S
smt91278
Guest
i was curious what is good for keeping nitrate levels down...besides deep sandbed and plants?....spiked off the chart...help
T
thomas712
Guest
First off not overfeeding will help keep nitrates down.
Water changes will also help them go down
A refugium with macro algea (what you call plants) will also assist, some use mangroves.
There are nitrate sponges that I have never used.
The use of RO or RO/DI water makes for a fine start to help keep them down.
The use of a protien skimmer is also recommended
Water changes will also help them go down
A refugium with macro algea (what you call plants) will also assist, some use mangroves.
There are nitrate sponges that I have never used.
The use of RO or RO/DI water makes for a fine start to help keep them down.
The use of a protien skimmer is also recommended
T
thomas712
Guest
What the &%$@#( kind of advice is that Bob 
Are you saying that it doesn't matter what he does that he is doomed to have nitrates and there is nothing that can be done about it. Maybe we should all give up
Are you saying that it doesn't matter what he does that he is doomed to have nitrates and there is nothing that can be done about it. Maybe we should all give up
Y
yae4volcom
Guest
Lmao.......howcome you and kip are so against bob?
jerseysaltwater
Member
I have to speak up. I've tried to not be confrontational, to accept everyones advice / comments / suggestions with politeness and gratitude. I am new to the hobby, but by no means am I stupid or uneducated, and I feel the need to speak up. Bob - please remove your blinders and read what the majority on this board are saying. Hooray for you, you have what you have, and you like it as it is. You shun tried and true logical advice dispensed by the likes of Kip and Thomas, who, in my eyes, are the heart of this community. If you are so closed-minded, you do not belong in a message board environment, because this is the arena for exchanging ideas and enhancing one's aquarium skills. There is too great a chance of a novice being subjected to your convoluted tunnelvision, and I hereby request you begin any of your posts with the following "My views are mine, and mine alone, and fly in the face of logic. Take my advice at your own risk". At least this will help the freshmen here know that there are other sensible solutions to their problems.
jackief1
New Member
ok, i can't stand it anymore! i have sat back and read this crap as long as i can....
bob, what are you trying to do? you spend half your time trying to alienate every knowledgable hobbiest here with your off the wall and antiquated ravings and the other half trying to convince newbies to follow your "i am the plant god" madness and i can only imagine the number of fish that are dying and tanks that are crashing and the folks who are saying "but i did what bob told me to do and i don't understand what i did wrong"!
maybe your theories should make sense, but 15 years has past and many new and proven methods have come and you need to accept those methods and stop this soap box vendetta with those more knowledgable than you are and stop trying to stir up trouble. if you want to do this with your own tank, then so be it, but stop preaching this to newbies and beginners who are having a hard time and want to learn and have a healthy tank and give them a chance to learn the proper, up to date methods and enjoy their tanks from the beginning without going through all the stress you seem dead set on putting everyone on this board through!
also, this is not the old west and calling kip out with this "meet me here" was not only uncalled for but it was juvenile. let go of this and continue your ways if you wish, but keep it to yourself, i think i can speak for quite a few of us here, we are pretty sick of the whole darn thing!
bob, what are you trying to do? you spend half your time trying to alienate every knowledgable hobbiest here with your off the wall and antiquated ravings and the other half trying to convince newbies to follow your "i am the plant god" madness and i can only imagine the number of fish that are dying and tanks that are crashing and the folks who are saying "but i did what bob told me to do and i don't understand what i did wrong"!
maybe your theories should make sense, but 15 years has past and many new and proven methods have come and you need to accept those methods and stop this soap box vendetta with those more knowledgable than you are and stop trying to stir up trouble. if you want to do this with your own tank, then so be it, but stop preaching this to newbies and beginners who are having a hard time and want to learn and have a healthy tank and give them a chance to learn the proper, up to date methods and enjoy their tanks from the beginning without going through all the stress you seem dead set on putting everyone on this board through!
also, this is not the old west and calling kip out with this "meet me here" was not only uncalled for but it was juvenile. let go of this and continue your ways if you wish, but keep it to yourself, i think i can speak for quite a few of us here, we are pretty sick of the whole darn thing!
jerseysaltwater
Member
Jackie! how could you!
buzz
Active Member
Like this!
I too for the most part have kept quiet about this. Bob, I'm sorry. Your advice is off the wall! I have seen the pics you posted of your tank, and yes, I'm sorry, but it DOES look like a lagoon. Why? BECAUSE of your methods of caring for it. MANY, MANY, MANY tanks run with 0 nitrates and clean water, no algea, etc. How? Through tried and tested methods of filtering their tanks properly.
How can you tell someone that nothing they can do will remove nitrates? How can you tell someone to NEVER do water changes? How can you give advice on ANYTHING, and come across like yours is the only way to handle a problem when you can't seem to get a handle on the problems in your own tank?
Are you doing this simply to fuel a debate? Do you enjoy simply getting a rise out of people? STOP IT! Please!!!
I too for the most part have kept quiet about this. Bob, I'm sorry. Your advice is off the wall! I have seen the pics you posted of your tank, and yes, I'm sorry, but it DOES look like a lagoon. Why? BECAUSE of your methods of caring for it. MANY, MANY, MANY tanks run with 0 nitrates and clean water, no algea, etc. How? Through tried and tested methods of filtering their tanks properly.
How can you tell someone that nothing they can do will remove nitrates? How can you tell someone to NEVER do water changes? How can you give advice on ANYTHING, and come across like yours is the only way to handle a problem when you can't seem to get a handle on the problems in your own tank?
Are you doing this simply to fuel a debate? Do you enjoy simply getting a rise out of people? STOP IT! Please!!!
S
sinner's girl
Guest
basically nothing. Even with 10% weekly water changes, your bioload could still result in nitrAtes off the charts.
if you have too many fish for your tank to handle then you'll have to lower the bioload to prevent high nitrites or increase filtering methods...
However, I do not have ugle algae in my 55gl tank and I have lighting. there are ways to prevent/maintain.
smt91278, to answer your question, what Thomas said in first post will help, plus a clean up crew (inverts) will help, they will eat fish waste, algea and left over food. (I wouldn't recomend adding a clean up crew till your Nitrates are down)
Also, do check you test kit as beaslbob suggested. if they expire they don't work right. (found this out first hand the hard way) take a sample to your lfs and have them test it. then figure out why you have high nitrates if you do.
what size tank do you have? what fish/inverts do you have? did the tank cycle? did you do a wc after the cycle? have you added new fish recently? if so, when and how many? (adding too many at a time can also result in high nitrates.) how old is the tank? have you always had high nitrates or is this new?
before you can keep nitrate levels down, you'll have to figure out why they are high in the first place
hth, good luck
if you have too many fish for your tank to handle then you'll have to lower the bioload to prevent high nitrites or increase filtering methods...
However, I do not have ugle algae in my 55gl tank and I have lighting. there are ways to prevent/maintain.
smt91278, to answer your question, what Thomas said in first post will help, plus a clean up crew (inverts) will help, they will eat fish waste, algea and left over food. (I wouldn't recomend adding a clean up crew till your Nitrates are down)
Also, do check you test kit as beaslbob suggested. if they expire they don't work right. (found this out first hand the hard way) take a sample to your lfs and have them test it. then figure out why you have high nitrates if you do.
what size tank do you have? what fish/inverts do you have? did the tank cycle? did you do a wc after the cycle? have you added new fish recently? if so, when and how many? (adding too many at a time can also result in high nitrates.) how old is the tank? have you always had high nitrates or is this new?
before you can keep nitrate levels down, you'll have to figure out why they are high in the first place
hth, good luck
aileena
Member
LMAO ... I thought I was liberal and bad with putting a yellow tang in my 4ft 60g tank and advocating that you can keep clams under the proper vho lighting. All I can say is WOW BOB!!!
I would never speak against waterchanges...even in freshwater tanks water changes are constantly needed. This was especially true when I kept pirhanas.
I would never speak against waterchanges...even in freshwater tanks water changes are constantly needed. This was especially true when I kept pirhanas.
stillfrodo
Member
Looks like Bob made alot of friends here today....Seriously I have seen your advice and it goes against everything I have researched and tried to learn from this board. Basically we have seen your tanks and have seen your water parameters and realistically they aren't that great. I have to agree with Kip and Thomas and the others. I know I'm still a newbie here but I also research everything I do before hand. Even after receiving advice from this board. Other newbies may not do this and take your advice and doom thier tanks. Not only are they losing livestock but they are losing hard earned invested money in thier equiptment and tanks. If your methods work for you hey fine everybody is entitled to thier opinion and you are happy with how your tanks look good for you. But don't give advice to newcomers like you have been and dooming them from the start.
cb
Member
I am fairly new to this hobby and have been reading this board for awhile now. I"m tired of Bob"s contradictive answers
to everyone's posts. I had nitrates off the wall I did a large water change and now do small regular water changes I do mine weekly because it is easier for me, I have not added any MACRO alge to my tank and have reduced my feeding and my Nitrate reading when I tested this morning was 0 so you can achieve this with regular water changes and reducing your feedings and you don't always have to add plant life to accomplish this. It did take me a little while to achieve the 0 reading though.
to everyone's posts. I had nitrates off the wall I did a large water change and now do small regular water changes I do mine weekly because it is easier for me, I have not added any MACRO alge to my tank and have reduced my feeding and my Nitrate reading when I tested this morning was 0 so you can achieve this with regular water changes and reducing your feedings and you don't always have to add plant life to accomplish this. It did take me a little while to achieve the 0 reading though.
mebigloser
Member
You guys every thing he might say crap like that just to get you started, if you stop flaming on him and just give correct advice to the person asking the questions, I am sure he will slowly fade away.
lionstorm
Member
I have to agree with mebigloser, flaming bob does nothing. He's entitled to his opinion on the board just like everyone else.
Considering that there really isn't a sure way to get rid of nitrates that works everytime there are no real cures for nitrates, just suggestions of things you can do to try to control them, sometimes the tricks work and sometimes they don't. Bob is testifying as someone who did not have success, while other people have had success.
But flaming gets no where and certainly doesn't help smt get their nitrates down.
Considering that there really isn't a sure way to get rid of nitrates that works everytime there are no real cures for nitrates, just suggestions of things you can do to try to control them, sometimes the tricks work and sometimes they don't. Bob is testifying as someone who did not have success, while other people have had success.
But flaming gets no where and certainly doesn't help smt get their nitrates down.
reefnut
Active Member
Bob is testifying as someone who did not have success, while other people have had success.
This is the problem. He is NOT testifying as someone who did not have success nor has he ever admitted that his methods do not work.
I'm sure everyone is following this Soap Opera fairly closely and if you are then you are sure to see how he tries to mislead people (intensionally or unintentionally) several people have made friendly suggestions to Bob on improving his own system and suggestions on advise he should not be giving. He continues to give misleading and incorrect information at no remorse. People are flaming him because everyone has given up, there is nothing left to do other than discredit him as a valuable source of information.
austinreef
Member
Guys and Gals,
Bob posted pics of his tank, so anyone with a brain should be able to figure out what route they want to take. Hell, just look at the pics on the photography forum. Bob has his ways, and others have theirs. I'm an old school guy myself, but I'm also willing to embrace change and I'm glad I did. Thanks for all of your help on this board.
Bob posted pics of his tank, so anyone with a brain should be able to figure out what route they want to take. Hell, just look at the pics on the photography forum. Bob has his ways, and others have theirs. I'm an old school guy myself, but I'm also willing to embrace change and I'm glad I did. Thanks for all of your help on this board.