Nitrate Reef Confessional

This is what I figured as well. I actually tried to cut my Chaeto back and keep the lights on 24x7 thinking that it is only sucking up Nitrates when it is growing. After a week of that and no movement I went back to my cycle where it is on at night. Feeding is actually where I am at now. I've cut back to every other day and am feeding the Tangs Chaeto so there is nothing decaying like a lettuce.

 

Here is a plot of my battle with nitrate and what I did to eliminate it. I found a relationship between lighting and eliminating nitrate in my tank. I'm assuming that adding the 6500K bulbs in my case encouraged enough algae growth in my tank to absorb the nitrate and eliminate it down to zero. I never got a hair algae outbreak by doing this by the way. The spiral bulbs are long gone and replaced with T5s. Nitrate is usually undetectable but will occasionally jump to 5 after I feed my corals and nems.



This was the subject of my first post to 3reef by the way.

 

In the year I've had chaeto I've never cut it back. Let it grow. You want as much as possible. I don't even turn it over anymore. I've never noticed any decay.

DO NOT feed it to your tangs. If you do that all of the nitrate it absorbed goes right back into your tank. If you feel the need to prune it throw it away or give it away.

Use a 12 hour reverse lighting cycle.

 

Chaeto goes in my compost heap after it fully wilts in my little refuse bucket that stays in the kitchen. I also dont have any nitrates and havent ever in this tank. I do trim the chaeto back when it fills the fuge chamber. I normally cut about 1/4 of it out every 4 to 6 weeks.

 

+1 on adding live rock. Fill your sump with it. I have my sump stocked with LR. I also use this Biomedia by Seachem called Matrix.

Check out this thread.. Excellent Nitrate Media

Since I wrote that thread I haven't seen any nitrates. I feed heavy, too. I have used Seachem and Salifert test kits to confirm. Read their discription of the product on Seachems website. This stuff is like LR rubble. It supports both anaerobic and aerobic bacteria. Kind of going back to what Reef Sparky said. I put this biomedia in mesh bags and keep them in my overflow in my display. You can also put them in a reactor or in bags in your sump.

For maintanence, I just pull the bags out and rinse off built up detritus with my water change water..

Good luck!!

 

Good day Remickj,

I looked up your build thread, very clean install. You are to be complimented on how well you finished the tank in the wall. I suspect that adding additional live rock may leave you feeling a bit crowded in the DT or sump. So, have you read any of the post regarding the coil de-nitrator?

Looking at the equipment area, it seems that you have just a bit of room available....

Here is just one of the threads on the subject: http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/coiled-denitrator-diy-29402.html

In short, these are easily constructed, can be purchased from some of the members here, work as advertised, (I'm running one), take up very little room outside of the tank/sump, and require "no" maintenance. But...do require 4 to 6 weeks to "start up".

Since your not trying to correct a critical/urgent issue, it is at least something to read about...