Nitrate help please

[Ry1]

Hi guys, Firstly thanks for taking the time to help, much appreciated.

So my 100L reef tank is 7 Months old. I am having Diatoms again and i do not no what is causing it except my Nitrate has been going lower slowly through the past month or two. I have just tested and here are my params:

Ammonia- 0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-0
Phos-0
Cal-440
Mag-1360
Alk-7.5(raising slowly)
Ph-8
Salinity/temp 1.025/25.5c

The past month i have been trying to over feed a little to raise Nitrate but it has not raised it at all, any recommendations. Thanks

 

[PatW]

The first thing is does everything LOOK OK? If your corals are happy it might not really be a problem. They might be sucking up the nitrates as fast as they are added. The second thing, it might be your testing. Take a water sample to the local fish store and have them test. Finally, you could dose nitrate. It is not hard to do. Dosing food grade sodium nitrate works well. I add a quarter cup of sodium nitrate to a gallon of RODI as a stock solution. A teaspoon in 100 gallons should give a measurable result about .75 ppm.

 

[SilverRanger]

The diatoms are snagging your nitrates and will continue to do so. Raising flow and decreasing light might be your best bet if chemical treatment isn’t a place you want to go

 

[Ry1]

The first thing is does everything LOOK OK? If your corals are happy it might not really be a problem. They might be sucking up the nitrates as fast as they are added. The second thing, it might be your testing. Take a water sample to the local fish store and have them test. Finally, you could dose nitrate. It is not hard to do. Dosing food grade sodium nitrate works well. I add a quarter cup of sodium nitrate to a gallon of RODI as a stock solution. A teaspoon in 100 gallons should give a measurable result about .75 ppm.

Thank you, and yes all my corals look great. Ok thanks i will try and look i to dosing some sodium nitrate.

 

[Ry1]

The diatoms are snagging your nitrates and will continue to do so. Raising flow and decreasing light might be your best bet if chemical treatment isn’t a place you want to go

Oh i see, i already have one wave maker in a 100L tank would adding another that faces down instead of to the surface help?

 

[SilverRanger]

Only if that would be appropriate to your substrate and livestock. Diatoms thrive in low flow environments