Re: De-nitrator project - opinions

[David Sanchez <barbax2@yahoo.com>]

Hi Kelly,

Sounds like you are serious about reducing your
nitrates. Hopefully we can offer some options.
It is unlikely that your fish are too spooked out by
us doing water changes, unless they are not healthy.
For example gill worms and intestinal parasites will
make our fish 'jumpy'. But what is more likely may
just be some uneasiness on our part. I change the
water on my tanks every two days without any
apprehension. However mine is an extreme case and may
not be what is best for you. Most Apisto keepers like
to change their water once a week. And that will serve
to greatly reduce you nitrates. What typ of filtration
are you using? Some are so efficient at it, that they
will produce alot of nitrates. For example I got rid
of my wet dry on my reef tank because it had high
nitrates, now it has changed significantly. What typs
of food are you feeding? Some are very rich [ie: beef
heart] or you may be getting food left over and this
is producing the added waste and thus higher nitrates.

 Though you might find a chemical solution to your
problem, I beleive that in the end nothing will beat
good old water changes. As most old Apisto keeper will
tell you Apisto's really need that 'freash water' to
thrive. The result of 'old water' is the increased'
chance of disease. Good luck to you Kelly.


===
David Sanchez
Casselberry, FL
http://www.mindspring.com/~barbax
barbax2@yahoo.com
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