Reef Nutrition Raise Nitrates?

while everything steve is telling you is very accurate, also make sure to not overlook your skimmer. is it performing properly? is it pulling out enough skimmate?

 

Steve-

I have a two chamber TruVu:



Reactors out of view, so I have the rubble under all the algae on the right. Remove it for good ha? Worth a try. I have lost 5 acros and my donut coral is still receding even after a Coral Rx dip.

My skimmer sucks to be honest. Reef Octopus NW 150. Almost never works. I am ALWAYS adjusting the level. I have had better luck with a Sea Clone. I don't know what the problem is. I read last night that those skimmer like 10" of water depth. I have 13-1/2" consistent via auto top-off. Maybe I should make a pedestal for it?

 

yeah, a lot of people place them on pedestals or eggcrate or pvc pipe to make them run at the right level in our sumps. Just keep in mind that as the bacterial population increases from nitrate consumption, they will consume these nitrates. As the population is increasing, you can increase your skimming with the goal to pull the bacteria that is encapsulating the nitrates out.

Other methods are to increase your ORP if you have access to that. A more biological solution is to put more "links" in your chain... ill explain with an example:
fish food added > consumed by fish > fish waste > consumed by crab > crab waste > consumed by snail > snail waste > consumed by bristle worm > bristle worm waste > consumed by copepods > copepod waste > consumed by clams/corals > undesirable particles are left in water column > undesirables broken down by bacteria. (all biological filtration so far)
As the bacteria are growing on and consuming the undesirables, they are pulled out by a skimmer. (mechanical filtration)

Each "link" is a step in the break down process... my example above is a 7 organism chain. Generally, the more links in your chain, the higher and more efficient your natural ORP is. You can add links by having more diversity in your CUC. Maybe add starfish, more snails, crabs, etc.
A quick way to increase the final stage (bacterial) of your chain is to vodka dose. Im not telling you to vodka dose because it comes with just as many positives as it does negatives and should be researched throughly before attempting.
The use of ozone (unstable oxygen molecules) also increases your ORP in a very similar fashion. It supplies the bacteria with O3 which is unstable at this temperature and pressure. The O3 quickly dissociates one O in the water to make O2 which is then stable. This leaves the last oxygen electron deficient and causes it to readily accept electrons that bacteria are willing to supply. Its kind of like adding in a last step after the bacteria link.

As with any method you choose to use, make sure you very throughly research first!

 

Totally off topic - but wow!! Your tank is BEAUTIFUL!!

 

Dingo,

I have about 20-30 various snail I'd guess, 10-20 hermits, 5 or so little wild stars, a polish sausage size sea cucumber. 6 shrimp as well. In your opinion should I add more CUC? If so what specifically? Larger star fish? More crabs & snails? Maybe another bottle of Tiger Pods? To bad I can't buy bristle worms...I haven't seen those since my 75g tank leaked out and I went awol for awhile. I have vodka dosed before. Simple 1ml per day then step up slowly to 5-7ml and test for nitrates often. I may start that again tomorrow. Do you agree with Steve about removing the rubble from the sump and going just refuge/algae only? Dare I add Bio-Spera?

KCBrad-Thanks!! Won't be as nice if I don't get this water under control.

 

yes, I agree with Steve 100%... if i had to guess, that is likely the stem of your nitrate issues. If you absolutely totally dont want to take it out, you can put a powerful wavemaker in there and have it come on for a few minutes each night. This will both clear up the detrus in there, give circulation for the bacteria to do their job, and send some bacteria up to the DT to feed your corals. Its a great trick that i learned from Tangster.

it is always better to have a bunch of diversity in your CUC so if theres something you can think of that is lacking then go with them. copepods, amphipods, and bristle worms are IMO some of the best cleaners we have. Bristle worms are really really good for detrus.

 

I may try a little pump in there on a timer. Good advice.

 

Just ordered from Reefkeepers:

Qty Name SKU Price Total
1 Quick Crew (50 Gallon)
1111122250g USD41.00 USD41.00
1 1 Penny Macro Algae
909090 USD0.01 USD0.01
1 5 Red Mangroves
87878 USD3.99 USD3.99
1 Chaeto w/Pods
2343243 USD5.00 USD5.00
1 Random Colored Zoanthids (Small)*
343111 USD6.00 USD6.00

I have started to remove rubble. I don't like this activity. I feel like I'm loosing pods and their eggs.