Creeping up on me

[Douglas Wattier]

I use the Red Sea test kits and Red Sea Coral pro salt. I noticed a few days ago that my Nitrites, Nitrates, Phosphates, and Magnesium were starting to creep up on me. Yesterday I did a 15% water change. Retested all the parameters again today and they are still on the rise.
Nitrite - 0.1 ppm
Nitrate- 12 ppm
Phosphate - 0.12 ppm
Im going to the LFS today to see if they will run tests on a water sample to compare to what i'm reading at home. I've been dosing Red Sea NO3-PO4 X to slowly try and bring some of this down. Any ideas what could cause a rise? I may be over feeding, not entirely sure. I have been cutting back on that over the past week or so.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I wouldn't waste time testing nitrite. it is never a concern in an established reef tank and is not toxic in marine systems.

The others are not a big deal, and almost certainly are from foods (over feeding or not doesn't matter, nearly all of it ends up in the water). There are many ways to reduce them, and NOPOX is a fine way to reduce nitrate (it won't drop your phosphate much).

Phosphate In The Reef Aquarium
https://www.reef2reef.com/blog/?p=3184

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION
https://www.reef2reef.com/blog/nitrate-in-the-reef-aquarium