Removing Coral Chips to Reduce Nitrate

[Plenum]

Hi everyone

I have a 4X1.5X2 IOS tank that houses mainly fishes, softies & lps. Parameters are all ok except for nitrates (30ppm). I am running a plenum system, with coral chips, ceramic rings, seachem denitrator and activated carbon for filtration in addtion to the live roaks and DSB.

I think the source of the nitrates could be from the coral chips, ceramic rings and my low-end venturi skimmer. Can I just remove the chips & rings or will ammonia & nitrite increase? I have recently removed some live rocks to make more space (from 2/3 of tank to 1/3 of tank).

Would love to have a sump but space does not permit. Any advise on whether I can just remove the two items??? BTW, I just removed some bioballs that I was using as trickle filter. Thanks.

[wts684]

Live rock is good for filteration.

[AlfaRomeo]

Bro, first thing i would do is to uprate your skimmer. It improves water quality tremendously.. especially with your rather large tank.

I thnk coral chips are known to be nitrate factories. remove them from the IOS and maybe replace it with filter floss that you must replace everyweek or so.. will help with trapping the particles in the water as i found out recently with my tank...

First step, uprate yiur skimmer.

Second, start removing the coral chips in batches.. not all at one go. this will help to prevent swings in parameters as the rest of the system needs time to cope with the changes.

IMHO

[Plenum]

I am currently using the filter floss as well. Will let water stabilise after removal of bioballs first. Should I change water as well? What amount & frquency do you suggest for bringing nitrate levels down fast but also not shock the LS? Is 5% everyday better or a one-shot 25% per week till levels ok?

[AlfaRomeo]

hmm, no drastic changes so less % but more frequently would be good..

Remove the bioballs a bit at a time too as it will help to stabilise the system and prevent spikes in ammonia and nitrite which are a much bigger problem than nitrate.

And if possible, put your LR back to the system as its amoung the best ways for natural nitrate reduction..

[reeflobang]

Bro, first thing i would do is to uprate your skimmer. It improves water quality tremendously.. especially with your rather large tank.

I thnk coral chips are known to be nitrate factories. remove them from the IOS and maybe replace it with filter floss that you must replace everyweek or so.. will help with trapping the particles in the water as i found out recently with my tank...

First step, uprate yiur skimmer.

Second, start removing the coral chips in batches.. not all at one go. this will help to prevent swings in parameters as the rest of the system needs time to cope with the changes.

IMHO

Coral chips definitely was a Nitrate factory for my tank as well. Had lots of it in my sump previously and N03 was always super high no matter what I do. Took the troublesome task (FINALLY) to remove them in batches over a few weeks and 3 months later - NO3 = almost zero with no other changes needed!

[Plenum]

Is it ok if I replace the coral chips & ceramic rings with a bagged up seachem denitrator? Previously, I had it on top of the return pump where there's less flow. Will there be too much water/air going through it if I put it in the coral chip compartment?

[roger]

seachem denitortor is the same as bioball or biohomme. Just space for bacteria to live on. You want aerobic bacteria or you want anaerobic?

[Plenum]

I want more anerobic bacteria (those thrive without O2) to help with converting the nitrates to Nitrogen. Thats why at first I put the bag on top of the pump. I just removed 1/3 coral chip & replaced with denitrator in the overflow compartment. Dun know if that will cause more nitrates instead. Pls advise. Thanks.

[FuEl]

Hmmm....yep..the coralchips and bioballs are nitrate factories. However, high bioloads and poor skimming also lead to the formation of nitrates. Since you are keeping softies and LPS you should'nt be worried too much about the nitrates. Just keep your other parameters stable and provide sufficient lighting. Softies and LPS will do fine IME as long as nitrates do not exceed 50ppm. Since you don't have a sump, removing coralchips and bioballs could significantly lower your bacteria population which could lead to a sudden ammonia spike if you don't remove them slowly. You'll need to provide more surface area for bacteria to colonise like adding more liverocks etc.

Another option you can consider before you battle your nitrate problem is to improve skimming and lowering your bioload. If these 2 factors are not tackled with, removing coralchips and bioballs will not be a solution to reduce nitrates.

[macman29]

hi .... i dont have a sump but i am useing those ceramic things in my canister filter .

will raise the no3 ??? what is a good medium to put in ??

Is a sump a must for marine fish ??

i see all sorts of sumps ... some have live sand . some just have the coral chips .

hope u can help ... as i was thinking if i really need a sump or not .

cheers

[Plenum]

I think those ceramic rings are causing the NO3, and I guess the tubes connecting the input/output supply of water also collect detritus.

Was advised by a LFS that can put some small life rocks in your canister... but I'm not sure if ok.

Currently, I'm slowly removing the chips & rings and replace with seachem denitrator & rowaphose. Mine's just an IOS system. Bioload quite low so hope the tank can achieve optimum conditions that way.

[FuEl]

live rocks in your canister? what kind of advice is that!?

[Plenum]

First time I heard about that also. But is it not feasible?

[vincegoh]

If u put LR in your canister, u might as well leave the LR in the main tank for it to continue to be LIVE. ONce u placed it in the canister, the LR will die and its function will simply be the same as coral chips or ceramic rings - surface for anerobic bacteria to live.

Which LFS told u that?!!?

[Plenum]

Was thinking about it too. Parts of the rock might chip off, get caught in the pump too. This advice was given by the staff at eAq********.***. But guess he was trying to help too as I told him about my high nitrate and lack of sump.