Help with nitrates

[Ryan7]

[quote=makana;765933]I have a shallow sand bed that cleaned up with a gravel vac.
I run filter floss that I change every other day.

Why are you cleaning the sand with a vac or cleaning it at all?

Leave the sand alone. Constantly disturbing the sand will cause problems with your nitrates. The idea of a sand bed is to produce natural nitrite/nitrate reducing qualities with pods, worms, bacteria ect....

Ditch the floss.

If your nitrates still remain, start slowing dosing vinager to add nitrate reducing bacteria to the system.

[makana]

A shallow sand bed has no nitrate reducing qualities. All of the reading I have done has led me to believe that it is purely asthetic. If I understand it correctly, a shallow sand bed can become a nitrate factory. Maybe I'm out to lunch but that is what I have read.

Why would I ditch the filter floss? It is my only means of removing larger particles before they settle.

[Proteus]

I have 1/2 cm sand bed which I clean. I run filter material also. But even though you clean the sand bed you should have cuc to get detritus and uneaten food before it breaks down

[makana]

There are a few sand sifting snails that live in the sand as well as a handfull of hermit crabs and a handfull of turbo snails. I never used to clean the sand bed but recently have been reading that a shallow sand bed should be kept clean so I started cleaning it in hopes it would help.