i have a nitrate problem

[Kyuss]

get rid of that filter, that or change/clean it out very two days or so. Please think about upgrading tank size as a 55 is way too small for a regal.

[Geoff]

Originally Posted by [WDT]TardFarmer

get rid of that filter, that or change/clean it out very two days or so.

Bingo! get rid of the canister filter unless you want to clean it every day. if not than only use for a couple of hours after a water change to remove any suspended detritus from when you cleaned your sand bed, you are cleaning your sand aren't you?

any mechanical filter will increase your nitrates, this is what they do best. they create the perfect environment for the bacteria that convert nitrites to nitrate. if you have a wet/dry with bioballs, or a biowheel filter these will also increase your nitrate levels. even filter socks if not changed daily will harbor the nitrate producing bacteria.

the only filtration you really need for a salt water system is a skimmer. that and some weekly detrital removal is all that is really needed to support a reef system.

G~

[YeeHawReefer]

For the record, he stated that he has an Emperor 400, its a large biowheel hang on power filter, so even worse than a canister IMO, for S/W at least.

[harlequin29]

dual biowheel system- perfect for harboring bacteria that would love to be in the live rock.

[jenglish]

The emperor can be used for SW if you remove the biowheels and just use 4 filter baskets full of carbon that you change out every week. A month is way too long to run any mechanical filter in a reeftank. I will run an occasional mechanical filter on my tank for an hour or 2 but thats about it.

[flamehawk]

The solution to pollution is dilution, ie water changes. DSB, macroalgea, larger ouput than imput of organics is what you want.

But water changes dont always bring down nitrates low enough. If you do a 20% water change, your nitrates will go down by 20% but that is assuming than no nitrates are produced after the water change, Water changes to bring down high nitrates level are costly if you dont decrease production of nitrates in the first place.

HTH, Johnny

[TR 25]

you need cheato algae if thats how you spell it takes nitrates out

[Geoff]

Chaeto does not take nitrates out till the Chaeto is removed from the system. until that point the nitrates are still in the system and can be released back in the water column if anything were to happen to the Chaeto.

the solution to the pollution is not dilution. at this point it is to late. the solution is removal of the source of the pollution. siphon out all detritus every week when you do water changes. make sure your skimmer is clean. if you have any mechanical filter it needs to be cleaned thoroughly weekly. anything that traps detritus is a source of nitrates and phosphates, this includes filter socks.

G~