lowering nitrate

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johnnymo

New Member
http://www.fish.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=710098

is this a good product that works? I know some products will leach poisons and other wastes back into the tank after they are used up. is this one of them?

And dont worry im not looking for a way to put off water changes. Im a firm believer that water changes are the way to fix anything haha. I just want a way to keep nitrates down in between those water changes.
 
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NanoReefaholic

New Member
There are many options to do this but imo you should be getting to it at the source. If it can't decay it can't go through the cycle and you shouldn't end up with a high level of nitrates. Do you run polyfiber, carbon, and a skimmer?

I know it's not the answer you're looking for but I'm looking at fixing the root of the problem if possible rather than the result.
 
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johnnymo

New Member
no skimmer. I read an article about using a skimmer on small tanks and the cons out weighed the pros (I have a ten gallon). Im not sure what polyfiber is. and Normally i use carbon but i read that it sucks out trace minerals. Thats the only i think i dont like about it. Will molts from inverts cause high nitrates? I leave the molts in the tank but im not sure if that is what causing the nitrates.
 
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KidNano

New Member
most people use macro algae to help keep these levels down. in a ten gallon your water changes should really be taking care of it though. What are your levels and how often are you doing water changes?
 
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NanoReefaholic

New Member
There is alot of pros and cons for each side and a balancing act overall. I run a Tunze on my 12g and wouldn't go without but I could. It's a tool and to each their own but as Cris said water changes should be taking care of it.

Just to add, what are you feeding? Frozen if not rinsed can cause this. How much of a water change do you do when you do them? If you only change out 1G once a month you may not see much of a result.

polyfiber is sometimes called filter floss.
 
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JDSmith

New Member
Nitrates

Rinsing frozen food, that's the first that I have heard that. Why? Please explain and tell how.
 
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NanoReefaholic

New Member
The reason is that the 'liquid' that the food is in is actually full of nutrients which will add to any nitrate problem. Some have preservatives and may contain phosphate that will accumulate in the system. Basically it's about controlling what goes into your system. All you need to do is put some RODI water in a container and let it sit for a few minuets to thaw. After it has thawed strain it with a net and discard the water. I like to use a BBS net to catch the smaller bits so I can feed them to my corals and still have the larger bits to feed the fish.
 
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johnnymo

New Member
i feed a lot of diffrent things. three diffrent types of dry food and three diffrent types of frozen. two small meals a day and i fast my fish two random days of the week. I change around 2-3 gallons a week. my nitrate is at 5 ppm. Im going to try rinseing out the frozen food before i feed my animals. that may be it.
 
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KidNano

New Member
no..... I just learned that your fish need to be fed 2-3 times a day. My LFS threatened to turn me in for animal abuse. :) I guess most people these days deal with over feeding problems by over skimming. who knew?

"fish feed 7 times a day in the wild." how the heck do they know that? :evil:
 
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drty811

New Member
feed daily, but you can fast them once in awhile. what i meant was only feed enough at a time so there isnt food floating around your tank. i feed with a syringe w/ a piece of rigid tubing on the end so that i can get the food where it needs to be. i have four yasha hase gobies and if they where the only fish in the tank, i wouldnt have to feed that at all. they can live off what grows in the tank.
 
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