Nitrates Su/§!

[Mixed Reefer]

So just started Reef Moonshine method , I’m three weeks in. Within two weeks without water changes I’ve seen my nitrates go up 10ppm. It’s my worst parameter always! Lol. Before stopping water changes I was consistently 25 for nitrates. Now I’m hitting 39. My tank is a mixed reef with a bunch of SPS. THE Tanks doing well, I know most would say don’t worry about it but I’m the guy who’s chasing that last bit of color. My nitrate goal would be 20ppm. I could be happy at this level. Tank is rock solid with everything else parameter wise, but I like to feed my fish. Yes all 16 fish are well fed in my 112 gallon system. I’ve definitely cut back on feeding in the last couple of weeks but still see the nitrates increasing. I don’t want to use chemicals, natural ways are my go to. My maintenance is rock solid with everything I can think of. I change skimmer socks every couple of days. I use a pax reactor for chaeto and harvest every week to two. More like weekly now that I’m on the shine. I have a scrubber that I scrub every week. Tonight I rinsed my frozen food with rodi water which made a big difference in water quality. The water was so clear! Hopefully in some time I will see some kind of positive nitrate result from this. I just ordered a bunch of cleanup crew to help the fight. There’s nothing else to clean lol. So I’m looking at food. For my 16 fish they are healthy and always look so hungry, right?! But they are given one and a quarter blocks of frozen food. They eat it under a minute and a half. During the day I feed nori, probably a sheet a day. Again these fish will devour this very quickly. Probably under five minutes due to the contraption it is fed in. I feed this twice throughout the day. Am I feeding two much? Would you suggest any maintenance or equipment? What worked for you? Any tips? Thanks
Nitrate 40
Phosphate.03-.06
Calcium 440
Alkalinity 9.3
Magnesium 1400
Here’s some equipment and maintenance that I do
Algae scrubber/ pax bellum reactor/ socks ever two days / vacuume sand weekly/ turkey baste rock daily/ scrape glass everyday

 

[Cpage101]

I wish I had 40ppm NO3

 

[Mixed Reefer]

I wish I had 40ppm NO3View attachment 189660

You have to move that decimal to the left a couple of times. Lol

 

[Cpage101]

You have to move that decimal to the left a couple of times. Lol

lol

 

[MarkSzy]

I can’t help with the moonshiners system but the real question is are your fish and corals happy? I have been fighting a high phosphate level but my corals are growing and fish are happy so I’m not fighting it to hard. You might be fighting a fight that’s not worth it, chasing numbers can drive you crazy. JMO

 

[thrillreefer]

How do I get nitrates up?? Been feeding multiple times a day (mostly frozen) and not heavy on water changes. 4 medium fish in a 50 gal. But NO3 always near zero. No refugium, dosing phyto daily.

 

[Chris A.]

Try using some pond matrix from seachem. It will help break down the nitrogen cycle better and reduce your no3. If you really want to take it down try vodka dosing.
I have no fuge and have to dose both nitrate and phosphate to keep nutrients from bottoming out. I also have a small fish load.
Also you can do water changes on the shine but you’ll need to correct for elements again.

 

[Chris A.]

One more thing, clams are nitrate sponges.

 

[Mixed Reefer]

One more thing, clams are nitrate sponges.

Yeah hear that. My copperband and wrasses would enjoy a clam lol.

 

[Mixed Reefer]

Try using some pond matrix from seachem. It will help break down the nitrogen cycle better and reduce your no3. If you really want to take it down try vodka dosing.
I have no fuge and have to dose both nitrate and phosphate to keep nutrients from bottoming out. I also have a small fish load.
Also you can do water changes on the shine but you’ll need to correct for elements again.

I have brightwell brick in sump. You think the matrix would make a difference? I’ve heard about using this before

 

[Chris A.]

Pretty much the same concept except the matrix doesn’t break down like the bio bricks. If you have sand in your sump you could get some cleaner clams. They don’t need light.

 

[Mixed Reefer]

I can’t help with the moonshiners system but the real question is are your fish and corals happy? I have been fighting a high phosphate level but my corals are growing and fish are happy so I’m not fighting it to hard. You might be fighting a fight that’s not worth it, chasing numbers can drive you crazy. JMO

I’ll be honest tank looks great but not happy with color. Always had high nitrates would love to see them in check.it’s been an ongoing battle for me. But now with no water changes nitrates are on the rise. I feel that 20-25 nitrates in my tank would be ideal. Not sure if rinsing food will help. We’ll see. One change at a time. Thanks

 

[Mixed Reefer]

How do I get nitrates up?? Been feeding multiple times a day (mostly frozen) and not heavy on water changes. 4 medium fish in a 50 gal. But NO3 always near zero. No refugium, dosing phyto daily.

Let me feed your tank or maybe @Cpage101 lol. No really shut off skimmer maybe pull socks? Not sure what you have for setup.

 

[Mixed Reefer]

Pretty much the same concept except the matrix doesn’t break down like the bio bricks. If you have sand in your sump you could get some cleaner clams. They don’t need light.

Interesting, clams and sand in sump. Not sure if that would work or be a nitrate trap for me. You know what I mean? The brick on the other hand never really noticed a difference

 

[thrillreefer]

Let me feed your tank or maybe @Cpage101 lol. No really shut off skimmer maybe pull socks? Not sure what you have for setup.

Hah I’m down to feed more… maybe I just need more fish! Skimmer is cranking pretty well, pulling out dark brown gunk so maybe that could be the culprit.

 

[Drichards]

Anytime I have dosed good bacteria like microbacter7 my nitrates would go down.

 

[salthobby]

I never tried the moonshiners way but isn't that adding chemicals?

 

[Mixed Reefer]

I never tried the moonshiners way but isn't that adding chemicals?

You basically test using ATI test and then you add each element that your system is lacking. No more water changes needed if you follow program

 

[Mixed Reefer]

Anytime I have dosed good bacteria like microbacter7 my nitrates would go down.

Been there but am tired of buying MB7. That’s not the answer I’m looking for. I’ve stopped adding due to wasting money on it also the plateau I reached while dosing. There’s has to be a better way. Look at all the tanks that are nitrate deficient. Maybe I need more coral

 

[DylanCameron]

Have you tried carbon dosing? Pretty straightforward and easy to set up if you have a spare dosing head. I like the DIY nopox recipe, start SLOW and test nutrients once a week. The bacteria get skimmed out/consumed by corals and this will help with nitrate and phosphate. IMO most cost effective and low effort way to control nutrients. Your phosphate is already on the lower side so you’d have to watch that, but you can play around with the lighting times on your algae reactors as well