Denitrator

[civi1ian]

Does anyone have any experience with denitrators? I've been doing weekly water changes to keep my nitrate levels in check. This is becoming quite a chore and so I'm searching for another way to curtail my nitrates. Please share your thoughts/experiences. Thanks.

 

[Leslie]

You should continue with the weekly water changes. It's the healthiest thing you can do for your fish and they'll appreciate you for it. How big is your tank and how much of a water change are you doing weekly?

 

[civi1ian]

I have a 65 gallon tank and I'm changing 25 to 30% of the water weekly. I read someplace that the disruption to the tank caused by frequent water changes cause the fish stress. I don't mind the work of water changes much but really just want to do what's best for the fish. I thought it might be better for them to do water changes every other or every third week and find another way to deal with the nitrate issue.

 

[Leslie]

Weekly water changes seem to be pretty much the standard. It sounds like you're already doing the best for your fish !

 

[steelhealr]

cili1ian......you're doin' OK. I have a 46G FW tank that is at the limits of stocking from my inexperienced newb days. My nitrates run high and I do the same as you.....large weekly water changes on the order of 30% or even more. My tank is going on 2 years now and I haven't lost a fish in quite some time. I have no algae. My lie plants are doing great. All fish are healthy and growing.

Someday someone will design an inexpensive 'nitrate vacuum' and become millionaires. There are options in SW tanks, but, IMO, WC's are the WTG with FW. SH

 

[k.o.d]

There are several methods of denitration for freshwater but none of them beats water changes for remineralisation and freshening up the tank water. Planted tanks remove a lot of nitrogenous waste too.

There are rechargeable absorption media such as nitra-zorb that will remove nitrate and then can be recharged and used again ( good for smallish tanks )
Polyfilter will absorb organics and nitrate plus lots of other contaminants and is good stuff, but is expensive
There are sulphur and alcohol based denitrators that work on a really slow flowrate ( 10 lph ) and allowing the media to become anaerobic.
You can make your own nitrate remover by utilising a canister and putting a really slow flow through it, ( look on the web, there are lots of DIY methods )

There are downsides to these type of nitrate filters ( highly acid output / production of hydrogen sulphide )

I change 40% of the water on my large tanks every 2nd day and I dont see any stress on the fish to be honest, but the water is preheated and is RO/HMA filtered

Steve

 

[steelhealr]

Good reply. TBH tho', I don't believe that NitraZorb doesn anything significant to bring nitrate levels down at a rate one can appreciate. SH

 

[civi1ian]

Thanks for your replies! I really just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing and that there wasn't some easier way. I was thinking of getting a Korallin BioDenitrator. After reading about denitrators it seems the possibility of introducing some other contaminent (as Steve also pointed out) makes it not worth while. For now I'll stick with the weekly water changes until someone invents that "inexpensive nitrate vacuum." Thanks for your help.