lower nitrates in saltwater aquarium reef tank with awesome sand bed vacuum technique. BEST SANBED VACUUM TECHNIQUE EVER! vacuum sandbed forever without buckets. rotter tube reef : healthy fish and corals. better way to vacuum reef tank sand bed. some people dont touch their sand bed. they believe all waste is eaten. I dont have time for that. I want it out of my tank. You can vacuum your sand 1/3 at a time, during each water change so it isnt a huge change to your tank. I choose to do most of the sand bed at each water change. you must also aquascape your rock to make sure water is flowing through and around your rocks, allowing the nasty stuff to circulate out your tank. no dead spots! you must also replace your sump socks roughly every few days. some people do it daily. I replace with a fresh one every few days. If you use foam in your sump to catch debris, you must rinse that out at least once a week to prevent beria from feeding on the detritus that collects, causing a nitrate fory to start! I think I will remove the foam sponge this week and just vacuum out the sump once a month or so. \r
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Purchase my eBook at Amazon on how to kill ich in your saltwater aquarium. \r
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In freshwater or reef aquarium systems, nitrate can reach high levels that can potentially cause the death of fish. While nitrate is much less toxic than ammonia, levels over 30 ppm of nitrate can inhibit growth, impair the immune system and cause stress in some aquatic species.\r
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In most cases of excess nitrate concentrations in aquatic systems, the primary source is surface runoff from agricultural or landscaped areas that have received excess nitrate fertilizer. This is called eutrophication and can lead to algae blooms. As well as leading to water anoxia and dead zones, these blooms may cause other changes to ecosystem function, favouring some groups of organisms over others. As a consequence, as nitrate forms a component of total dissolved solids, they are widely used as an indicator of water quality.\r
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Symptoms of nitrate poisoning include increased heart rate and respiration; in advanced cases blood and tissue may turn a blue or brown color. Feed can be tested for nitrate; treatment consists of supplementing or substituting existing supplies with lower nitrate material. Nitrates must be removed from your aquarium. Feed less, vacuum your sand bed, landscape your rock to allow great water flow.\r
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ROTTER Tube filter. No more sump socks. Check out the video:\r
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