Reducing Nitrates

[Gripenfelter]

What kind of skimmer do you have?

My old skimmer produced 1/2 cup of crap per week.

New one pulls 1 L of dark green matter every day. I found my nitrate count was higher if I turned it down to only pull out black crap.

Also I would do weekly 5% water changes instead of one big 20% one at the end of the month.

What food are you feeding the fish?

If your tank is fairly well stocked you might want to consider a refugium.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Gripenfelter

What kind of skimmer do you have?

My old skimmer produced 1/2 cup of crap per week.

New one pulls 1 L of dark green matter every day. I found my nitrate count was higher if I turned it down to only pull out black crap.

Also I would do weekly 5% water changes instead of one big 20% one at the end of the month.

What food are you feeding the fish?

If your tank is fairly well stocked you might want to consider a refugium.

I don't know what kind of skimmer it is,... an old one, so it may not be the best. And not sure if I have it dialed right.

As for feeding, while I am careful that the fish eat all that I give them, I do feed them about 4 times a day, which I know is a lot. I added some new fish a number of months ago, incl delicate butterfly fish (which took a while to train), and want to make sure they are well fed and healthy. They have fattened up pretty good already and will be cutting back to one feeding a day in the future.

As I have mentioned, I want to try the bio pellet route, and maybe vodka dosing, just to see how it works. It is an old tank, and will be resetting in the future, and maybe sooner if this doesn't do it.

I do have a refugium, with lots of Chaeto, but it doesn't grow very quickly for some reason. My phosphates are not too high (last time I checked), but my nitrate is always very high.

[fishytime]

How old and what brand are your test kits?

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by fishytime

How old and what brand are your test kits?

About 6 months at most old. I have other tanks, too, and they test differently, plus have tried it on new SW, and nitrates come out zero, so I think they are quite accurate. I use the API test kit.

One thing I learned a long time ago, is that you need to follow directions on the test kit very carefully. Specifically, you need to shake the bottles and vial for at least 30 seconds after bottle #1 and then at least 1 minute after bottle #2 and let it sit for a few minutes after. If you don't do that, you will get a false low reading. Which is what may be happening to some people who think they have low nitrates.

Walter

[Gripenfelter]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

I don't know what kind of skimmer it is,... an old one, so it may not be the best. And not sure if I have it dialed right.

As for feeding, while I am careful that the fish eat all that I give them, I do feed them about 4 times a day, which I know is a lot. I added some new fish a number of months ago, incl delicate butterfly fish (which took a while to train), and want to make sure they are well fed and healthy. They have fattened up pretty good already and will be cutting back to one feeding a day in the future.

As I have mentioned, I want to try the bio pellet route, and maybe vodka dosing, just to see how it works. It is an old tank, and will be resetting in the future, and maybe sooner if this doesn't do it.

I do have a refugium, with lots of Chaeto, but it doesn't grow very quickly for some reason. My phosphates are not too high (last time I checked), but my nitrate is always very high.

I have 21 fish. I feed them once a day. 2 pinches of spectrum pellets and a sheet of seaweed.