lowering Nitrate

[Pitch]

Hey guys, I have a 20gal innovative marine thats been up for a little while and its running great. I notice recently my nitrate has started to climb, it started once i switched over to a dry pellet food for a new clown I got. I am thinking about just getting him to eat frozen food as i think the pellets may be the cause of the ride in my nitrates since my fish in the tank dont catch all the pellets. Any other ideas?

 

[RicoReef]

Hey guys, I have a 20gal innovative marine thats been up for a little while and its running great. I notice recently my nitrate has started to climb, it started once i switched over to a dry pellet food for a new clown I got. I am thinking about just getting him to eat frozen food as i think the pellets may be the cause of the ride in my nitrates since my fish in the tank dont catch all the pellets. Any other ideas?

Hey pitch i don't think switching to Frozen would do any help other than bring your i nitrates even higher up I would feed a pinch every 3 days and do a 50% water change every other day until you bring them back down but someone with more years under there belt might have better info

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[Pitch]

Hm okay thank you, I guess my next question would be how often should I be feeding a 20gal tank like this (curently in it is a lightning maroon clow, small goby (forgot the exact name), a small cleaner shrimp, and a pistol shrimp.

 

[Illinijoe]

i feed small portion twice a day. did this in a 12 gallon and currently in a 29 gallon. 2 clowns, a six line and a ywg. I feed pellets and flake. they eat everything up within a minute. i will also feed frozen once or twice a week as a treat and to feed the coral. Nitrates typically were at 10. Im running biopellets and now around 5. I think feeding hte fish more often with smaller amounts are better for the fish vs once a day or every other day.

 

[Pitch]

so on this tank I do not have a skimmer because I have seen mixed reviews on if they are needed for this small of a tank, I have been looking at getting one for it though. (I bring this up because from my understanding when running biopellets you generally need a skimmer but this may not be true it's just what I have read.. I have no experience with biopellets)

 

[Kevin Says]

I would add few hermit crabs and/or nassarius snails to take of uneaten food. And yes, you need a protein skimmer if you want to use biopellets.

 

[Sawdonkey]

I would add few hermit crabs and/or nassarius snails to take of uneaten food. And yes, you need a protein skimmer if you want to use biopellets.

I agree on the skimmer/biopellets. However, wouldn't the nutrients just stay in the system if a crab or snail eats the food? There is no export of nutrients. The crab or snail may build a little body mass from eating the food, but wouldn't most of it just be crapped out by the crab and snail and then just remain in the system? I'm not really a cleanup crew guy. I used to have a bunch of snails, but I don't think I have more than a few left.

With your tank size, I'd recommend just doing a few 50% water changes and do them every other week or so. Or, get an effective skimmer.

 

[beetlenut33]

From what I have read, feeding pellets can definitely contribute to a rise in nitrates. This is because 1 mm pellets are a minimum of 37% crude protein. Any pellets that fall to the bottom and remain uneaten will be excess nutrients likely converted to nitrate.

If you were to switch to frozen food (which I recommend), mysis shrimp are a minimum of 10.5% crude protein. Mysis shrimp is less nutrient dense than pellets, so they will not raise your nitrates as quickly as pellets would.

I have had a 16 gallon Innovative Marine for 3 years, and the key to my success is 5 gallon water changes with RO water every two weeks. I have had excellent growth from zoas, LPS and even SPS. You don't need a skimmer or bio pellets to reduce nitrates on nano tanks, water changes should reduce them.

 

[Pitch]

From what I have read, feeding pellets can definitely contribute to a rise in nitrates. This is because 1 mm pellets are a minimum of 37% crude protein. Any pellets that fall to the bottom and remain uneaten will be excess nutrients likely converted to nitrate.

If you were to switch to frozen food (which I recommend), mysis shrimp are a minimum of 10.5% crude protein. Mysis shrimp is less nutrient dense than pellets, so they will not raise your nitrates as quickly as pellets would.

I have had a 16 gallon Innovative Marine for 3 years, and the key to my success is 5 gallon water changes with RO water every two weeks. I have had excellent growth from zoas, LPS and even SPS. You don't need a skimmer or bio pellets to reduce nitrates on nano tanks, water changes should reduce them.

This is also what I thought about pellets and why I wanted to see what everyone else thought. I have currently switched back to frozen food for now to see how that affects it. Everyone in the tank happily eats the frozen food so I'm going to do that and the water changes and see how it goes!

 

[wrasse]

Do You have RODI?
I agree with Sawdonkey. with a tank that size you can do water changes easily as long as you have a quick source of water.

I agree on the skimmer/biopellets. However, wouldn't the nutrients just stay in the system if a crab or snail eats the food? There is no export of nutrients. The crab or snail may build a little body mass from eating the food, but wouldn't most of it just be crapped out by the crab and snail and then just remain in the system? I'm not really a cleanup crew guy. I used to have a bunch of snails, but I don't think I have more than a few left.

With your tank size, I'd recommend just doing a few 50% water changes and do them every other week or so. Or, get an effective skimmer.

Is this your only tank?