Protein Skimmer

[cheapfish1]

Hey will protein skimmer help to stop my ever increasing nitrate problem? I realize water changes are really the only things i can do to bring them down. but will adding a protein skimmer help to keep them down.
Also is the aquac remore worth the 50 bucks more or should i just get the cpr bakpak2. Also could i put chaeto in the part of the skimmer where the biobale is?

 

[27mtaylor]

A skimmer should take a lot of waste out of the water before it has a chance to go through the cycle and become nitrate. So to answer your question, yes it should help reduce your nitrates. But.... if you have crushed coral like me, it is going to be a tough battle!

 

[speg]

It will 'help' for sure. It's not going to cure the whole problem though.
We can talk about your nitrates if you'd like
Also I have a AquaC.. and its very very fantabulous. I dont have the bakpak... but i've never heard any happy customers reporting about them like I have the AquaC

 

[yosemite sam]

Originally Posted by cheapfish1
I realize water changes are really the only things i can do to bring them down.
If you want to bring nitrates under control, you have to know why they are high. How big a tank do you have? What all is in it: fish, corals, etc? What sort of substrate do you have? Do you use RO/DI water?

 

[cheapfish1]

i know why they are high but it seems like a huge huge deal to change and i like the look better. Its crushed coral with an undergravel filter. if i switch to live sand tho will i have to recycle my tank?
o and speg what would you like to discuss

 

[murph]

Since your tank is only 29 gallons a substrate change would not really be as difficult as you think. Assuming your UG is two separate plates here is how I would go about it over the course of time with little or no disruption to your biological filtration.
If you take the large end off your gravel siphon you will find that the CC will come up through the tube with the water when you siphon off for water changes. Work on one half of the tank at a time and do a couple water changes a week pulling off as much CC with the change as possible. Eventually you will be down to the UG plate on one half of the tank. Move any rock to the other half of the tank pull off the remaining CC, remove that half of the UG plate. Fill that half with well rinsed argonite sand. You do not have to use LS. Unless you have something that needs a home in the sand I would use no more than an inch/inch and a half. This time place what rock you want on that half of the tank first and fill in around it with your sand.
Repeat the process on the other half of the tank. The whole process could take a couple months depending on how many water changes you do per week but when you are through you most likely will have knocked down your nitrates with the water changes and also have removed the source of them.
You can also use a biowheel type HOB filter while doing this. The biowheel will host enough bacteria to maintain your bio filtration as you make the changes to the tank. Good luck.
By the way once you get use to the look/idea of sand substrate I think you will like the look of it much more than the CC. I know for a fact all the creatures in your tank will prefer it.