My AMQUEL+ Test....minor Nitrate problem...

[baloo6969]

I picked this up today, and went on here to look for a discussion about AMQUEL+ seems as though eveyone says that it only removes Ammonia, which therefore lowers nitrates, as you will see below, I don’t have a Ammonia problem, in fact my nitrates are lowing naturally, through the use of a DSB/Plenum/Cheto setup. Ammonia/Nitrites are not a problem.
Ok, short story.
I live in a small town in Pennsylvania, and the water quality is very poor. The water that I get in my house is town treated water, Chlorine/Chloramines levels are *untested* however there high enough that after a shower you can smell it in your hair (EVEN AFTER HERBAL ESSENCE!). I always treat the water that goes into my tank with DeClore products. The Nitrate levels are quite high, 55+ on average days out of the tap. This was verified with several test kits, AND a digital meter.
Even with my RODI, the nitrates after mixing with RedSea OR Corallife has NEVER been below 25. The RODI is no more than 3 months old. I thought it was my RO, returned it, and got a new one (diff brand)…still same thing. Thought it was my test kits, NOPE.
My tank has a 4’ DSB with a plenum. I’m also growing Cheto with a 6700k CF bulb above it. The DSB/plenum has been running for about 8 months.
Currently my Nitrates are holding at 20ppm.
I haven’t done a water change in 2 weeks either.
I just made 50 Gallons of RODI water in the bucket the nitrates are at 25. YES! very bad...
Which leads me to the reasons for my test, I want to bring the nitrates to 0…
-NO, I cant do a water change with the RO/DI water I have here, with the info I stated above, you will understand why I cant do this.
-NO, I can’t go get 50gallons of RO/DI water from wallyworld, to far, too much of a pain, not enough ambition.
-YES the DSB/Plenum/Cheto is completing the nitrate cycle, …which is awesome, i can just leave it alone for a few more weeks, and dose weekly/daily...but that wouldent be fun now would it...
So I went today to the LFS, and the gentleman there showed me this AMQUEL+ Plus…I figured why not, it says it will remove 13ppm of nitrates…I hate to do it, but someone’s got to be a guinea pig.
They caution you that the O2 levels can drop, so to avoid any problems I pulled out the cheto…just to lessen the about of 02 being used.
The Instructions say nothing about Skimmers running, so I’m leaving it go. It also says it wont interfear with Carbon.
I’ve toss in an air stone and pump to try to boost the O2 levels, Replaced the filter pads in the Can filter, and in sump. Removed Carbon(even though it says it wont interfere, it’s been in for 3 days...time to change anyway)
I’m dripping the recommended amount in with 2 liters of tank water / 2hours.
After 45mins amost half of the recommended amout is in, I’m noticing the skimmer is producing more wet foam, and the “head” or top of the foam is closer to the top of the skimmer cup....may overflow soon...
No change in color of any fish/corals/inverts, and they seem to be acting normal…
Tomorrow I will retest and post.
Monday night(2 days) I will replace all filter pads, and add new carbon. And retest.
I’m excited to see if this stuff works or not. Anyone else use this on an Established tank?

 

[yosemite sam]

Have you tested the RODI water before adding salt? If your filter is working properly, it should be 0. Have you tried switching salt brands?

 

[baloo6969]

Originally Posted by baloo6969
Even with my RODI, the nitrates after mixing with RedSea OR Corallife has NEVER been below 25. The RODI is no more than 3 months old. I thought it was my RO, returned it, and got a new one (diff brand)…still same thing. Thought it was my test kits, NOPE.
I purchased 3 models, 1 returned...Kent, Corallife, and some other one...
There is a lot of dissolved solids in the water here in NEPA...
The membranes go bad after 3-4 months i hear...people around i've talked to have the same problems...
Yes changing salt brands has been an option…but come on, there 2 very good brands.

 

[maxalmon]

Amquel and similar products, will not remove ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, but they do bind up the molecules of these and other things such as chlorine, chloramine, iodine, and heavy metals, and render them either harmless or at least somewhat less toxic.. It's more or less a conversion and not something you should add to a reef tank unless it a 911 as the problem still exist

 

[maxalmon]

Once again, the actual problem is what needs to be addressed, not tossing in a chemical to try and balance the system

 

[miaheatlvr]

I dont like "QUICK FIXES" as well.. try to find the root of the problems.. Also alot of people here do not like to add anything to their tanks that they cannot test for..

 

[apos]

I thought amquel was for treating tap water, not for RODI filters, which should solve all the problems from tap water right off the bat, no?

 

[maxalmon]

Think of it this way "in order for something to be removed, it has to be removed"
Amquel only masks the problem, it's still there but in another form, drives your skimmer crazy and once again your adding another chemical to the tank and not getting to the root of the problem. way too often reefers want a "quick" fix to solve a problem.
Case point is Steve Weast's ( oregonreef.com ) incredible reef tank, he had a mechanical problem that caused him to lose 200g of water, instead of waiting for the RO tanks to fill up, he used tap water and a declorinator, this caused a cascade effect of killing most of his corals, he even admitts that it was a major mistake because he rushed to solve the problem
If you ask around, anyone who has an established or respected reeftank will tell you that the use of these chemicals are only promoted by LFS or as a last resort to save a crashing tank

 

[baloo6969]

UPDATE!
Ok, well after the first treatment, Nitrates are ~15…slightly above 10, noticeably less than 20.
I’ve noticed that my skimmer pulled some NASTY dark brown, almost black colored gunk.
As usual, ammonia, nitrites, phosphate are undetectable.
I’m going to give it another 12 hours, then start re-dripping another treatment.

[hr]
Time to debunk/support some statements made…
Amquel and similar products, will not remove ammonia, nitrite or nitrate,
Yes! Obviously it has to go somewhere, however the product claims it “removes Nitrates, Nitrites…” This is simply a test…to see the time it takes to lower(as per recommended dosing) in a stable environment, the total amount the nitrate level lowered over this time, and to decide whether this produce is efficient or if toting jugs of water from LFS’s or WALLYworld is better.
I dont like "QUICK FIXES" as well.. try to find the root of the problems
Yes! I must agree, I don’t like quick fixes either. However, as I stated in the first post, the problem is known.
I thought amquel was for treating tap water, not for RODI filters, which should solve all the problems from tap water right off the bat, no?
Yes, AMQUEL is for treating tap water, to remove Chlorine & Chloramines. However, I’m using Kordon’s new(er) produce AMQUEL+ Plus, which states on the front of the bottle “Removes Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia, Chlorine & Chloramines”..
And Yes, the RO “should” remove all nitrates, but the water here is very poor. There are several salt water aquarists in the area who have the SAME problems I have…
Again, I’m doing this test KNOWING what the problem is, the town water is very poor, an my RO unit(the 3rd in 3-4 months) nitrates into the filter range from anywhere from 30 to 120…and the output generally is ~25ppm
in order for something to be removed, it has to be removed"
Completely agree!!!
Steve Weast's incredible reef tank, he had a mechanical problem that caused him to lose 200g of water, instead of waiting for the RO tanks to fill up, he used tap water and a declorinator,
I’ve read about Steve’s problem/mistake, I feel for his loss. However, again, this test is not to try to see how well AMQUEL+ removes chlorine, or compares to other De-Clore products. It’s to see how well, in an established environment, this product can help lower nitrate levels.
If you ask around, anyone who has an established or respected reeftank will tell you that the use of these chemicals
It’s very possible that I will wake up and my un-“respected reeftank” will be a pile of rock and stink of death, however…I’m willing to be a guinea pig, it’s only money and time, hopefully I wont run out of both in the near future.

[hr]
Again, it seems to be working after the first treatment, we will see tomorrow night….

 

[baloo6969]

Another piece on interest, I just took at look at my Algal mat, the sheet tripled in size since Thursday...is very strange (generaly this would take 2.5 weeks to get this size), and may be where the "nitrates" are *going*, along with the dark sludge that is coming out of the skimmer...
I'm very excited to see how this works out...