form being colonized and becoming "biological".

Algae will soak up nitrates. Fantastic thing in a refugium, not so great in a display tank. Provide a better environment for it to grow in a refugium than in a DT and let algae control nitrates. Harvesting the algae removes nitrates from the system.

Another way growing in popularity is bio pellets. Do some research into them.

The best way to keep nitrates low is not to allow them to accumulate in the first place. No crushed coral. No dead spots of flow in the tank allowing waste to accumulate. Filter out waste mechanically before it is broke down. (keep the filters clean.. i don't like filter). Maintain a good skimmer in good operation. It is essentially a mechanical filter removing waste before it is broke down. Do not over feed. If possible feed less more frequently than once a day.

Keep your system clean. Keep it well maintained. Use live rock and alage if possible... and then water changes if need be.

 

+1. For my new 10 gallon im gonna be using a HOB (hang on back) filter but instead of carbon im using macroalgae, a few biopellets, LR rubble, and LS.

 

Great post! Why do you say no crushed coral? I use CC.

 

I change my water once a week. Primarily to assure the algae is kept to a minimum and i have plenty of trace elements in for my corals. I really don't mess with the readings to prompt me and I've had zero problems with my tank (aside from a bit of cyano early on, but it has been remedied by a different lighting schedule). Honestly, I can't think of the last time I've actually taken levels in my tank everything has been going far too smooth and my schedule of dosing/changes/etc has not changed a bit, although it did take a while to "dial in".

I'm lucky enough to have a space to set my water changing bucket, with the thermostat and water pump in it, and basically mix it and forget about it until I change out the water. So on Fridays I grab the bucket, another empty bucket and my siphon and have a water changing party after feeding the fish (I no longer wear my little cone shaped party hat any more though, but I do eat cake immediately after)

 

lol glad you didnt give up the cake

 

Again, Bio balls are one of the most efficient forms of filtration. There is absolutely nothing wrong with them. Bio balls can not and do not create nitrate. Detritus collecting on the Bio balls or rock rubble will/can cause nitrate from the decay. Using a drip tray with filter media will prevent any accumilation of said detritus.
Excessive water changes rarely rectify nor "cure" anything. Somewhere along the evolution of reef keeping or aquarium keeping in general, someone came up with the notion that if you change a substantial amount of water you can eliminate a problem, this is false. Without knowing what is happening specifically all excessive water changes may accomplish is a temporary reduction of Nitrate and/or the disruption of the chemistry of the tank.

 

*Dies*