{"id":183880,"date":"2022-07-18T11:06:22","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T11:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/"},"modified":"2022-07-18T11:06:22","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T11:06:22","slug":"how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I lower nitrates in a reef tank without water change?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy counter-decimal ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"display: none;\"><i class=\"ez-toc-glyphicon ez-toc-icon-toggle\"><\/i><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#How_do_I_lower_nitrates_in_a_reef_tank_without_water_change\" title=\"How do I lower nitrates in a reef tank without water change?\">How do I lower nitrates in a reef tank without water change?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#How_do_you_lower_nitrates_fast\" title=\"How do you lower nitrates fast?\">How do you lower nitrates fast?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#What_consumes_nitrates_in_reef_tank\" title=\"What consumes nitrates in reef tank?\">What consumes nitrates in reef tank?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#How_do_you_remove_nitrates_without_water_changes\" title=\"How do you remove nitrates without water changes?\">How do you remove nitrates without water changes?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#How_do_I_lower_nitrates_without_a_skimmer\" title=\"How do I lower nitrates without a skimmer?\">How do I lower nitrates without a skimmer?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#How_do_I_lower_nitrates_in_my_aquarium_naturally\" title=\"How do I lower nitrates in my aquarium naturally?\">How do I lower nitrates in my aquarium naturally?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#What_is_the_fastest_way_to_reduce_nitrates\" title=\"What is the fastest way to reduce nitrates?\">What is the fastest way to reduce nitrates?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#How_do_I_get_my_nitrate_levels_down\" title=\"How do I get my nitrate levels down?\">How do I get my nitrate levels down?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#What_causes_high_nitrate_in_reef_tank\" title=\"What causes high nitrate in reef tank?\">What causes high nitrate in reef tank?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#How_do_you_keep_nitrates_down_in_a_reef_tank\" title=\"How do you keep nitrates down in a reef tank?\">How do you keep nitrates down in a reef tank?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#What_consumes_nitrate\" title=\"What consumes nitrate?\">What consumes nitrate?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#What_causes_nitrate_in_marine_tank\" title=\"What causes nitrate in marine tank?\">What causes nitrate in marine tank?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#How_do_I_lower_nitrates_without_a_water_change\" title=\"How do I lower nitrates without a water change?\">How do I lower nitrates without a water change?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#What_naturally_removes_nitrates_from_water\" title=\"What naturally removes nitrates from water?\">What naturally removes nitrates from water?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#How_do_you_lower_nitrates_naturally\" title=\"How do you lower nitrates naturally?\">How do you lower nitrates naturally?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#What_is_the_fastest_way_to_lower_nitrates_in_a_reef_tank\" title=\"What is the fastest way to lower nitrates in a reef tank?\">What is the fastest way to lower nitrates in a reef tank?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#Will_nitrates_lower_on_their_own\" title=\"Will nitrates lower on their own?\">Will nitrates lower on their own?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/how-do-i-lower-nitrates-in-a-reef-tank-without-water-change\/#How_do_you_bring_down_nitrates\" title=\"How do you bring down nitrates?\">How do you bring down nitrates?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_lower_nitrates_in_a_reef_tank_without_water_change\"><\/span>How do I lower nitrates in a reef tank without water change?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Water Changes<\/b> Once you have tested your nitrate levels, water changes are the fastest and most efficient way to bring them back down. Although 0 ppm is ideal, levels of 10-20 ppm are generally considered safe for most aquarium fish.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_you_lower_nitrates_fast\"><\/span>How do you lower nitrates fast?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One of my favorite methods of nitrate reduction is a refugium. <b>Macro algae (typically chaetomorpha or caulerpa) growing in the refugium consumes ammonia, nitrates and phosphates as it grows. This naturally reduces your nitrates and phosphates.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_consumes_nitrates_in_reef_tank\"><\/span>What consumes nitrates in reef tank?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Bioballs, biowheels, filter pads, foam blocks  tubes, and under gravel filters all contribute to the production of nitrates. Overfeeding is another cause, and a lack of water changes will be another factor. Nitrates are in the water column, not your substrate or rockwork.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_you_remove_nitrates_without_water_changes\"><\/span>How do you remove nitrates without water changes?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I use <b>distilled white vinegar as a carbon source to feed bacteria. I have also driven nitrate and phosphate down to zero using carbon dosing.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_lower_nitrates_without_a_skimmer\"><\/span>How do I lower nitrates without a skimmer?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>What can we do to aid in the removal of nitrates from the aquarium?<\/b><\/p>\n<li>Add live plants to a freshwater aquarium. Plants naturally utilize nitrate as a nutrient and food.  <\/li>\n<li>Reduce fish population or upgrade to bigger tank.  <\/li>\n<li>Cut back on feeding.  <\/li>\n<li>Use a nitrate remover such as ALGONE.<\/li>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_lower_nitrates_in_my_aquarium_naturally\"><\/span>How do I lower nitrates in my aquarium naturally?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Water changes: <b>Performing regular water changes with water that has little or no nitrate will lower the overall nitrate level in the aquarium. If your local tap or well water is high in nitrate, using deionized water (DI) or reverse osmosis water (RO) can help keep nitrate levels low when doing a water change.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_fastest_way_to_reduce_nitrates\"><\/span>What is the fastest way to reduce nitrates?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Water changes: <b>Performing regular water changes with water that has little or no nitrate will lower the overall nitrate level in the aquarium. If your local tap or well water is high in nitrate, using deionized water (DI) or reverse osmosis water (RO) can help keep nitrate levels low when doing a water change.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_get_my_nitrate_levels_down\"><\/span>How do I get my nitrate levels down?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>What can we do to aid in the removal of nitrates from the aquarium?<\/b><\/p>\n<li>Add live plants to a freshwater aquarium. Plants naturally utilize nitrate as a nutrient and food.  <\/li>\n<li>Reduce fish population or upgrade to bigger tank.  <\/li>\n<li>Cut back on feeding.  <\/li>\n<li>Use a nitrate remover such as ALGONE.<\/li>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_causes_high_nitrate_in_reef_tank\"><\/span>What causes high nitrate in reef tank?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Bioballs, biowheels, filter pads, foam blocks  tubes, and under gravel filters all contribute to the production of nitrates. Overfeeding is another cause, and a lack of water changes will be another factor. Nitrates are in the water column, not your substrate or rockwork.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_you_keep_nitrates_down_in_a_reef_tank\"><\/span>How do you keep nitrates down in a reef tank?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>How to reduce nitrates in a marine tank<\/b><\/p>\n<li>Change the water.  <\/li>\n<li>Use a protein skimmer.  <\/li>\n<li>Improve mechanical filtration.  <\/li>\n<li>Fit an algae refugium.  <\/li>\n<li>Use algae reducing media.  <\/li>\n<li>Go probiotic.  <\/li>\n<li>Feed less, have less fish.<\/li>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_consumes_nitrate\"><\/span>What consumes nitrate?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In nature, nitrates and phosphates are consumed by <b>corals in a 16:1 ratio known as the Redfield Ratio. If there is not enough nitrate, then the good bacteria in the system can&#8217;t effectively consume phosphate, causing phosphate to rise.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_causes_nitrate_in_marine_tank\"><\/span>What causes nitrate in marine tank?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Nitrate is the waste by-product of nitrifying bacteria (Nitrobacter), which develops in the final phase of the nitrogen cycling process. It is what makes an aquarium&#8217;s biological filtration system function and stay in balance.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_lower_nitrates_without_a_water_change\"><\/span>How do I lower nitrates without a water change?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Nitrates can be removed from water by <b>reverse osmosis, distillation, or through ion exchange resin. Nitrates are difficult contaminants to eliminate from water. Nitrates will not be removed by sediment filters, carbon filters, or by the hollow fiber membrane of an ultrafiltration system.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_naturally_removes_nitrates_from_water\"><\/span>What naturally removes nitrates from water?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Water changes: <b>Performing regular water changes with water that has little or no nitrate will lower the overall nitrate level in the aquarium. If your local tap or well water is high in nitrate, using deionized water (DI) or reverse osmosis water (RO) can help keep nitrate levels low when doing a water change.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_you_lower_nitrates_naturally\"><\/span>How do you lower nitrates naturally?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>What can we do to aid in the removal of nitrates from the aquarium?<\/b><\/p>\n<li>Add live plants to a freshwater aquarium. Plants naturally utilize nitrate as a nutrient and food.  <\/li>\n<li>Reduce fish population or upgrade to bigger tank.  <\/li>\n<li>Cut back on feeding.  <\/li>\n<li>Use a nitrate remover such as ALGONE.<\/li>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_fastest_way_to_lower_nitrates_in_a_reef_tank\"><\/span>What is the fastest way to lower nitrates in a reef tank?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>How to reduce nitrates in a marine tank<\/b><\/p>\n<li>Change the water.  <\/li>\n<li>Use a protein skimmer.  <\/li>\n<li>Improve mechanical filtration.  <\/li>\n<li>Fit an algae refugium.  <\/li>\n<li>Use algae reducing media.  <\/li>\n<li>Go probiotic.  <\/li>\n<li>Feed less, have less fish.<\/li>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Will_nitrates_lower_on_their_own\"><\/span>Will nitrates lower on their own?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>in other words, <b>in a healthy, complete system, yeah, it goes down on its own.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_you_bring_down_nitrates\"><\/span>How do you bring down nitrates?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>What can we do to aid in the removal of nitrates from the aquarium?<\/b><\/p>\n<li>Add live plants to a freshwater aquarium. Plants naturally utilize nitrate as a nutrient and food.  <\/li>\n<li>Reduce fish population or upgrade to bigger tank.  <\/li>\n<li>Cut back on feeding.  <\/li>\n<li>Use a nitrate remover such as ALGONE.<\/li>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Table of Contents How do I lower nitrates in a reef tank without water change?How do you lower nitrates fast?What consumes nitrates in reef tank?How do you remove nitrates without water changes?How do I lower nitrates without a skimmer?How do I lower nitrates in my aquarium naturally?What is the fastest way to reduce nitrates?How do&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[622],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183880\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animalshelterz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}