High nitrate question....help!

[bavass]

The skimmer is fed by a Rio 800 and it has a Oceanrunner 2700 for circ. The denitrate is set up on a drip. I was actually thinking of it more like a cooling system in a car. The longer the antifreeze stays in the radiator the cooler it gets before the theromstat opens and switches what's in the motor with what's in the radiator. The longer the 10g in the sump stays in sump the cleaner it gets from skimmer and the more of it runs thru the reactors before being pushed back to display tank. At 500gph is a lot of turn over rate in the sump. Right now I have a Mag Drive 7 and 3 Hydor 2's for circulating on a 55g tank. That's a lot of flow. If I got a Mag Drive 5 that would run at about 300gph so the water in the sump would be in the sump longer and get cleaner. Just kinda brainstorming.

 

[bavass]

On a good note the one Pulsing Xenia I had is now 3 Pulsing Xenia's

 

[cmor1701d]

Less flow in the tank = more time for detritus to settle in the tank instead of being sent to the sump where the skimmer can remove it or kept in suspension where the skimmer can get it on the next pass...

I prefer more flow. Better for the tank overall and especially for corals.

You may be overthinking the issue. Don't forget the Occam's Razor principle.

 

[Greenmaster]

The Xenia is loving all the food that is in the water column... algae feeds micro organisms that feed the Xenia... also your logic is off a bit.. think of it like a cooling system in a car... if the motor is running hot the thermostats stay open, because the radiator cools the hot faster then it would if it was trying to only let a little water through... the temp of the water would be colder when entering the motor but the motor would heat up too much while waiting for the cold water... running the hot water through helps to keep the water cool and brings the whole system down as low as it can go and keeps it stable... you want your skimmer and de*nitate to be in contact with the dirtiest water available in your system so they can take a larger portion of the waste out. What I'm saying is high turnover in the sump/tank is a good thing. the de*nitrate works on a separate pump and should be done at its proper flow rate... the water coming out of your de*nitrate should be almost nitrate free... if it is you can increase the flow a little bit wait 24 hours then increase it again, continue to do so till you see nitrate coming out the you back it down to the previous setting... (if you can adjust it like that... also a little nitrate coming out isn't bad because it means that the last of your media still got some contact time with nitrate... thinking more about it I would probably have a little nitrate coming out of the de*nitrate)

 

[thincat]

The more I think about it the more I believe part of my problem is my high sump turnover rate. I have Mag Drive 7 running wide open. I think at the end of these 3 weeks if there is no difference in nitrates and algae I am going to replace the Mag 7 with a Mag 5 and put a ball valve in to allow more contact time with the skimmer and the de*nitrate reactor. Just seems to make sense that its easier to clean the water at a slower flow rate. Does that make sense to anybody else or am I just over thinking this problem?

Instead of replacing the mag 7 with a mag 5, just put a T in your return line after the pump and have a valve on one side of the T and return that side to your sump. That way you will not put any restriction on your pump and your sump will have more contact with the water as part of it would be the recycing of the return water.

 

[bavass]

10g water change is done. Tests are done pics of Phosphates and Nitrates

Phosphates 0
Nitrates 1ppm
Calcium 600
KH/Alk 8.6 3.09
Mag 1260
PH 8.3
SG 1.023
Temp 79

Phosphates

Nitrates

 

[Greenmaster]

Alk and cal are a little high...

 

[bavass]

Calcium is a little high, but Alk is actually about dead on some people run alk as high as 13-16

 

[Greenmaster]

sorry PH

 

[bavass]

Instead of replacing the mag 7 with a mag 5, just put a T in your return line after the pump and have a valve on one side of the T and return that side to your sump. That way you will not put any restriction on your pump and your sump will have more contact with the water as part of it would be the recycing of the return water.

The Mag 7 needs to be replaced anyway. Think the seals are going in the back of it.

 

[bavass]

Less flow in the tank = more time for detritus to settle in the tank instead of being sent to the sump where the skimmer can remove it or kept in suspension where the skimmer can get it on the next pass...

I prefer more flow. Better for the tank overall and especially for corals.

You may be overthinking the issue. Don't forget the Occam's Razor principle.

Was actually thinking adding another powerhead for circulation in the tank and just allow the water to stay in the sump a little longer. What got me thinking about this was I was doing some reading on nitrates. On the thread an aquarist replied that they had a 55g reef tank and had the same problem. Added some powerheads to the main tank and actually went from a Mag 7 down to a Mag 3 and nitrates went to 0 and has been there for 3 years now. So it got me thinking. I personally don't care to drop all the way down to a Mag 3 was thinking the 5 since I need to replace my pump anyway.

 

[Greenmaster]

or maybe your problem developed because your pump is failing... I don't know... just trying to help you think critically...

 

[bavass]

I think I might have found my problem! Just picked up a TDS meter. Water out of RO/DI is 0. I have five 5g water jugs from water a water fountain that I use to mix water in. The TDS in those is 11ppm

 

[bavass]

One question! There is a build up of calcium in the bottom of the jugs from when I was using Coralife Salt would that cause a TDS of 11ppm? I guess it would be best to just buy a rubbermaid trash can and then I know the TDS should be 0

 

[mrg02d]

Yup, if you have ANY residue in the bucket it will show up on your TDS meter.

Matt

 

[bavass]

so is it worth it to just replace them so that I know it is 0 and the jugs are not causing the problem?

 

[mrg02d]

Calcium residue isnt a problem. Its junk from the main water line that is the problem, so if its just calcium ions that are showing up on your TDS meter, then no harm. I dont see how you could have nitrates, phosphates, silicates, ect from a plastic jug unless they were put in there from something else. Id keep the jugs, as its just more money to have to spend for no reason really. If you wanted to be extra certian, you could test the water from the jugs for nitrates, phosphates, silicates ect. Might give you something to do if thats what you are looking for.

Maybe rinse out the bucket really, really well and see if your TDS value drops.
Matt

 

[bavass]

good old vinegar cleaned them right up. Let them sit filled with water tonight to dillute the vinegar and then I will test them tomorrow

 

[bavass]

Well to help keep the sandbed stirred I traded my evil bicolor for a diamond gobie! My god at the stuff he has stirred up in the sand bed! He is really doing his job and is so fun to watch!

 

[bavass]

Question since adding the Diamond Goby my water has been cloudy because of all the crap he is stirring up. Which is why I bought him to help the snails stir the sand bed. Because of all the crap floating in the water and I mean the tank stays cloudy. Should I increase my water changes to more than two 10g water changes a week? Or just let the skimmer work it and stay with 10g water changes on Mon and Thurs?