nitrate reduction

[REEFGUY]

Hi how do i go about nitrate reduction of my source water(well) its pretty high,thanks

 

[dacaptain78]

You should run your water through an RO/DI unit. Then you can use the filtered water for top off or mixing fresh salt water.

 

[REEFGUY]

ok so the ro-di strips nitrates,thanks

 

[gatojebv]

I am relatively new (6 months) to the reef keeping but this is the knowledge i have gather so far and put in pratice and it seems to be working.

1.- Use RO/DI water. My tap water had 20ppm and was not helping reducing nitrates.

2.-If you have a sump/refugium use the macro algea cheato to consume some of the phospahete and nitrate

3.- Limit your feeding to twice a day and I have heard people feeding once a day. Feed only what the fish can consume in a lapse of 5 minutes.

4.- Maintenance. Siphon your sand/gravel every time you change your water. I do change water 15% to 20% once a month. I do not want to do it more frequently.

5. I have live rock, a protein skimmer and bio balls. However my nitrates were always around 10ppm at one point. So I started getting rid of my bio balls slowly and I have seen a reduction of nitrates to almost zero. Bio balls short-circuit the whole nitrogen cycle leaving nitrates in the water that the live rock is unable to process efficiently. But if the nitrogen happens complete within the live rock the nitrogen cycle will be complete leaving only nitrogen.

My two cents

 

[Bob 1000]

Don't use bio balls.. They become nitrate factories if not properly rinsed in saltwater at least 2x a year.. Bioballs don't just hold on to good bacteria, they hold on to any type of bacteria..

 

[REEFGUY]

thankyou,everyone