High nitrates

[BLUEaquarium06]

I'm going to be moving everything to a new tank hopefully in the first week of April, and I do have a couple hermits. I'll do another water change tomorrow and then go back to my normal schedule on Friday

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[jeffaquarius]

Originally Posted by CCXGT

How is adding more bioload to a tank with Nitrate issues going to solve anything?

Sand skimming is all that's required.


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Cucs will consume detritus and uneaten food which contributes to cycling process. You are not adding bioload but just cleaning up the leftovers. Saves you time and effort by not disturbing your sandbed which causes nitrate.

[Sniperhank]

Originally Posted by jeffaquarius

Cucs will consume detritus and uneaten food which contributes to cycling process. You are not adding bioload but just cleaning up the leftovers. Saves you time and effort by not disturbing your sandbed which causes nitrate.

One creature's poop gets eaten doesn't just magically disappear. A CUC isn't a solution towards these issues, proper tank management however is.

[jeffaquarius]

Originally Posted by Sniperhank

One creature's poop gets eaten doesn't just magically disappear. A CUC isn't a solution towards these issues, proper tank management however is.

The purpose of having cucs is to avoid disturbing the substrate that can cause nitrate. It's not the only solution but just one of them.

[CCXGT]

Originally Posted by jeffaquarius

The purpose of having cucs is to avoid disturbing the substrate that can cause nitrate. It's not the only solution but just one of them.

Forget about the substrate.

The Nitrate is already there, adding animals which will produce more Nitrate is very backwards.

It is a lot easier to just manage the tank yourself.

Also, adding anything to a tank when the Nitrates are sitting at 40ppm can be very detrimental to its health.


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[jeffaquarius]

Originally Posted by CCXGT

Forget about the substrate.

The Nitrate is already there, adding animals which will produce more Nitrate is very backwards.

It is a lot easier to just manage the tank yourself.

Also, adding anything to a tank when the Nitrates are sitting at 40ppm can be very detrimental to its health.


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Anaerobic bacteria resides underneath the substrate that consumes nitrates. You are managing your tank with CUCS which the OP already has. The suggestion is to put some if there is none. Are you saying you don't have cucs in your tank?

[CCXGT]

Originally Posted by jeffaquarius

Anaerobic bacteria resides underneath the substrate that consumes nitrates. You are managing your tank with CUCS which the OP already has. The suggestion is to put some if there is none. Are you saying you don't have cucs in your tank?

I have 2 hermits and 1 snail in a 10G.

The hermits because my aunt loves them and the snail because I was dealing with diatoms.

I wouldn't even dare rely on ANY of them to keep the tank clean, that'd just be idiotic.

I'd much rather keep the tank clean myself rather than throw in more life producing more waste.

I disagree with adding a CUC unless it's necessary, and even then, manual work would be preferred. You shouldn't just throw in 50 snails because 'you don't have any already'.


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[jeffaquarius]

Originally Posted by CCXGT

I have 2 hermits and 1 snail in a 10G.

The hermits because my aunt loves them and the snail because I was dealing with diatoms.

I wouldn't even dare rely on ANY of them to keep the tank clean, that'd just be idiotic.

I'd much rather keep the tank clean myself rather than throw in more life producing more waste.

I disagree with adding a CUC unless it's necessary, and even then, manual work would be preferred. You shouldn't just throw in 50 snails because 'you don't have any already'.


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So aside from reduce feeding and not disturbing substrate you just wanna clean your tank yourself to reduce nitrate?

[CCXGT]

Originally Posted by jeffaquarius

So aside from reduce feeding and not disturbing substrate you just wanna clean your tank yourself to reduce nitrate?

I always disturb my substrate, at least 3-4 times a week, there is more to nitrate than sand.

Whenever I have elevated nitrates, I do a water change... Simple as that.

CUC's are rip off's anyway.


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[jeffaquarius]

Water change is already a routine. Since you look at having CUCs in a different angle I will leave you at that.

[CCXGT]

Originally Posted by jeffaquarius

Water change is already a routine. Since you look at having CUCs in a different angle I will leave you at that.

An out-of-routine water change then....


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[jeffaquarius]

You can keep doing what you do on a 10 gal tank but not on a tank ten times bigger.

[Sniperhank]

This is simple, rather than arguing back and forth about it.
If a tank upgrade is being done next week, then simply do water changes to get the levels in healthy range.
Make sure not to use the same substrate or water in the move. I would use the old tank water to rinse rock free of any debris to be on the safe side.
Small tanks, under 30 gallons, are usually recommended to avoid use of skimmers for the reason that when parameter issues raise their ugly head you can do larger than average water changes to manage them.

[jeffaquarius]

That answers the question if disturbing the substrate really matters. Good call Sniper.