Would RO or RO/DI remove nitrates from the tap?

[Erk]

I was wondering if anyone knows if a RO or RO/DI unit would remove nitrates from my tap? I currently have nitrates of 20 coming from the tap, and the nitra-zorb pouch in the cannister doesnt seem to be helping in the tank. Also, I think the last plant brought some snails with it :shock: not very happy with the way things are going right now :oops: has anyone used the "had a snail" product, or if you have any recommendations on how to get rid of them? I had clown loaches in the tank before, and since everyone said they get real big, I gave them away.....sorry if the question about the snails should be posted somewhere else

Thanks for your help as always!

[ILLUSN]

G'day Erk,
try some of the smaller loaches (dwarf loach etc) for snail control, snails eat algae so a few in the tank isn't a bad thing, how's your co2 going? if your CO2 is high enough the shells become soft and they don't breed well and fish find them easy to eat. in my HIGH (read STUPIDLY HIGH!!!) CO2 tank guppies eat soft snails :) .

a RO unit should remove EVERYTHING from the water so nitrate won't be a problem. hows the algae going in your tank? under control yet?

[Erk]

Thanks for the reply, and tips ILLUSN, i dont feel like I have a "few" snails at the moment, I have a good bit, from looking in there....on the glass, and on some or most of the plants :( The CO2 according to http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm says im running at 12ppm, and from what I gather, thats pretty low, but the red sea CO2 indicator I have suctioned cupped to the inside of the tank, is green, which is good, sometimes it looks a lil yellow, and most of the plants are pearling....I dunno how to increase the ppm for the Red Sea Turbo Bio CO2 System, which I know is recommended for tanks up to 40 gallons, and mine is 46, but I figured it would be ok, other then to mess with pH?

Thats great guppies eat snails :shock: :D !

The algae looks like it is getting a lil bit better, the wysteria isnt growing all that fast, but its right in front of the cannister intake in the tank...dunno if that is a problem, but the hornwort is out of control, and the banana plant has a shoot going all the way up to the top of the water...first Ive seen anything like it! :D and its opening into a lilly pad, this all started about 4 days ago too!

I had the LFS check my water last night, and besides the nitrates being high, the phosphates were high, so I got a pouch of phos-zorb for the cannister, so we will see how that goes, the nitra-zorb hasnt done anything in the week its been in the cannister for the nitrates in the tank :( and thats why the question of the ro unit came up, but I dont really wanna buy one if I dont have to...cause of price and space issues

Thanks for your help, and sorry for the novel!

[Erk]

Also, I took the carbon out of the bio-wheel HOB filter last night, and put some purigen, and hypersorb in there, and took the bio-chem zorb out of the cannister, to make room for the phos-zorb, and since it says to replace the bio-chem zorb every 1-3 months, I figured it was time to replace, so for a lil bit I wont use the bio-chem zorb, and see how things go, and if I need to add it back in later, I will do that

Discus come on tuesday, and Im working on setting up the quarantine tank now....any recommendations on that, and the beginning couple stages on care for them, is wonderful too! :D

Thanks again!

[ILLUSN]

my guppies only eat snails cause their shells are VERY soft and even then they only eat the babbies. guppies are bout the only fish i can keep in that tank CO2 is bout 60-70ppm+

[Erk]

Wow that is a lot of CO2! I think i will try the cucumber trick with the snails tonight, and see how it goes over the next couple days...I really dont wanna add any liquid snail remover stuff to the tank right now

Thanks!

[ILLUSN]

works well just make sure you get the cucumber out before lights come on or the snails will "dissapear". i run high CO2 cause that tank only grows Ech. horemanni, Ech portoalegrensis and Ech opacus. all VERY slow growing. the high CO2 keeps algae managable. I use java moss and giant duckweed as nutrient sponges but algae is still a BIG problem.

[Erk]

Thanks for the tip about taking the cucumber out before the lights come...makes sense, but I never thought of it! haha....I was thinking about getting duckweed for the tank, but I read somewhere that its rather hard to get rid of, once I decide I dont want it anymore? I think I will just sit tight, and wait to see how things go. So you have algae problems too? Every picture of a tank I see on this forum is absolutely stunning, and they never look like they have algae problems. Do you have any suggestions on how to increase ppm for the red sea system I have?

My main focus is trying to find some water for the quarantine tank that doesnt have high nitrates in it, and getting the algae under control in the main tank..I think the phos-zorb will help, and I also picked up a better phosphate test kit

Thanks again!

[ILLUSN]

the problem with fermentative CO2 is the output. thats why I've just shut down my last yeast reactor and now run 4 preassure systems, on a tank your size you NEED 2 red sea bio systems to get adquate CO2 thats about all you can do. you could also keep up the flourish excell that will help, if your plants pearl the CO2 (or carbon level if your using flourish) should be ok. you don't need to crazy like me unless your growing VERY picky plants.

[Erk]

Thanks ILLUSN, I was curious why for the most part the indicator always looked rather blue, and now I know! :D I will think about getting another red sea system, since I have a bunch of refills already....thats prolly a good reason why the addition of CO2 hasnt done anything or my algae problem

Here are some pics of my tank, plants, algae...sorry the sponge filter is in there cycling for the quarantine tank for the discus which arrive on tuesday!! :D

Thanks again

[Erk]

a few more...mostly of the banana plant, and its new lilly pad looking thing

Thanks