ENOUGH FILTRATION?? ADVICE FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE REQUESTED!

[baily2000]

I was hoping you all could help me out. The question is can I and should I do better with my filtration. Here's what I got:
72G
120lbs live rock
3-4" DSB
Aqua-Remora C with Mag 5
Two Mag 1200 power heads
Animals: Pink Tailed Trigger,Blue Hippo Tang,Yellow Tang,Clown,Angel
Two Cleaner shrimp.

I have had tank been established for 4 years. I have never been able to get Nitrates below 10-20. Even with PWC's. Water is clear, all are healthy.
Would a sump be benficial? Or mabey a HOB filter(Whisper) Do I need another Protein Skimmer? Would a sump add an additional Nitrate load to the system?

 

[fijiwigi]

Are you using Reverse Osmosis/ Distilled water??

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Testing your source water for nitrates is a good first step. But I think with the bioload (size/type of fish) you have in that tank, you're going to be hard pressed to keep your nitrates low. Is that a full sized angel, or a dwarf?

Not sure what you mean about a sump adding "additional nitrate load to the system", but a sump will help in diluting the nitrates by adding more water volume to the system.

Other than that, your biological filtration seems great to me.

 

[baily2000]

Testing your source water for nitrates is a good first step. But I think with the bioload (size/type of fish) you have in that tank, you're going to be hard pressed to keep your nitrates low. Is that a full sized angel, or a dwarf?

Not sure what you mean about a sump adding "additional nitrate load to the system", but a sump will help in diluting the nitrates by adding more water volume to the system.

Other than that, your biological filtration seems great to me.

I use RO/DI water. My Angel is about 4". Thanks for the advice, I thought I was possibly under filtering the system.

 

[melosu58]

I would say a sump or even a refugium would be a good idea. In the refugium you could put macro algea in it which would consume the nitrates. BTW if you have your nitrates at 10 I would not panic over that. Yes 0 is the goal but 10 is not that bad if you know what I mean.

 

[baily2000]

I would say a sump or even a refugium would be a good idea. In the refugium you could put macro algea in it which would consume the nitrates. BTW if you have your nitrates at 10 I would not panic over that. Yes 0 is the goal but 10 is not that bad if you know what I mean.

Thanks...I was thinking of a sump/refugium, what size would you think would be appropriate for my tank? GPH? Would a 10g tank do the trick?

 

[melosu58]

for a 72 I would think a 20 gallon would be better. Maybe even a 29. I had a 10 on my 55 but it was for a sump only. I`m just thinking too much chance for overflow with a 10 instead of a 20 or 29. Right now I have a 125 with a 40 gallon refuge.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Re: ENOUGH FILTRATION?? ADVICE FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE REQUESTE

I have never been able to get Nitrates below 10-20. Even with PWC's.

Now that I reread this, how often are you doing water changes, and what percentage are you changing out? If you're not doing them weekly already, you could always start doing them weekly to dilute the problem. But as already noted, 10ppm isn't really a major problem.

 

[baily2000]

Re: ENOUGH FILTRATION?? ADVICE FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE REQUESTE

I have never been able to get Nitrates below 10-20. Even with PWC's.

Now that I reread this, how often are you doing water changes, and what percentage are you changing out? If you're not doing them weekly already, you could always start doing them weekly to dilute the problem. But as already noted, 10ppm isn't really a major problem.

I was doing them monthly at 25%. I have been now doing them every two weeks at 25%. Any good sites for learning the ins and outs of sump/ref set-up?

 

[lando]

I like the idea of adding a sump or fuge. You could also start by adding some additional LR to your tank. Another 20-40lbs would help out. NO3 seems to be the biggest headache for the home aquarist. I agree with the rest that 10ppm is not too bad, but certainly less is better. Perhaps increasing your PWC schedule for a few months would help out.

 

[cmor1701d]

Nitrates at 10ppm is not bad. I couldn't get mine below that till I added macro algae to my sump. For a good starter on sumps/refugiums....

Sumps Explained

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sumps, Part I

and one of the best sites for sump design...
Melev's Reef - Sumps & Fuge's

 

[baily2000]

Nitrates at 10ppm is not bad. I couldn't get mine below that till I added macro algae to my sump. For a good starter on sumps/refugiums....

Sumps Explained

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sumps, Part I

and one of the best sites for sump design...
Melev's Reef - Sumps & Fuge's

Thanks, good sites. Just checked Nitrates..they were at 25!! I am mixing water as we speak. Don't know what happen with the spike. I was wondering why my button polyps have been closed all week. Everything else in is in range.

 

[lando]

The NO3 at 25 could cause some symptoms in your corals. To be safe I would confirm the reading with a different test kit or have your LFS test it for you. NO3 test tend to be less then accurate, IMHO.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

You said you're using RO/DI water, but have you TESTED your water coming out of the RO/DI for nitrates? If it's time for a membrane change, or your DI resin in spent, you could be putting the nitrates in your tank with every water change. That might make sense of the increase in nitrates as you're increasing your water changes.

 

[baily2000]

You said you're using RO/DI water, but have you TESTED your water coming out of the RO/DI for nitrates? If it's time for a membrane change, or your DI resin in spent, you could be putting the nitrates in your tank with every water change. That might make sense of the increase in nitrates as you're increasing your water changes.

same

Kurt,

I checked my water, Nitrates were 0, TDS was 3. Also re-checked nitrates and got same reading. I will be doing a 25% PWC this evening.

On a different note...Do you guys test for Strotnium? I just received a Salifert Strotnium Kit and tested with readings in the 0-3 range. It would seem that this is low. Is supplementation advised?