Sources of nitrates

I have a 29 gal w/ sump that I hope to build into a reef tank. Currently
home to 1 longnose hawkfish, 1 maroon clown, a small rock w/mushrooms,
and cleaning crew.

I think the biggest cause of nitrates in this setup has turned out to be
crud, as in bits of crud that hang up and then sit and rot. The tank has
looked very good since I have been eliminating places that crud can build
up. No nuisance algae, and lots of bright purple coralline.

The nitrates have still been hanging around 20 ppm. I then realized there
was one more place to look. The hose leading from my overflow is the
flexible ribbed plastic hose. I suspected that this could be a refuge for
crud and changed out the hose. When I cut open the old hose, sure enough,
there was a layer of gunk along the length of the hose. Nice and moist
and goopy.

Hopefully, between regular water changes and the dsb, I'll begin to see
some progress on the nitrates.


Mark

All I have to do is look at my tank and the nitrates go up.....
"Mark Cooper" wrote in message
.. .
I have a 29 gal w/ sump that I hope to build into a reef tank. Currently
home to 1 longnose hawkfish, 1 maroon clown, a small rock w/mushrooms,
and cleaning crew.

I think the biggest cause of nitrates in this setup has turned out to be
crud, as in bits of crud that hang up and then sit and rot. The tank has
looked very good since I have been eliminating places that crud can build
up. No nuisance algae, and lots of bright purple coralline.

The nitrates have still been hanging around 20 ppm. I then realized there
was one more place to look. The hose leading from my overflow is the
flexible ribbed plastic hose. I suspected that this could be a refuge for
crud and changed out the hose. When I cut open the old hose, sure enough,
there was a layer of gunk along the length of the hose. Nice and moist
and goopy.

Hopefully, between regular water changes and the dsb, I'll begin to see
some progress on the nitrates.


Mark