FOR THOSE USING AUTO DRIP WC UNITS

slednex11

slednex11

New Member
hey guys just woundering who is using drip systems and what do you keep your Nitrate level at? currently mine never hits 20ppm but im worried that alot of beneficial bacteria will deplete as i have read it only cultures to a certain level to maintain its regular occuring load of bio?? i thinking im fine as long as i dont suddenly stop using the drip sysytem on my 600gallon. but just wanting to hear from other members using these type of wc methods thanks
 
I have a 24/7 drip system. I estimate 15-20 gallons per day of my 300 gallon tank are changed. I could increase the amount and likely will as my rays get bigger. I am using a standard carbon cartridge filter for home drinking water units. It can filter 5,000 gallons before needing to be replaced so I am only looking at changing it a couple times a year. So far my rays and geos are very healthy and happy. I have not measured my nitrates/nitrites in a long time. I add a bit of sodium bicarbonate every day to buffer the water and keep it around neutral.
 
ok sounds good, ya i have alot of bioload and im doing 65gal/day thru a triple house filter unit with just carbon as well theo.
 
Mine runs 2 tanks and totals 550 gallons and I'm changing about 75 gallons/day. I haven't checked my nitrates in over a year. I never got a reading over 20 for a long time so I just quit testing. Next time I'm home I'll check again.
 
So did you ever end up installing the drip system? and if so how much drip did you need on a 600g tank? maybe 4-8 gallons per minute?
 
slednex11 said:
hey guys just woundering who is using drip systems and what do you keep your Nitrate level at? currently mine never hits 20ppm but im worried that alot of beneficial bacteria will deplete as i have read it only cultures to a certain level to maintain its regular occuring load of bio?? i thinking im fine as long as i dont suddenly stop using the drip sysytem on my 600gallon. but just wanting to hear from other members using these type of wc methods thanks
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Bacteria will only be present in numbers that a food source allow it to be. So yes, they will only be there in numbers that the bio-load depict.

Nitrate has nothing to do with it though, its a by-product. You can eliminate 100% of nitrates in a tank or let them shoot sky high, and the nitrogen cycle will still occur.
 
Ive never had any problems with anything in auto drip tanks.

I use to change 25 gallons a day in a 75g tank with 30 zebra plecos, only thing that happened is they grew damn fast.

I now change about 20 gallons a day in my 300g setup and everything is doing great.
 
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