Canister filter help HIGH NITRATES!

[gobyguy]

hi all, i have a 90 gallon with no room for a sump.  been using a fluval 405 and just added a reef octopus bh-2000 hob skimmer.  I have been having high nitrates at 40ppm and have been trying large (10 gallon) water changes.  I have now cleaned all the bio media and added carbon instead of sponges.  Can anyone offer any other advice?  should I turn it off completely is the live rock and hob skimmer enough?  what about a hob refugium also by reef octopus?  I have also just today started the vodka dosing method as seen here http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php
also would a UV sterilizer help?  Please help!!!

 

[jones02]

Get rid of the canister filter? There's no reason for it. U have a skimmer,n maybe thinnk of a HOB fuge. Water changes

 

[TORX]

Get rid of the canister filter? There's no reason for it. U have a skimmer,n maybe think of a HOB fuge. Water changes

+1 Canister is for fish only tanks IMO. If you are looking to keep live coral, then a HOB fuge would be something to look into.

Also

What are you changing your water with? Conditioned tap? RO? RO/DI? Where from etc etc. Also, if it is 40ppm, I can not imagine that any change would affect it too much all at once.

 

[harleymike]

Im using canister. Took out the bio balls and put in some phosphate removing sponges. I clean mine every week.

 

[pulpfiction1]

at 40ppm id be doing 20% water changes weekly until under control,a canister with live rock rubble and a floss or foam filter should work OK,but just OK, with water changes,service the canister to clean the foam filters or replace floss regularly,you can also put carbon,GFO in filter bags inside the canister as well but a HOB fuge is a great idea,i didn't look to see if you had any pics of your setup but keep 1-2 lbs of rock per gallon if you not using a sump with massive flow in the tank to prevent dead spots

JMO

 

[gobyguy]

thanks all...does anyone have experience or heard good luck with hob fuges?  seen a reef octopus one with light.  Harley Mike I see you still need lights. check out the aquaticlife t5 systems they are awesome and have built in timers.

 

[gobyguy]

oh sorry i missed the water change part.  I use RO DI from the strathroy water source guy or from sealife.

 

[nitro069]

Have you checked the quality of water from either store? I'm sure it's ok but you never know. Also, i may have missed this but how long has your system been up and running

 

[gobyguy]

Hi Mike,  no I have never thought to test there water but I will do so today.  Also here's the new plan.  I am today removing all biomax from the fluval it will only run carbon and adding seachem nitrate remover (similar to chemipure which they were out of) and a hob aquaclear 70 with nothing but carbon and the seachem.  then doing a 20 gallon water change.  Once all done and I see the nitrates are staying down I will either keep the canister with just carbon and nitrate remover or remove the canister altogether.  Any feedback on these solutions?  Oh I will also remove all the sponges from the hob reef octopus I don't think they are necessary but I emailed them just in case.

 

[pulpfiction1]

with what your going to run in the canister there is no need to take it off line

 

[nitro069]

Oh I will also remove all the sponges from the hob reef octopus I don't think they are necessary but I emailed them just in case.

I had a hob reef octopus and left the sponges in. found they helped remove to bubbles a bit. didn't find them to collect much stuff either. found mostly worms in there when i removed it from system.

before i had my new tank/sump setup i used to run my reef octopus and an aquaclear hob filter with a blue sponge/carbon filter pad and found it to work great.

I was running with a fluval 405 with stock media for about 6 month with no negative effects( regular maintenance is key)

Have you recently stirred up the substrate at all? if it is used and you stirred it up that could cause some issues too.

 

[harleymike]

I would keep the canister. Just make sure you clean it at least every two weeks.
I dont think you need the hang on the back, as long as you have lots of live rock and the canister can help with mech. filtration.
mike

 

[nitro069]

If you do keep the canister, when u clean it, rinse off the media with the old tank water your taking out. If you clean with fresh water only do a couple sections at a time per clean so your not killing all the bacteria in your media at once

 

[gobyguy]

Ok I tested the RO DI water and all was 0 nitrates.  I tested the water I keep in storage also 0.    this after around 3 I did a 20 gallon water change, added the seachem nitrate remover to the fluval in place of all the bio max ceramic noodles.  Kept carbon in the other 3 chambers.  cleaned the hob skimmer (which has been doing a great job).  I just tested now and the nitrates are still at 40!  Should I give it a day or two for the water to pass through all the media to see changes or should I have seen some right away?  Thanks once again to all for your help. 

 

[TORX]

Maybe a stupid question...but what kit are you using to test and how high does that test go and/or what incumbents?

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 2

 

[harleymike]

i would think it willl take a little time too come down.
Check again tomorrow.
mike

 

[gobyguy]

API reefmaster kit 0,5,10,20,40,80 ppm.  Add reagents and match up the colour.  I know they are not as accurate as the Hanna's but I know dark orange is bad wether it's 20 or higher.  i thought maybe it was a kit issue but I tested both aquired salter water form lfs and aquired ro di water from water source and neither one changed from the original shade of yellow which indicates 0.

 

[nitro069]

how old/new are your test kits and what kind are they. if they are the quick dip strips or api test solutions, I personally find the colour charts hard to read as the colours from 20-40 are nearly the same and hard to interpret in the test tube.

Did you test the RO/DI water for tds(total dissolved solids) before adding salt??

 

[TORX]

Those numbers are what I was looking for. That jump from 40 to 80 is huge. You could have been at 70 before and 45 now and not seen a change on the test kit.

Give it a day, test again and keep up the water changes and husbandry. Maybe you will soon see the results on the test kit.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 2

 

[gobyguy]

thanks torx.  sorry nitro but I am unfamiliar with tds nor how to test for them?  The kit is very new.  I have had the tank set up for 8 months now I have always had a little nitrate but never this high.  also all zoas have closed right up.