uh-oh

[clowninround]

My nitrates which always register at 5, and WERE 5 two weeks ago, are now between 20 and 30 depending on your perception of the color. I am doing a water change tommorrow morning first thing, and will continue to do them every other day. So now i have two questions, actually three. First has anyone ever used AZ-NO3 Nitrate Exporter (sopposively work with the protien skimmer)? Second, does this mean my DSB is functioning properly? Third, I forgot what is was, I'll get back to ya . Also, I am thinking of taking out the bio-balls. Good or bad choice?

TIA,

Mary

 

[Hara]

If you have 150 lbs of GOOD liverock, you could take out the bioballs. If you dont have a minimum of 1 lb rock per gallon of water, you may want to rethink that if you plan on having a heavy bioload. WIth what is listed in your profile, you would be ok in my opinion.

as far as the nitrate exporter, I have no experience there.

 

[phases99]

I would recheck your test. If you are showing that much of a jump in nitrates with a DSB it could be a warning signal. You have a minimal bio load and 1lb/gallon LR so I would remove the bioballs at least until you find the source of those nitrates. Maybe the bioballs are at least part of the reason. Good Luck.

 

[lando]

I would take out the bioballs and replace them with LR rubble. It is a better filter media for nitrate removal.

 

[seaham358]

You could take out the balls a little over a week or two giving the tank time to grow new bacteria if needed. I would not add anything to replace the bioballs. Rubble is nice but it will trap waste just like the bioballs and create NO3 over time.
Chemicals IMO are just a quick fix, you need to find the cause of the NO3 and correct the problem.
Have you ever cleaned the bioballs?????? how long has the tank been running.

 

[clowninround]

The tank has been running since April though it was purchased from a previous owner and we left everything the way it was so as not to lose the cycle. I had a 55 for 3 years prior to that and had never owned a wet dry, the owner told me not to disturb the bio-balls. I have never cleaned the bioballs out of fear that I would lose the bacteria. So should I just shut down the wet dry completely and clean everything out? Right now I don't see any signs of algea yet, so I need to get it under control before that becomes a problem as well : )

 

[lando]

I believe the LR rubble does a muc better job at removing nitrate from the water. When I first started with bio-balls my nitrates were over 15. Now with the rubble they are just over 2. If waste is trapped in the rubble, it is a much better enviornment for nitrate removing bacteria to grow. If you have a sponge over the intake to the sump to capture most large detritus, you should not have a problem with nitrates over time.

 

[clowninround]

Ok, this is what I did today. Cleaned the bioballs and entire wet dry. I rinsed the sponge in seawater and put it right back in in case any bacteria was lost. I changed out 15 gallons, but with 150 lb's rock and 5" of sand, I sure that it was a bit more than a 10%. THEN I check my nitrates. They went down by MAYBE 10ppm. Is this normal. I am going to do another 20g w/c tommorrow. Can I do one every day this week? Is this too much of a W/C? I am also planning to get 150lb's of new LR about 30 days from now...will this help in the long run? I am so scared to get it hearing all the horror stories about Apistia? anemones and mantis. I have peppermint shrimp though, and they have some pretty big appetites so I don't see that being a problem, but I am going for it anways and hope to get the mantis (really hoping) with a trick QS told me. Anyways, is this normal for the nitrate to only go down 5-10ppm?