Hello All! This is my very first posting as a new member. I am soo happy I came across this site. I downloaded all the podcasts in iTunes last nite and stayed up until 2am watching all the video podcasts in bed!

My first question is: Is too much chemical filtration a bad thing? I have 2- 12 gal nano cubes with mainly hardy soft corals, and a couple of reef safe fish. In each tank, I have a fission skimmer, three-100ml bags of purigen, one-100ml bag of Kent nitrate sponge and 2-bags of Chemi-pure.

I still do 10% weekly water changes, and test the params frequently. Add Kent marine nano-reef A and B additives daily, and other trace element additives as necessary.

The corals all seem to be doing great, but is all this chemical filtration harming my tanks?

Thanks in advance for any info!

Well, there is some thought that some chemical filters (primarily carbon and poly-filter pads)can remove trace elements, my oppinion is, if you're keeping up with your water changes, it's not a problem.

That being said, I have heard from several trustworthy sources that the Kent nitrate sponge is pretty worthless.

Are you testing for the stuff in your daily additives? Have you noticed if the decrease in concentration unusualy quickly?

I run carbon 24/7 (and a lot of it) and I replace it about once every 7 - 10 days, and have no problems at all. Everything itest for stays fine with just water changes and a Kalk drip.

Hi Adobo and :welcome: to TR.

I am not a nano keeper but here are my thoughts. Do you have any LR or LS in your tanks? If so, you could try eliminating the nitrate sponge and see if your levels change. After a couple of weeks you could remove the purigen and see what happens. I'd keep the Chemi-pure although a half unit is probably fine for a 12 gallon nano. Personally, I run 1 full unit of Chemi-Pure all the time in my 54 gallon tank. Other than this I have a skimmer, a DSB and about 100 lbs LR. I do a 10% water change weekly.

Adobo,

In retrospect, I think that I over utilized chemical filtration products with my first reef. I was told I needed to use all sorts of products 24/7 like Phosban, SeaGel, Purigen etc. and I did with mixed results. When I finally realized the importance of being better about water changing and testing I began to reduced my use of chemical filtration. I still use Purigen and from what I can tell it does a fairly good job. I like Chemi-pure as well. Another benefit of less chemical filtration is the money saved. :up:

Personally, I run 1 full unit of Chemi-Pure all the time in my 54 gallon tank.

What is this and what does it do?

Chemi-Pure is a carbon replacement. It has all kind of miracle claims that I don't believe but it lasts for 4-6 months.

WoW! I was unfamiliar with chemi-pure as well so i just did some quick research. I can not BELIEVE they claim it removes the need for water changes! I just read where they said you could go 5 years without changing water.

That's quite the miracle claim indeed :eek: .

Yeah, well I still change 10% a week. LOL Bogus claims but still a pretty good product.