adding 3" to make the dsb - how soon for nitrates to fall?!?

johnnysalt

johnnysalt

Member
Kinda self-explanatory, but here's some info about the tank:
100g tank
1" ls
100# lr
16" of fish
4 NO's (bulbs 2 mo's old) - On 8 hrs/day
sump w/slow gph refugium section -> the caulerpa in the ref. IS slowly dropping the trates...but trates still high...hair algae still growing on sand
tank running for 1 yr
clean-up crew (snails/crabs/stars)
I never overfeed.
What do you guys think? I'm excited about getting to have the 4" dsb....Should I consider it to be a "guarantee" for success with dropping the nitrates to near-zero? (Beyond what I'm already doing, can I "put all my eggs in this basket"?)
How long after adding the dsb did it take for your nitrates to drop? Thanks for your thoughts! :cool:
[ October 27, 2001: Message edited by: JohnnySalt ]
 
adrian

adrian

Active Member
The new sand, of course, is not going to eliminate the trates overnight, Im not sure anyone can tell you how long it will actually take. Never put all your eggs in one basket :) Do you have a skimmer, and are there any other types of filtration on your tank? If you have a skimmer, or the refugium is making up for the lack of one, and you arent running any bio balls or anything similar, and of course your keeping on top of regular maintainence you should be fine. You could speed up the process by seeding the new sand. HTH
 
johnnysalt

johnnysalt

Member
Yeah, my skimmer is shown in my diagram (below) but I forgot to say earlier that I had one. It IS skimming less....first few "collections" were really nasty...skimmate about half as murky now.
What I meant in my question is: After doing everything else (good skimmer, no wet/dry, good refugium/growing caulerpa, good circulation) and after making it a 4" bed (I currently have 1" of ls) is there anything I'm missing with nitrate control? If not, how long should I expect them to drop?
I know....never any hard and fast rules, I preach that to ppl too....just gimme a ballpark idea! :) Thanks in advance for your help, reefers! :cool:
 
@knight

@knight

Member
you have a while to wait before your dsb cycles and matures. The anerobic and aerobic bacterias will need to colonize and balance themselves out. once they get established, you will see the sand releasing nitrogen bubbles, and that will be that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top