High nitrate question....help!

[bavass]

So this is the plan! I am not going to add anything. I am going to do 10g water changes on Mon and Thurs of each week at that time I will blow off rocks and syphon sand layer with algae. The only adjustment I am going to make is now that I think about it. Both of my powerheads are point towards the sand. Even thow they are close enough to the surface of the water to cause ripples I am going to move one down and point it up to the surface. Maybe that way the nutrients will be blown into the overflows and down to the skimmer? So I will have the one in the left corner on the back glass pointed down towards the middle and the powerhead on the right will be pointed up towards the middle. I might put a 3rd one in place of the rio 600 on the back glass pointed behind the live rock?

 

[bavass]

I am going to step it up a notch and show you all my algae with some pics and a video. See if you have any suggestions. I think its 3 different types of algaes. What would you do and/or change? I have done nothing to tank tonight except add top off water.

YouTube - algae video.3GP

 

[mrg02d]

Your algae really doesnt look that bad to me. If that is it, id really settle down and wait for some of the suggested methods to work rather than adding stability and deNitrate and all that. Enjoy the tank some! I was under the impression that your tank looked like a jungle.

That coral near the end startled me, as it looked like a hand in there.

Matt

 

[thincat]

Looks to me as if you can remove a few of those rocks when you do a PWC and scrub them in the waste water and return them to your DT.

 

[bavass]

I thought the samething after I looked at the video, LOL! The algae to me is bad and a lot not all of that algae was cleaned up Thursday night. The glass in the front was cleaned last night. The algae doesnt look that bad cause it is working me to death, LOL the overflow in the back was taken out and scrubbed thursday night. I did put some chaeto in there with a piece of egg crate to keep it from getting sucked into the sump. I should have put a pick of the macro that is covered with algae. As far as the 2 reactors that are running one for nitrates and one for phosphates. Phosban media cleaned out after 2 weeks. The clear hose from each pump has a little algae in it but the hoses coming out do not. Maybe this is a plus.

 

[bavass]

Looks to me as if you can remove a few of those rocks when you do a PWC and scrub them in the waste water and return them to your DT.

Yeah I could do that to some this weekend. Since I am home this weekend I might do the water change on Sunday since i will have more time for cledaning of sand, glass and rock

 

[bavass]

think I might add some hermits this weekend too. Just have snails in there. Should I add anything else for a cleanup crew along withe the hermits? Was thinking of adding like 15 Red legged and like 10 Blue legged. How does that sound?

 

[cmor1701d]

If you add hermits your snail population is sure to dwindle.
Putting the power heads lower and pointed to the surface is a good idea. The intake will pull from the substrate giving you some additonal flow there.

Are your test kits dated? If not and you have had them for more than a year you should consider getting some new test kits. Ammonia, and nitrite really shoud be at 0, with nitrates under 40 (under 5 for reef).

I recently got the Hanna handheld phosphate colorimeter and now have an accurate picture of my phosphate level.

 

[bavass]

I am going to make some changes to the powerheads tomorrow night when I do my 10g water change. I thought about it last night and I am not going with hermits just more snails. All my test kits are less than 6 months old. New phosphate test kit was just bought. I have been looking at the Hanna's they would be nice to have. I think they have one for phosphates and nitrates?

 

[cmor1701d]

I have the Hanna Phosphate meter. The Nitrate is announced, but I don't believe it's shipping yet. The nitrIte meter is out.

 

[bavass]

looks like the Hanna Nitrate is out and onsale

 

[thincat]

Bavass, read carefully:"Measures between 0 to 30.0 mg/L. For Freshwater use only."

 

[bavass]

Bavass, read carefully:"Measures between 0 to 30.0 mg/L. For Freshwater use only."

doh!!! nice catch

 

[thincat]

Yeah, I would hate for you to waste your money.

 

[cmor1701d]

Also, that's not one of the new $49.00 hand held colorimeters. That one has been out for quite some time.

 

[bavass]

this what I just got from Hanna when I sent them an email about a Nitrate Checker

"Hi Brian,
I believe it’s on R&D’s project list, but I know that they’re currently working on the Checker HC for marine alkalinity and calcium. We just released ultra low range marine nitrite and phosphorous a few days ago. It’s my understanding that testing nitrate in salt water is a bit tricky using conventional reagents, and that they’re going to be looking at alternative chemicals to do the job. Would you like to be notified when we release new meters?

Regards,
Jessica"

 

[bavass]

Ok so this is what I did. I lowered the powerheads and pointed them up towards the surface. I took the Rio 600 that I had along the back glass and replaced it with a 3rd Hydor 2 and pointed it up along the back glass towards the surface. I will do a water change of 10g tomorrow and continue that for 4 weeks and see if there is a diff. By the way the 3rd Hydor cuts off at night with the lights and the other 2 go into night mode from the wavemaker.

 

[Greenmaster]

Sounds good keep us posted

 

[bavass]

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?

 

[cmor1701d]

Turnover in the tank is a good thing. How is your skimmer being fed? Most use a pump (mine uses a Mag 9.5) therefore the return pump has no bearing. As for the De*Nitrate:

Fromthe SeaChem site:
Live” rocks or reef rocks remove nitrate by anaerobic denitrification. de nitrate™ removes nitrate by the same process. Efficiency is magnified several folds by forcing the water to filter through the porous de nitrate™. As with reef rock, anaerobic conditions are achieved by the porosity and the depletion of oxygen by the aerobic process at the surface. Excessive flow rates should, therefore, be avoided, as they may impede development of an adequate anaerobic environment to support denitrifying bacteria.
de nitrate™ is also an excellent media for aerobic nitrification and it makes an ideal biological filter in drip trays, canister filters, sumps, or even box filters. At high flow rates (greater than 100 US gallons per hour), it will function solely as an aerobic filter. At slow flow rates (less than 50 US gallons per hour), it will function as both an aerobic filter and an anaerobic denitrifying filter.
Directions
For best results, de*nitrate™ should be placed to assure the flow of water through it, such as in a canister filter, chemical filtration module, or box filter. Flow rate should not exceed 200 L (50 gallons*) per hour. If higher flow rates are unavoidable, use Matrix™ or Pond Matrix™. It is best to rinse off dust before use. Once de*nitrate™ has been in use for several days, nitrate concentrations should start to fall and level off gradually at a concentration of about 4–5 mg/L as nitrate. As long as nitrate concentrations remain under control, the product is not exhausted. Each 500 mL of de*nitrate™ treats about 100–200 L (25–50 gallons*), depending on initial nitrate concentration and the current biological load. Enough should be used to remove nitrate at a rate at least as fast as the rate of formation. If very high nitrates are initially present, they should be brought down to less than 20 mg/L with water changes.

So you may want to put it in canister and feed it via a seperate pump. I have some in my sump. It's just in a bag in between the baffles sitting on top of a poly filter. Guess I have too much flow for it be effective too <g>

Please keep us posted on your progress.