Ken wrote:

Hey Glenn,
Are the elevated Nitrates causing any problems? If your tank is
looking good and everything is thriving I would leave it as it is.
Doing 20-30 gallon per month water change is not that usual, I read
and personally do 25% water change per month and you are doing 25-30%.
From experience if you turn your undergravel off you will want to
remove it as soon as you can. You will not believe the crap that is
under it. When I removed mine (55gal hex) I took out all the rock and
live stock. Next I saved as much of the tank water as possible and
threw out everything else. After taking the UG filter I cleaned the
entire tank, carefully added the new live sand, rocks and original
water I had saved. It was a lot of work but it was worth it and the
tank looked much better.
But like i said if everything is looking good, and the nitrates are
not causing any problems you may want to hold off on the hassle.

Ken D


Glenn Serpas wrote in message
om...
I've been thinking of changing the filtration in my 75 gallon FOWLR tank
to the Berlin method. Water tests indicate my tank has 0 ppm ammonia and
nitrite. However, Nitrate hovers around 40 ppm. To maintain nitrates at
that level requires I change 20 - 30 gallons of water per month.

Currently I use Under Gravel Filtration as the primary biological filter.
A medium sized canister filter is also used, but is used for chemical
(active carbon) filtration only. In an effort to reduce nitrates, I
installed a Aqua C Remora protein skimmer. However, it only produces 1/4
inch of waste in the collection cup every 2 - 3 days. I think this is due
to the efficiency of my UnderGravel filter.

Given my setup (live stock is listed below), should I switch to the
Berlin method? If so, what is the best way to switch over to the Berlin
Method? I was thinking about turning the UG filter off. The protein
skimmer and live rock/sand would be the primary source of water
filtration. The protein skimmer might skim enough waste from the water
along with the live rock
filtration, to support my live stock. I would then remove the UG filter,
replace the crushed coral with 1" of live sand(For the Wrasse). If
necessary, I could add some more live or base rock.

Live Stock:
1 - Dragon Wrasse
1 - Yellow Tang
1 - Coral Beauty
1 - Bi-Color Damsel
1 - Yellow Tail Blue Damsel
6 - Hermit Crabs
85 lbs of live rock. ( 1/2 of it was originally Base rock a year ago)
Many Baby Sand Sifter Star Fish.
Many Tube Worms
Some Sponges Growing on the Live Rock.

Thanks,
Glenn

Thanks for the reply Ken.

The nitrates are not causing problems with my fish. However, I'm
hoping to add a few corals too. Besides, it's almost time to change out
some of the crushed coral. I've had the current substrate for 2.5
years(Fortunately, north Texas has 8.0PH water from the tap). Another big
reason for wanting to change, is how much better tanks look with sand
instead of crushed coral.

When you made your change, how many fish did you have? Did you return them
to the tank as soon as everything settled, or did you have to cycle all
over again? I have no where else to keep mine, besides a trash can and some
rubber containers.

Thanks again..
Glenn