

Overall, if you already have live rock, save yourself the money and skip these fancy rocks.įor those just getting started with an aquarium SeaChem Purigen is simple to use and great for beginners. If the water is moving too fast, nitrate utilization by the resident bacteria will not be very efficient, and if it is too slow, the bacteria will die without access to their food source. This is one of the hardest factors to control within the aquarium itself, so some users recommend adding this to a filtration element. In order to properly function and get the most conversion for your rock surface area, the water flow through the product must be at a specific level. It's important to remember that De-nitrate is going to be most helpful for long-term maintenance of nitrate levels, and won't help as much in an acute crisis. These rocks work by providing housing for anaerobic bacteria who use nitrate as a food source. SeaChem DeNitrate is essentially rocks that work similarly to any live rock you have in your system already. You may need to try various products to find one that works best for your system.Īhead, the best nitrate reducing products for saltwater aquariums. For all reef and saltwater systems, be sure to read the packaging carefully for dosing and suggested additional equipment, such as protein skimmers. Depending on your tank setup and budget, one of these options may work better than some.

Products have varying mechanisms of action, attacking the nitrate problem from various angles. Depending on your tank’s species and ages, some may be more sensitive to nitrate than others. Once a product is used up in your tank, you will need to replenish the supply or your system will start having a build up of nitrate that can seriously affect your fishes’ health. Keep in mind that some products will not completely erase your nitrates, but bind them for a certain period of time. The following products work by removing nitrate from your saltwater aquarium system mainly by converting the nitrate to another, less toxic form or binding it in another area of your aquarium. But what are you to do if neither is an option?

Nitrate is commonly removed from your system by water changes or live plants in freshwater systems or algae in saltwater systems, usually in a refugium. In all fish systems, your nitrogen cycle is hard at work converting harmful ammonia and nitrite into safe nitrate.
