NO3

[Travy]

Hey Guys and gals.

Care to share some tips u all might have to help control NO3?

Resin nirate remover etc etc... need some advice.

Mine seems to be building up rather fast despite the weekly change of 20%

Trying to keep it at zero.

[weileong]

use a better/more efficient skimmer.

reduce feeding/bioload.

increase flow in your tank.

use RO/DI water.

[Travy]

RO/DY water?

WHats that?

Have a protein skimmer, pretty effective i guess, kinda big for my 2 feet though, but working well.

[aStRoBo|]

RO = Reverse Osmosis

DI = Distilled

Correct me if i'm wrong.

[Domino]

beleive DI might stand for De-Ionized...

[riot]

what skimmer are you using? It might not be pulling the necc skimate out from your system. Any long term nitrate processing faccilities? Eg macro algae, DSB, live rock?

[lvcap]

how high is your NO3?

reduce feedings and more efficient skimming are the most effective methods..

and stock up slowly...

[pisces]

Whats the age of ur tank ? the more mature it is the better I guess it normal for NO3 to be a bit high in the early weeks of setup.

[Travy]

Hey thanks for all the tips!!!

But i Guess RO and DY might be abit out of my range for now...

Been having it for 2mnths plus, a couple of day ago NO3 juz shot up like crazy over a few days. Couldnt find out whats worng. Been changing water everyday for the past 4 days and now its back to normal.

Was looking at additives that i can put into my filter to remove nirtate, i wonder if they work...

Well yeah i hav live rocks, bought a decorative marco algae (the one that looks like bunches of small grapes) Was doing well till my yellow tang decide to have it for dinner....

Using a venturi driven protein skimmer with max cap. at 600L. Guess thats pretty good for a 2ft tank. needs to top up trace twice aweek man..

[lvcap]

one of my fren used something call nitrate minus and he said quite effective leh...i havent tried but maybe u could give it a shot?

but reduce feedings and stocking for awhile loh..it would help u greatly..

[RAV-65]

Can use AZ-No3...

[lightningstrike]

if u feel that ur corals r doing fine, there is no need to put so much emphasis on ur nitrate levels, but nuisance algae might break out. IMHO, 2 many reefers nowadays r 2 concerned abt achieving zero nitrates. be forewarned that having 0 nitrates does not mean that ur system is ok.

ways to reduce nitrates:

1. Jaulbert / Berlin method

2. denitrator

3. Refugium

4. AZ-NO3 coupled wif effective skimming

5. upgrade to better skimmer

6. RO/DI

7. others........

Ivcap, i hv used nitrate minus from tetra b4, i find it is a load of craps. doesn't work for me.

[lvcap]

oohh..

my fren say it worked for his tank ...

IMO...i feel extra skimming is the safest way to go..of cos coupled with DSB for some pple..

a beckett seems to be able to do wonders....it has been performing very well for my new setup...

[terryansimon]

grow some caluerpa racemosa. surely reduce to 5ppm or undetectable.

trust me.

[Guinness]

if u feel that ur corals r doing fine, there is no need to put so much emphasis on ur nitrate levels, but nuisance algae might break out. IMHO, 2 many reefers nowadays r 2 concerned abt achieving zero nitrates. be forewarned that having 0 nitrates does not mean that ur system is ok.

ways to reduce nitrates:

1. Jaulbert / Berlin method

2. denitrator

3. Refugium

4. AZ-NO3 coupled wif effective skimming

5. upgrade to better skimmer

6. RO/DI

7. others........

Ivcap, i hv used nitrate minus from tetra b4, i find it is a load of craps. doesn't work for me.

Totally agree with what you say about people concerned with their "numbers". Try testing seawater and you will also seldom find 0 NO3. As someone else recently mentioned in this forum, our tap water itself is not 0.

My personal opinion is that too few ppl RUSH into their tanks. Stock too much too quickly. Then when the numbers do not tally...... try to use quick fix methods to correct the situation. Take everything slowly stock up slowly...... that way, problems occur slowly and are easier to correct naturally.

BTW, changing water everyday is NOT a good idea.

[Travy]

Can use AZ-No3...

AZ no3? Can u tell me more?

Quite new to this hobby so not very sure whats that. How does it work?

Contucted a test juz now, God... shooting up again. Had reduce feeding to once a day. (God bless my hungry fishes, YOUR DAYS OF STRAVATION BE OVER SOON!!)

Stopped stocking liao, Kinda waiting for everything to go back to normal. NO3 is there but my corals are still opening. Hope its a good sign that things are good.

BTW 'caluerpa racemosa' what does it look like? Not very well verse in macro.. haha perhaps a picture? Or is it the one with blades like a feather?

But hope my Tang wont eat it... (If it isnt my fav one... god i would have... )

I guess i was ok with the init starting up, slowly as i add stocks over a few weeks i conducted checks every few days. Some how i feel something is amiss... Where is all the NO3 comin from? But on the flip side, i can be pretty sure the 'little guys' in the filter and substrate is working.

[terryansimon]

caulerpa racemosa...

grape like thing.

[Travy]

caulerpa racemosa...

grape like thing.

Ohh... Have that. ... erm... i think i'm gonna change it to 'had' that...

My yellow tangs grown kinda fond of it... decimated the bunch to half its original size...

Spent abt 5 bucks on it man... anywhere i can get it cheap? many i can out supply my tang till my aglae tank become establish.

[lightningstrike]

hi Travy,

for all ur qns, like info on AZ-NO3, u can juz perform a search in SRC.

[surfedelic]

Try siphoning all the detritus from the rock and the sand surface (need a bit caution) - it will reduce your nitrate almost immediately to about half in fact.

Sad to say it take abit discipline.

My 2 cents.

[iewnehz]

AZN03 will only be effiective when running a powerful skimmer

[Travy]

AZN03 will only be effiective when running a powerful skimmer

Powerful skimmer?

What do u mean? In relation to the volume of my tank? The type of skimmer?

Or the max. capacity output per hour?

Man... this NO3 problem is really giving me a big headache.

Anyone has excess trimmings of caulerpa sp. to get rid of?

[Vinoth]

May i know what's ur nitrate level and what test kit you are using?

[Travy]

oohh..

my fren say it worked for his tank ...

IMO...i feel extra skimming is the safest way to go..of cos coupled with DSB for some pple..

a beckett seems to be able to do wonders....it has been performing very well for my new setup...

Erm... pardon my knowledge... beckett?

Whats that? Any cheap and effective method?

Kinda taxing on my pocket, gym membership, protein and creatine sup,

driving, and now the tank... Ouch... haha

Thinkin of the AZ no3... read the site. Hmm... anyone tried?

[Travy]

May i know what's ur nitrate level and what test kit you are using?

Nitrate Reading as of 12 sep 2pm: 12.5mg/L (but its slightly lighter in colour

in relation to the color wheel. So i am guess to be ard 5-12 lah.)

Test kit: Tetra test NO3 Always accurate