ways of removing high nitrate

[stevenmukoo]

Hi all, Will appreciate that someone can tell me whixh is the cheapestand most effective ways of removing nitrate beside water change. Thanks. nitrate level reading at 100. . haiz..?

[jun]

biohome can control nitrate a bit.

[asg]

feed less, use rowa phos (or identical)...

sorry to cut in: i do have a canister filled with matured bio-home, it has been the bio-filter for my 4ft. pm me if you are interested... thanks.

[stevenmukoo]

sorry what is that .. can share ... sorry for my ignorance...

[stevenmukoo]

i am using sobe 4 now as i just purchase 2 weeks ago cos i understand that rowa is out of stock.

[madmac]

how much water is that?

[stevenmukoo]

it is a 4ft by 2 ft by 2.5 ft main tank , sump 3ft filled with bio ball .. coral chips and ring

[asg]

i read somewhere that bio-home works best in shaded area...

[jervismun]

Feed less, water change and maybe add Nitrifying Bacteria as intructed

I'm running a Nitrareductor and my Nitrate is maintained at an undetectable level all the time... I personally don't think Rowaphos or Sorb-4 will help as they are mainly Phosphate removal media... you may want to try out Nitrate removal solution instead... such as NitrateLock & etc.

Check reefdepot.com.sg

But using liquid is a short term solution, you still need to cultivate enough bacteria (preferably anaerobic) to be able to break down Nitrate to Nitrogen.

[stevenmukoo]

how do i get those anaerobic cos i understand that they not suppose to have contact with oxygen...?

[jervismun]

how do i get those anaerobic cos i understand that they not suppose to have contact with oxygen...?

Yupe that's the tricky part... that's why a Nitratreductor is basically a device that will cultivate anaerobic bacteria by starving them off oxygen (by placing them in a dark, air-tight containment... feeding very low water... 1 to 2 drop per second).

It's almost impossible to achieve this relying on biohome or other brands by simply placing them into your sump. Those sump bacteria housing can break down Ammonia to Nitrite, Nitrite to Nitrate... but the cycle will stop there. AquaMedic Cerapore (equivalent of Biohome) claim to have porous core to allow anaerobic bacteria to grow in its core... now that's just a claim lah!

Another method is to rely on LR... but lots of LR... deep down inside the core of the LR, anaerobic bacteria will resides but it will definitely take longer than a Nitratreductor environment where it is better controlled. That's why it takes months to properly matured a tank... and growing the right kind of bacteria is part of the reason

Macroalgae (with Refugium) will also help but you need a large amount of them to make an impact!

[fongster]

nitrate reading 100

is already becoming toxic suggest you do an immediate water change

there are a few ways to reduce nitrate levels

1. use a chemical like AZNO3, costs about $40 one bottle, seems rather effective, however encroaches on tank redox(oxygen) levels do not run with ozone generator

2. de-nitrator

3. reduce feeding; fish are ok with every other day feeding, change filter wool immediately

4. refugium, with surface area as big as your main tank itself, the plants will consume the nitrate as fertilliser, this takes time and you will need to provide a strong light source.

5. more efficient skimming, remove waste even before it gets broken down into nitrate, wet skimmate is more efficient than dry dark skimmate.

like jervismun said bacteria complete the nitrogen cycle turning nitrate into nitrogen gas, only in an anaerobic state( no oxygen) , in this case you would need a deep sand bed, of 6 inches in depth.

water change is still the cheapest yet fastest way to improve your critical situation, moreover it will replenish other elements consumed in the tank.

[Dazza]

it is a 4ft by 2 ft by 2.5 ft main tank , sump 3ft filled with bio ball .. coral chips and ring

hihi Steven

I hv the similar setup as u many yrs ago... its the bio balls, coral chips n rings that is the nitrate factory... what i did was in addition to water change, i replace the bioballs etc with liverocks... u'll be surprised how effective these are in producing nitrates...now i dont even put anything in my sump except the FR... may start a small refugium instead in the sump with chaeto for nuitrient export

[jun]

Yupe that's the tricky part... that's why a Nitratreductor is basically a device that will cultivate anaerobic bacteria by starving them off oxygen (by placing them in a dark, air-tight containment... feeding very low water... 1 to 2 drop per second).

It's almost impossible to achieve this relying on biohome or other brands by simply placing them into your sump. Those sump bacteria housing can break down Ammonia to Nitrite, Nitrite to Nitrate... but the cycle will stop there. AquaMedic Cerapore (equivalent of Biohome) claim to have porous core to allow anaerobic bacteria to grow in its core... now that's just a claim lah!

Another method is to rely on LR... but lots of LR... deep down inside the core of the LR, anaerobic bacteria will resides but it will definitely take longer than a Nitratreductor environment where it is better controlled. That's why it takes months to properly matured a tank... and growing the right kind of bacteria is part of the reason

Macroalgae (with Refugium) will also help but you need a large amount of them to make an impact!

if we put biohome...etc..or other bio materials....in a tupperware box/plastic box wif a few small holes....and place in the sump ....do u guys think this way can cultivate anaerobic bacteria better???

[jervismun]

Emm... very interesting experiment I must say... it might work you know?

But if you do have the space inside your sump, why not have a Deep Sand Bed of 6" and more? You can even have some Chaetos near the surface to further export more Nitrate Something that I might experiment with my new setup.

[stevenmukoo]

Hi All, Thanks for ther immediate respond but at present my sump have 4 compartments and have no space now. I am having about 100 to 120 kg of live rock.

[Dazza]

can just put the liverocks in yr main tank n leave the sump for stuff like FR, carbon, rowa etc etc plus refugium lah.. removing he bio balls will in the long run be better

[stevenmukoo]

sorry bro... i mean of course the live rock in the ,main tank la ...

[stevenmukoo]

i think i have only 2 choice now. Either i use denitrator or use biohome. Which is better?

Can user of these 2 system offer us your view.

[jervismun]

Bro if you only have 2 choices (as given by you)... then you actually only have 1 choice as Biohome is not effective in getting rid of Nitrate... Biohome creates Nitrate

As for Denitrator... I am pretty happy with my current AquaMedic Nitratreductor 1000 with Dosing Pump SP3000. The problem is... it may take a while for the bacteria to grow... but your very high Nitrate level can speed things a bit... do allocate around $500 for a proper denitrator setup. You can look at Deltec too.

Allow at least 1 1/2 weeks for a bio-ball based Denitrator to kick-in. Sulphur based are more powerful but harder to tune and maintain (in other words more pro).

[jun]

denitrator works better but it cost a lot in long term maintaining it..... biohome does not remove nitrate greatly than denitrator, it only control , and it is not cheap , but is good for long term investment as u need not replace it.

i may not be right...juz my views

[jervismun]

Let me set this clearly (do let me know if my limited knowledge is not entirely correct):

1) Anaerobic bacteria breaks down Nitrate to Nitrogen. Do not see all bacterias as the same as they are different. Always remember ANAEROBIC!!!

2) Anaerobic bacteria can colonize everything from LR to biohome to coral chip to bioballs... everything... but in order for them to be called Anaerobic, they have to be in a condition lacking of oxygen. They will be forced to consume carbon dioxide instead (if I'm not wrong) and break down Nitrate as a result.

3) Now, you need to create that low-oxygen environment... as long as you can create a low oxygen environment within your system, any media will work (of course some better than others).

As a rough/general guide:

Nitrifying bacteria: Ammonia --> Nitrite --> Nitrate

Anaerobic bacteria: Nitrate --> Nitrogen (dispersed to the air)

It's actually not too confusing... just need to understand the 2 different types of bacterias.

I can explain a bit more how my AquaMedic NR1000 works once the above is clearly understood... perhaps later.

Important: Determined as I sound, I'm still learning... I just want to sound confident... not to further confuse you guys.

[stevenmukoo]

yes this is what i know...too...

As a rough/general guide:

Nitrifying bacteria: Ammonia --> Nitrite --> Nitrate

Anaerobic bacteria: Nitrate --> Nitrogen (dispersed to the air)

so whihc mean that for a long term solution , it will be better to used a denitrator .. am i right to says that... ??

[jun]

well....if on budget, its best not to get one as its not cheap to maintain one.

A denitrator is very hard to tune and you have to restart everytime you tune it wrongly. IMO, a denitrator is better left to the very very experienced reefer.

[stevenmukoo]

IC ... Noted...