Live rock & nutrient export

[FinalPhaze987]

Does live rock have to "age" (months or years compared to weeks) inorder to produce anerobic bacteria to process nitrates?

I have about 240 lbs in a 150 gallon and my nitrates seem to stay a little on the high end (10ppm). Its been up about 10 months now. The quality of the rock was great, all sorts of growth and such. If perform multiple water changes i can drop it to <5, but within a month its back up to 10. it doesnt really go past that point, but im looking to keep some acros and ive read they need nitrates <5.

My feeding is already at a minimal, filter sock & poly filter (used to keep microbubbles from entering the tank) are changed out every other day,bio load seems to be fair, not light & not heavy, and the skimmer is working fine....

Do you think its the water displacement made by the massive amount of rock?
The rock i have is a branchy type (dead acro, porites, + others), do i need the heavily dense "boulder" type?

Any input is appreciated. Thank you

 

[Entacmaea]

Hey there, where in the Bay Area are you?

Not sure about the rock, but I would doubt that beyond 2-3 months the composition of your bacteria inside the rock would change that much. That is just a guess. It seems your tank reaches equilibrium at 10ppm, so I would look to other things- which I'm sure you already know- like the size of the skimmer, using macro algae to help export nutrients, etc. to shift the equilibrium a little. Is your sump or fuge full of detritus, sanded age? etc...

 

[FinalPhaze987]

I stay in the East bay, right across the san mateo bridge from you...

The tank has had a DSB with live sand since ive started it, and a fuge with some grapes and chaeto in it. the skimmer could be bigger (ER RS-100) but il have to wait till after the holidays to upgrade...

Have you guys heard anything good about the sulfur denitrators by midwest aquatic?

http://www.midwestaquatic.com/

ive surfed the web only to see that the majority of sps keepers keep their nutrient levels undetectable, so i know its not impossible...

Ive been trying to do everything naturally, but it may seem a denitrator may be a last resort..

what do you guys think?

 

[Entacmaea]

Ah, I would guess it is the skimmer then... since it is only rated for 100 gallons. Honestly, i've never used a denitrator, but I would save my clams and put that money toward a new skimmer.

It might also be your DSB. You said its been up for 10 months, is that how long the tank has been running, or how long your nitrates have been up?

 

[FinalPhaze987]

its been up for 10 months as a reef...prior to that it was up for 4 and held only a shark, ray, and an eel...

im thinking it probobly is the skimmer...if that dosnt work i might just try the denitrator...

Thanks for th help! :mrgreen: