High Nitrates & SPS
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drawman
2500 Club Member
Depends on what you call high. I aim to keep mine at about 10ppm. There are tanks on both sides of the spectrum ie near undetectable and 50+ppm that grow acros well.
I think what you don't want is bad husbandry ie accumulating detritus and poor export methods (think undersized skimmer, etc.) and this is often associated with higher nitrates. I find I like the colors of acros better with some nitrates in the water and there is less margin for error compared to a low nutrient tank.
So nitrates of 20ish are not necessarily bad as long as your maintain a stable environment without a collection of detrius?
How does lighting play into high or low nitrates? Is high PAR lighting worst for higher nitrate systems?
How does lighting play into high or low nitrates? Is high PAR lighting worst for higher nitrate systems?
drawman
2500 Club Member
Yes I agree with the first statement. Worldwide corals for example keeps their nitrates about that high if I remember correctly and they produce great colors and growth. Stability is key as you are saying.
When you get up to higher alkalinity (along with higher light), higher nutrients seem to be more protective for acroporas and I feel they fare better (especially with parameter swings). Low nutrients, high alkalinity, and high PAR can be a problem for many.
Literallyhydro
Active Member
While I'm working to lower it, the nitrates read about 25ppm in my system. World Wide Corals tells me that anything under 30 is acceptable, with the ideal being between 5 and 20.
My Acros haven't lost any color being in elevated nitrates, and they're still growing. I vacuum the substrate weekly during my 10% water changes. I also regularly feed the corals with Reef Roids and Acropower.
Even with my nitrates at about 25ppm, my phosphates are usually around 0.03. I generally worry about phosphate more than nitrate, when my phosphate rises above 0.1, I start seeing algae growth and browning.
I think that the balance between nitrate and phosphates is more important than targeting specific levels of nitrates. I’ve had issues with sps colors with 10ish nitrates and no phosphates; I’ve had issues with no nitrates and a little phosphates. I’ve been running my tank at 10 ppm nitrates and above 0.1 phosphates (yes... 0.1 and not 0.01!) and for the last 5 month my sps have looked pretty good with not noticeable algae buildup
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Randy Holmes-Farley
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Among other things, high nutrients can lead to more zooxanthellae in the corals, that can darken them.
That said, they can thrive even in 100 ppm nitrate.
That said, they can thrive even in 100 ppm nitrate.
Ruizm
Community Member
Are you sling frags of the miyagi tort?Ps. Have a look at some of these videos that document my struggles with trying to keep sps happy
