phosphates and nitrates

[timmaakestad]

ive been having some troubles with phosphates and nirates. ive reduced my bioload from 7 to 4 fish and use ro water instead of tap that i was using. ive also added some de*nitrate and a phosphate remover to sash bags and tossed them in my filters. i have a 30 gal w 25lbs lr 1 turbo snail, 4 sand sifting snails, assorted hermits, 2 peppermint shrimp, 1 perc, 2 greeen chromis, and 1 fathead anthias. 1 red sea skimmer 1 powerhead and 1 power filter w/ crushed lr. still thee levels maintain around .5 to 1.0 for phosphates and 12.5 to 25 for nitrates. i made these switches about 2 weeks ago. is there anything else i can do? thanks

[MikeS]

These levels may take some time to go down, be paitent...

A few questions...where are you getting your RO water? Have you tested the RO water to make sure it is free of nitrates and phosphates? What kind of substrate are you using?

Your crushed LR in your powerfilter is likely contributing to your nitrate problem...it is converting waste to nitrate faster than it can be delt with by other means, as well as a degree of outcompeteing LR...

Mike

[FishinInTheDark]

You'll also want to up your water changes (with good water), and cut back feeding to a bare minimum. Are you using flake food? That is also a phosphate source.

[Doctor_Reef]

Ditto's what they said!!! :)

[timmaakestad]

i get my water from safeway and no i haven't tested it. if my crushed live rock is making the cycle too fast what should i put in there the carbon/filter media package that was meant for it? biofoam what else can i do that wont cycle so fast and still benifits the aquarium either mechanicaly or biologically.

[MikeS]

I'd test that water, often the grocery RO units don't have the membrane changed often enough. In the long run, purchasing an RO/DI unit is the most economical way to do it, it will pay for itself over time compared to buying RO water elsewhere...

Yeah, the carbon would be a better option, and change it out regularly...try to let your LR in your tank do most of the aerobic filtration for you...no biofoam either...

Mike

[timmaakestad]

how much is an introductory ro/di, what does di mean?, unit cost? why no biofoam

[timmaakestad]

i was looking online at cpr's hang on refugiums. there is a small one about 3 gal. and 13.5 in long that would fit on my 29 gal. along w/ the red sea hang on skimmer i already have. i would be replacing the power filter w/ the refugium in it's place. have any of you heard about hang on refugiums? would it be more beneficial to me to replace the powerfilter w/ the refugium? and also i dont know much about refugiums. i've just heard you grow macro algea in there which helps control nitrates which i am having problems with. make the change y/n and any suggestions would be great thanks to all!

[MikeS]

You don't need to replace the powerfilter....just use carbon and mesh bags, and change them out regularly....

RO/DI units vary greatly in price, anywhere from $100 up for a decent one. It depends on the brand, the design, the GPD rating, ect. I have a SeaChem Pinnacle + 100gpd unit, I love it, but new it'll set you back around $350.

DI stands for Deionization, it's the final stage in the process and removes any stuff the RO unit didn't catch.

MikeS

[timmaakestad]

thanks for all the help mike i'll monitor the levels for a while since ive made the switch thanks again!

[timmaakestad]

hey mike what do you think about refugiums? would they improve water quality much more than just the skimmer and powerfilter

[MikeS]

They can, if you use macroalgae....macroalgae will use some of the phosphate and nitrate, as well as helping outcompete undesireable microalgaes for these nutrients....it is important to be aware, however, that the macroalgae simply "tie up" the nutrients so to speak, they are still in the system and have the potential to be re-released if something goes wrong...also there is a great deal of debate on which macro to use, they have some negatives as well, such as sexual spawning, toxin release, ect...

The best thing to do is to limit the amount of nutrients going into the water by using good RO/DI water, not overstocking and overfeeding, and also to do what you can to remove nutrients before they are processed biologically, by skimming, water changes, carbon, ect....

Mike