how do i reduce high no3 readings in my salt aquariam?

Answer 1

Long Term Nitrate Reduction
Water changes!! Why are water changes so important for a saltwater aquarium? Most aquarists with any experience will tell you that you "have" to do periodic water changes to, among other things, keep your nitrates down to acceptable (10 to 50 ppm?) levels. There are other reasons to perform water changes (replenish trace elements in reef tanks, remove or reduce toxins), but nitrate reduction is far and away the primary reason people perform water changes.
Keeping nitrates in check can be one of the most frustrating (and expensive) long term task a saltwater aquarist faces. Considering the price of a bag of sea salts, the cost in dollars (let alone the time) of repetitive water changes can add up to a tidy sum over time.

Are there any viable alternatives to constant water changes to reduce or eliminate nitrates? Thankfully, the answer is "yes". Not overfeeding and removing uneaten food and detritus from the tank is a good start. The use of Mangroves in either the tank or sump is also a reliable method.

Another reliable, but heretofore unheralded method in the saltwater aquarium hobby is the use of the combination of Hiatt's Right Now! (RN!) bacteria and a quantity of Hiatt's Tri-Based Pelletized Carbon (TBPC) in the tank's filtration system. (See the results in "New Biological Filtration For an LFS - 1,000 Gallon System" and "New Biological Filtration For an LFS - 3,500g Shark Tank"). There is a specific bacteria strain in the RN! which reacts with Nitrates and an element in the TBPC, converting the nitrates into Nitrogen gas, which is then vented into the atmosphere via the water's surface.

The TBPC is also an excellent biological filtration platform. The huge (Over 1150 m2/gram) surface area is far superior to anything else on the market. Hiatt recommends .1669 lb. of TBPC per gallon of system water to achieve proper biological filtration and nitrate reduction. However it has been our experience (over 12 years) with the products, that a far less quantity is required to achieve satisfactory results. We currently have several small (75g) tank projects running at Animal Jungle (in Kinston, NC) which use 1.40 lb of TBPC (in 2 4" X 12" bags per system) in the center of Aqua Clear canister filters, pushed by 1200 gph pumps. To date these filtration systems are achieving all of our system goals (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates).

Most reef aquarists utilize additives (calcium, iodine, pH buffers, trace elements, etc.) on a regular basis to enhance their saltwater properties for maximum coral and other critter health and growth. The use of RN! and TBPC in a filtration system doesn't change this. The only thing it seems to change is the need for constant water changes to reduce or eliminate nitrates in the system and the requirement for a bulky biological filtration platform to achieve desirable results.

Got all that from here (there are also methods for rapid nitrate reduction if needed --- however, these could harm your critters):

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/nitratecontrol/Nitrate_NO3_A_Growing_Problem.htm

That will help you out.

Answer 2

While I think the advice offered by the first two responders is spot on, I will add a little more. Controlling the ammonia-Nitrate-Nitrite cycle is key to maintaining salt water fish. You don't mention how high the concentration is, the tank setup or size (I'd not even attempt a salt water tank less than 55 Gal absolute minimum), how long it took the concentration to get that high, whether something has died recently, if there are invertebrates, the test methodology and lots of other important variables. In general, keep your number and size of fishes very low and feed sparingly unless you have a thorough understanding of salt water tank maintenance. There are many good books written about this. Please get a couple and study them or you will waste many dollars killing lots of organiasms and have no satisfaction at all. Good luck.

Answer 3

Mr. B has good info there, water changes and not over feeding are the real keys.

The de-nitrifying bacteria that he speaks of works, in theory, but I don't think that you should buy a product claiming to have that bacteria. This is because that bacteria works like that only in oxygen free environments; larger pieces of live rock have O2 free environments and deep, undisturbed gravel beds. Any time you have these environments in your tank those bacteria will grow naturally, some supplements can help, but are not necessary.

Answer 4

Small but frequent water changes(10 to20 %),try to hold down the feedings,let the fish fast every other day or so. PeeTee P.S. It's really hard to starve a fish. Keep them a little hungry and you will see the NO3 decrease and the fish will be more active.

Answer 5

1/3 water changes weekly untill filter catches up also put many scavangers in the tank, Emrald Crabs are good to eat any excess food. Turbo Snails are good also. and use Aqua Plus tap water conditioner in the tap water before changes to remove Chloramine from the water. If you have a Whisper filter dump it and get a canister filter, to fit the size of your tank. I would suggest to go over the size indicated on the filter. I use a Filstar xP3 with my 75 gal tank and a filstar xP2 with my 30 gal tank.