Reef Discussion
It's a beautiful thing :)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/3/aafeature
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/3/aafeature
Although I had much lower nitrates I did document my nopox journey
http://thereefuge.com/threads/redsea-no3po4x-the-journey-to-sps-heaven-starts.8268/
and 2 1/2 years later and Im still dosing. I find it very cheap as a $25.00 bottle lasts >5 months
http://thereefuge.com/threads/redsea-no3po4x-the-journey-to-sps-heaven-starts.8268/
and 2 1/2 years later and Im still dosing. I find it very cheap as a $25.00 bottle lasts >5 months
I have the same aquarium as you @Susan Bates. I have discovered a few things that worked for me...
*suction out the overflow compartment as a layer of mud gathers easily down the back and this can be a nitrate pit.
*thin your sand so it can't amass mulm and detritus. I am actually starting to think about removing more sand. Mine is maybe an inch deep.
*don't put sand in the sump. I have some marine pure balls, macroalgae and the skimmer. I also use a biopellet reactor.
*filter socks. I firmly believe that using filter socks under the blue outlet pipe in the sump is why I finally got to keeping SPS alive. I rotate 4 or 5 bags throughout the week. I replace them when they clog up and overflow obviously. Then I rinse them out and soak them in a bucket of bleach and water that lives in the laundry. They catch all the old food and brown scunge that is suspended in the water column. If I don't use them, I see a difference in the corals within a day. It's a very cheap and effective way to mechanically remove water pollution.
*suction out the overflow compartment as a layer of mud gathers easily down the back and this can be a nitrate pit.
*thin your sand so it can't amass mulm and detritus. I am actually starting to think about removing more sand. Mine is maybe an inch deep.
*don't put sand in the sump. I have some marine pure balls, macroalgae and the skimmer. I also use a biopellet reactor.
*filter socks. I firmly believe that using filter socks under the blue outlet pipe in the sump is why I finally got to keeping SPS alive. I rotate 4 or 5 bags throughout the week. I replace them when they clog up and overflow obviously. Then I rinse them out and soak them in a bucket of bleach and water that lives in the laundry. They catch all the old food and brown scunge that is suspended in the water column. If I don't use them, I see a difference in the corals within a day. It's a very cheap and effective way to mechanically remove water pollution.
Hi Susan,
Be aware that the nitrate test kits are intended to be low range test kits, therefore they are all notoriously unreliable at anything above 20 ppm. You may not be able to identify any reduction until you hit the low range.
Also with your feeding schedule, do you feed all at once or across the day, also do you cut flow to the sump during feeding?
Be aware that the nitrate test kits are intended to be low range test kits, therefore they are all notoriously unreliable at anything above 20 ppm. You may not be able to identify any reduction until you hit the low range.
Also with your feeding schedule, do you feed all at once or across the day, also do you cut flow to the sump during feeding?
Oh! My highest ever nitrate reading was 80ppm, I got down to something like 20 before I started filter socks and the reactor and now I am undetectable.
I would suggest tracking down Prodibio bacteria at a decent LFS - I can't remember the dose, could have been a vial per week.
This will inoculate the tank with bacteria which will in turn reduce nitrate and phosphate as you dose Nopox
The other alternative is to get a bottle of Zeobac 50ml and ZeoStart 250ml
Dose these as instructed on the bottle.
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