nitrate going up but i don't know how

[Dave1993]

READ CAREFULLY

i dosed nyos nitrate + and my nitrates went to 75ppm+ then i stopped dosing and got my nitrates down to 39ppm now they are back up to 75+ppm i have no fish i do not feed the tank my rodi water tests 0 my nitrite is 0 (tested with hanna nitrite) i only have 2 coral in the tank

how is my nitrate going up?

phosphate 0.05
nitrate 75ppm+ on hanna
100+ppm on salifert

tank is fluval evo 13.5

 

[Spare time]

Sounds like a testing error to me. Since its a 13.5 gallon this should be pretty simple to fix regardless.

 

[Dave1993]

Sounds like a testing error to me. Since its a 13.5 gallon this should be pretty simple to fix

not a testing error i did a 20% WC and they are now 60

 

[Spare time]

not a testing error

How do you know that? The 39ppm could have been off and it was still 75+

 

[Dave1993]

How do you know that?

cause i tested with 3 different tests ?

 

[Spare time]

cause i tested with 3 different tests ?

For the 39ppm? I was thinking it might be that the 39 was a fluke and that its been 75+ the whole time

 

[Spare time]

You might want to check nitrite if you can since that can make nitrate tests appear very high.

 

[Dave1993]

For the 39ppm? I was thinking it might be that the 39 was a fluke and that its been 75+ the whole time

i did water changes went from 75 - 52 - 39

 

[Dave1993]

You might want to check nitrite if you can since that can make nitrate tests appear very high.

already did with hanna today was 0 nitrite

 

[Spare time]

i did water changes went from 75 - 52 - 39

already did with hanna today was 0 nitrite

Well the only other possible thing I can think of that could have happened outside of a testing error is nitrite throwing things off or some decent die off of some sort but I would think the die off would be obvious so I doubt that is the cause. Since you got 0 nitrite, and I am guessing nothing big died off, I have to think some more about this. I wonder if you do a big water change again if it would spike once more.

 

[Dave1993]

Well the only other possible thing I can think of that could have happened outside of a testing error is nitrite throwing things off or some decent die off of some sort but I would think the die off would be obvious so I doubt that is the cause. Since you got 0 nitrite, and I am guessing nothing big died off, I have to think some more about this. I wonder if you do a big water change again if it would spike once more.

well i'm kinda annoyed cause my corals we're meant to be coming 2morrow but i have had to hold off to sort this problem out

 

[Spare time]

well i'm kinda annoyed cause my corals we're meant to be coming 2morrow but i have had to hold off to sort this problem out

Are you able to do a 5-10 gallon change? This whole thing is kinda bizarre haha

 

[Dave1993]

Are you able to do a 5-10 gallon change?

i am but i bet that would pee my torch and scoly off

 

[Spare time]

i am but i bet that would pee my torch and scoly off

Maybe try and do it slowly and make sure the water is preheated (if you haven't already). The way I have found to not irritate things on small tanks is to use a moderate or slower speed pump to remove and put in the water. Putting the tube in the corner of the tank should keep things pretty gentle for the corals.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

READ CAREFULLY

i dosed nyos nitrate + and my nitrates went to 75ppm+ then i stopped dosing and got my nitrates down to 39ppm now they are back up to 75+ppm i have no fish i do not feed the tank my rodi water tests 0 my nitrite is 0 (tested with hanna nitrite) i only have 2 coral in the tank

how is my nitrate going up?

75+ to 39 to 75+ in what time frame?

 

[Spare time]

75+ to 39 to 75+ in what time frame?

Yay I was hoping you would hop on this thread haha

 

[Crustaceon]

I don't think even doing a 50% water change would cause too many issues so long at you match salinity and temperature closely. I had torches that were always angry after water changes on my 29g, but it never seemed to affect them beyond the actual water change day.

 

[Dave1993]

75+ to 39 to 75+ in what time frame?

went from 39-75+ in like 1 week

 

[Lavey29]

Are water changes your only means of export on the nano tank? Weekly? Use something like reef actif or PNS probio once a week to eliminate organic waste to prevent excess nitrates from accumulating

 

[TokenReefer]

How are you maintaining Phosphate? Are you dosing that as well?