Reducing Nitrates
@Susan Bates
Sorry Susan, our threads on nitrates seem to have scattered all over the place so we'll continue working through it here if that's ok? Also this strays a little off topic but may be relevant to you.
I've looked into your feeding, there's not much empirical data available but the good news is that there is no negative anecdotal feedback either. If there are serious problems with any product, it tends to quickly manifest itself in one of the several forums I'm active in across the world. So no news is good news as they say.
Frozen foods are inherently high in phosphates as you know but that can be largely mitigated by thorough rinsing in RODI, as you already do. But before we move on from foods, may I ask why you feed those particular things (perhaps list them again here for the benefit of others)?
There's no reason you shouldn't, the only reason I ask is because of observations on my own tank and they may have no bearing on yours. Still, I'm lucky enough that on weekdays I can sit and study my fish as they eat, for hours if I wish.
Over the last year I've experimented with frozen & live blackworms, frozen and live brine shrimp (both adult and nauplii), frozen and live daphnia, frozen lobster eggs, frozen & live mysis shrimp, frozen cyclops & frozen zooplankton. Yep, too much time on my hands. :)
In my own tank I've observed the following feeding behaviour (the kids' named each fish and it stuck):
So all my fish regardless of labels like carnivore or herbivore, pretty much share the same preferences. It could be argued that my feeding regime has conditioned them that way but frankly I doubt it. They get way too much variety and their feeding is so erratic both in frequency and quantity, that I doubt any conditioning is possible. Some days I don't feed at all (deliberately), some days I feed several times. Sometimes I feed just enough, sometimes I'll dump 4 cubes in at once.*
Based on these observations, when I resurrect the display tank and start transferring my fish back over (around xmas - after 6 months approx cycling), I will cease to feed all forms of fine frozen foods such as lobster eggs & BBS (nauplii). I'll also cease feeding all forms of frozen shrimp, there's not much protein in adult feeder shrimp anyway - alive or dead. The old version of the DT was deliberately high nutrient and that's a hard slog to maintain. The new version will aim for low nutrients as I'll eventually try SPS corals and frankly, all those foods that I'm now abandoning, weren't really directly feeding anything. I'm wondering if it's similar in your tank - either way it should be eliminated as a potential cause.
Those other foods were contributing to the particulate matter in the food column but my barring two very specialised corals, none of my corals needed it as they get fed with reefroids, amino acids & my homemade mix. So hopefully I've given you something to think about, then we'll cross foods off the list and move on.
Did you test your RODI and possible container leeching yet? Both unlikely but need to be ticked off.
Also Susan, by the time this eventuates I hope you'll have no need of it, but I'm saving and late this year I'm hoping to purchase a professional laboratory grade nitrate testing unit. It will be capable of accurately measuring nitrates to within 4 decimal points with a proven accuracy of within 0.001 +/- parts per million. That will settle a few questions and I expect (health allowing) to be inviting people to send me water samples to compare with their readings from various test kits.
If the results are significant, I'll try to replicate them with a view to publishing the results.
*High nutrient tank. I don't keep tangs or anthias that require more precise feeding.
Sorry Susan, our threads on nitrates seem to have scattered all over the place so we'll continue working through it here if that's ok? Also this strays a little off topic but may be relevant to you.
I've looked into your feeding, there's not much empirical data available but the good news is that there is no negative anecdotal feedback either. If there are serious problems with any product, it tends to quickly manifest itself in one of the several forums I'm active in across the world. So no news is good news as they say.
Frozen foods are inherently high in phosphates as you know but that can be largely mitigated by thorough rinsing in RODI, as you already do. But before we move on from foods, may I ask why you feed those particular things (perhaps list them again here for the benefit of others)?
There's no reason you shouldn't, the only reason I ask is because of observations on my own tank and they may have no bearing on yours. Still, I'm lucky enough that on weekdays I can sit and study my fish as they eat, for hours if I wish.
Over the last year I've experimented with frozen & live blackworms, frozen and live brine shrimp (both adult and nauplii), frozen and live daphnia, frozen lobster eggs, frozen & live mysis shrimp, frozen cyclops & frozen zooplankton. Yep, too much time on my hands. :)
In my own tank I've observed the following feeding behaviour (the kids' named each fish and it stuck):
- Black Sailfin Blenny (obligate herbivore) - 'Dracula' is really more of an omnivore however the obligate herbivore title is accurate. He will eat almost anything and never stops picking at rocks and glass but given the right foods and he's at the surface battling for his share. He only shows real interest in my homemade mix, blackworms and brine shrimp, although he's not fast enough to catch many live shrimp. He also enjoys pellets and flakes. He's not much interested in mysis or any fine stuff like lobster eggs or daphnia.
- PJ Cardinals (carnivore) - B1 & B2 happily eat pellets and to a lesser degree flakes, despite being carnivores. They prefer all the same live and frozen foods as Dracula barring frozen adult brine shrimp, in fact they don't like large shrimp much and only eat it when really hungry. They too are largely disinterested in fine foods.
- Blue/Green Chromis (omnivore) - The 'Green Lanterns' pretty much the same as the PJ's.
- Royal Dottyback (carnivore) - 'Flash' is again, pretty similar to the PJ's although a much more aggressive eater.
- Ocellaris Clowns (omnivore) - Nemo & Marlin are the most aggressive feeders in the tank but their preferences are also like the PJ's.
- Bangaii Cardinals (carnivore) - Casper & Spook rarely take vegetable matter but as far as meaty foods go, yep same as the PJ's.
So all my fish regardless of labels like carnivore or herbivore, pretty much share the same preferences. It could be argued that my feeding regime has conditioned them that way but frankly I doubt it. They get way too much variety and their feeding is so erratic both in frequency and quantity, that I doubt any conditioning is possible. Some days I don't feed at all (deliberately), some days I feed several times. Sometimes I feed just enough, sometimes I'll dump 4 cubes in at once.*
Based on these observations, when I resurrect the display tank and start transferring my fish back over (around xmas - after 6 months approx cycling), I will cease to feed all forms of fine frozen foods such as lobster eggs & BBS (nauplii). I'll also cease feeding all forms of frozen shrimp, there's not much protein in adult feeder shrimp anyway - alive or dead. The old version of the DT was deliberately high nutrient and that's a hard slog to maintain. The new version will aim for low nutrients as I'll eventually try SPS corals and frankly, all those foods that I'm now abandoning, weren't really directly feeding anything. I'm wondering if it's similar in your tank - either way it should be eliminated as a potential cause.
Those other foods were contributing to the particulate matter in the food column but my barring two very specialised corals, none of my corals needed it as they get fed with reefroids, amino acids & my homemade mix. So hopefully I've given you something to think about, then we'll cross foods off the list and move on.
Did you test your RODI and possible container leeching yet? Both unlikely but need to be ticked off.
Also Susan, by the time this eventuates I hope you'll have no need of it, but I'm saving and late this year I'm hoping to purchase a professional laboratory grade nitrate testing unit. It will be capable of accurately measuring nitrates to within 4 decimal points with a proven accuracy of within 0.001 +/- parts per million. That will settle a few questions and I expect (health allowing) to be inviting people to send me water samples to compare with their readings from various test kits.
If the results are significant, I'll try to replicate them with a view to publishing the results.
*High nutrient tank. I don't keep tangs or anthias that require more precise feeding.
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