Nitrate??

[al001]

My nitrate reading 20 ppm and never got lower.
What can i do to be 0?????

 

[Scooterman]

Few questions, can you tell us more about your tank?
How big is it, how much LR do you have?
How many fish & corals?
What are you using for filtration?

 

[mmkeeper]

What test kit are you using?
Have you tested the water you use to change your water?
Are you useing ro/di water?

 

[Krish]

Here's some info on the tank from the other thread...

I have a powerhad 200 gph is that ok for my 29g tank?
Waht i have is:
15lb LR
1 Percula Clownfish
1 Blue Hippo Tang
1 LTA
For lighting 2T-5 72w right on top off the tank

To add to what was already asked, how often do you do water changes (and how much) and also, do you run a skimmer?

 

[al001]

I change 6g evry 10 days.
I'm useing Bak-Pak bio filter comes whith skimmer body.I use ro/di for water change.
Bak-Pak is runing with maxi-jet 1200 powerhad Bio-Bale filter media

 

[mmkeeper]

Bio Bales is a nitrate trap. Get rid of it if you can.

 

[al001]

What can i use if i remove Bio Bale???

 

[ronj]

do you have sand or some other substrate??? these will collect nitrates no matter how much you vacuum them!!!

 

[StanleyLove]

I think the Bak Pak with bio-media is for "fish only" tanks. If you have enough Live Rock, it will stand in as a biological filter to keep from needing any bio media. You could probably take it out and, i dunno, use it as confetti? wee!

 

[MarineTeng]

lol i don't think that blue tang is helping the nitrate lvl, but i'd go with a fuge w/ cheato and some quality lighting on it, i'd recommend the household 26w compact fluorescent lights, think they're lik 2600k

 

[Haole]

I agree...
You should probably take out the bio bale and look into getting some more cured live rock for your tank. This and stepping up the amount of water you do on a water change should help to lower your nitrates.
What kind of foods do you feed your fish?
Also, just curious... What’s an LTA?

 

[Krish]

I agree...I had mentioned on your other thread about maybe adding in a bit more LR to help with biological filtration as well as the live rock will be able to denitrify which is what you need . The bio-bale, I'd just get rid of which I'm sure will help with the nitrate situation

 

[al001]

thanks,what do i have to use if i remove the bio bale?

 

[Krish]

thanks,what do i have to use if i remove the bio bale?

If you mean in terms of what will provide filtration for the tank if you remove the bio-bale then you don't need anything to replace it Live rock is the only thing you need for filtration in a tank. All bio-bale really is is extra surface for bacteria to grow...Just like bio-balls without the added benefit of riiding your tank of nitrates as bio bale cannot denitrify. Just let the rock do all the work for you and keep up with your water changes

 

[Cajun Reefer]

You don't use any biobale. If you are able to add more live rock, that will house the beneficial bacteria that your bio bale would hold. The bio bales and filter socks hold in detrius which are nitrate "factories."

-Dennis

 

[MarineTeng]

haole lta is a long tentacle anemone

 

[Haole]

haole lta is a long tentacle anemone

Ah... That’s what I was thinking but wasn’t really sure. Thanks

About the bio bale, if you’re wondering what to put in its place in the compartment on your bak-pac, just leave it empty. You might even see an improvement on how your protein skimmer works.

So do you have any kind of sand on the bottom of your tank?

 

[al001]

I do have sand about 2-3 inc i got from LFS.

 

[al001]

What do u think if I use AZ NO3????

 

[Haole]

I do have sand about 2-3 inc i got from LFS.

Is it fine like the sand on a beach? Or is it, for lack of a better word... like kitty litter?