Can’t seem to raise nitrates

[scrappy35]

My tank is 5 months old, 75g with a 40breeder sump. I feed 2 cubes frozen in the morning plus a few pellets and various size pellets in the evening. I feed all my tanks 2x a day (this is my only SW).
current parameters:
9 fish
ph- 7.83 ( was in the 8s until this round of prozi)
sal-1.026
alk- 9
cal- 400
mg- 1430
phos-0.07
NITRATE- <1
I took out 2/3rds of my chaeto yesterday and died 22ml of neonitro and still can’t seem to raise them at all. I was trying to raise to help calm down some of the algae issues, which seems to have calmed down except for in the sump. I will do a good cleaning once my second dose of prozi finishes up. Treating for flukes. Here are some pics of the tank and sump. What do you see that would be eating all my nitrates?

thanks
shane

 

[threebuoys]

Your nitrates are likely being eaten by the chaeto and other algae in the tank. Do you have fish in the tank? I don't see any in the photos.

 

[flagg37]

All your parameters look good other than your NO3. First, I wouldn’t freak out. Nitrates are one of my least concerning parameters. Second I would test again with a different test kit to make sure it’s not a testing issue.

 

[JWsticks]

Get some potassium nitrate or even urea. I have used both to maintain 5 nitrates and < .10 phos.

 

[Cjeippert]

Export is greater than import. Those biobricks, protein skimmer, and a good amount of healthy microalgae will consume it.
It was already mentioned to add fish, but I would recommend turning of skimmer for a few days, then run for 12 hours and see how that goes for a month.

careful with neo nitro. It seems like it does not do much then after a week and like 3 or 4 doses NO3 could jump 10 ppm. At least that is what it did in my tank. Idk maybe it takes time to break down and turn into nitrate

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Do you have any cuc in your tank?

When I had to dose nitrate I used potassium nitrate I bought from fishofhex

 

[Gtinnel]

Get some potassium nitrate or even urea. I have used both to maintain 5 nitrates and < .10 phos.

Unless doing a lot of water changes it's better to use sodium nitrate so that potassium levels in the tank don't go too high. At least that is what Randy recommended.

 

[JWsticks]

FWIW, I've kept mainly sps and had to dose potassium to keep up with the uptake. But if potassium is a concern go with urea and corals like it more from I've read. Sodium nitrate will raise salinity.

 

[scrappy35]

9 fish and I will look into different nitrate. Skimmer is running with cup off.

 

[Billldg]

Your aquascape is likely absorbing it. I had to dose 50ml a day of NeoNitro and NeoPhos over a few months to get N03 and P04 readings. I also feed heavily and dumped my skimmer back into the sump. It can take a while to raise your N03. I wouldn't rush it though.

 

[scrappy35]

Thanks for all the replies. Can someone point me at a good source of odium nitrate and mixing / dosing instructions. Since I’ve been dosing nitrate, my algae has dissipated at least.

I have a cuc, but the hermits have dwindled a little and there are about 10 snails.

 

[Gtinnel]

Thanks for all the replies. Can someone point me at a good source of odium nitrate and mixing / dosing instructions. Since I’ve been dosing nitrate, my algae has dissipated at least.

I have a cuc, but the hermits have dwindled a little and there are about 10 snails.

I bought mine as reagent grade from Amazon. I've only added it a few times so far though, because I had always been using potassium nitrate. It was just recently that it was recommended to me to switch.

 

[flagg37]

I’ve always tried to keep my solutions as natural as possible. Remember, nothing good in this hobby happens quickly. If you’re not seeing any negative effects from your corals then why not just wait it out while increasing your feeding?

 

[saltyfins]

9 fish and I will look into different nitrate. Skimmer is running with cup off.

maybe turn the skimmer off....

 

[Gtinnel]

I’ve always tried to keep my solutions as natural as possible. Remember, nothing good in this hobby happens quickly. If you’re not seeing any negative effects from your corals then why not just wait it out while increasing your feeding?

I obviously can't speak for the OP but my issues was that while trying to over feed/under skim to raise nitrates to a detectable level I was raising phosphate too high.

 

[scrappy35]

I was starting to see cyano and dinos. Since I have been dosing nitrogen they have subsided. Every other post says keep some nitrates. Seems to be the same in my freshwater planted tanks, nitrates to low and algae runs rampant. I prefer not to dose, but that seems to be where I am at. In hindsight I would have not started my refuge this early.