Ahhhhhhh!!! Nitrate!!
 

First time in years I actually get a reading. 10ppm. Must.Change.Water.


Ok, that's it. Carry on.

More rum errr I mean vodka or .... Wait what was I gonna do? It yea water change

rum????

I'd vote for dark. Its made from molasses. carbon source!
Or just drink it, makes one forget all about high ? readings.

I agree the more work my tanks needs the more I dose rum ...into my glass

Guys, I've never had NO3 before. Ever. So kinda new at this. But you guys seem to know what you're talking about, so I'll try the dark rum. Luckily I have lots.

Should come down once the zeo takes hold. Should dose zeobak for ten days

Well, after a couple doses of rum, it seems less important :)

In all seriousness, I suspect it's from using a few large foam filter inserts for bio filtration this month. I've started removing these, hopefully the rock is getting close enough to handle the load on it's own.

I'm just following my normal zeo schedule, pretty much trying to copy what I did when I started the last tank. So far it seems good. Other than NO3

I thought you zeo schedule was oops I forgot. Lol but yeah your right it's probably the foam

lol, ya, usually. But the "official schedule" as recommended by zeo is what I'm following for start up. I'll try to stay on top of that for at least a few months.

bio pellet?? works great to keep nitrate low. I have 0 nitrate for months now, and ever since the nitrate is down to zero, I haven't had the need to top up the bio pellet.

welcome to the real world :wink::lol:

No, I think once everything settles, I'll go back to 0ppm. I don't really want to use media to reduce it.

+1

Brad, if the stones don't work for you let me know. I'll give u bag of new pellets.
:biggrin:

I kinda maintain that if you need biopellets, you're doing something wrong. But I appreciate the offer :)

Lol! Don't forget to shake the stones. :biggrin:

Not sure that matters. I forgot all last year and the year before, my tank did ok

May be them stones don't work after all? Bio pellets do work...

Well, perhaps. But I had no measurable NO3 for the life of the tank, and didn't spend any money on biopellets. So whatever I do without pellets works too. And less effort.
Maybe the rocks do work afterall, even without shaking. Sounds too easy.

They will work just fine without shaking , the biofilm releases whether you shake or not so real estate is always available for bacteria:)

Yeah I also dose biomate and have never seen a mulm build up. Though the stones are to absorb ammonia so I'm not sure how well they work if they have a layer of mulm

Ya, I proved that over 4 years using them. Some people though, like to have lots of different things attached to their tanks. It makes them feel better :) For me, the less I have to do, the better.
But in the end, if you have good rock, stock appropriately and manage your water changes, you shouldn't have any NO3 to worry about.

Eventually if left long enough most of it breaks under its own weight , although not very efficient if left that way. Biomate for sure helps as in your case:)