Nitrates and brown sand

Reef addict 01 · Nov 9, 2013

I was wondering if high nitrates can cause corals to lose color? or to look unhealthy? also can it cause brown sand?

Reefing Madness · Nov 9, 2013

Oh yea, high Nitrates will cause you al kinds of issues. Corals can die from high Trates. The sand may be a flow thing or a Cyano problem.

Reef addict 01 · Nov 9, 2013

okay so the vodka dosing should help with nitrate correct? So if I lower my nitrates then I should have better coral color and growth? How do I go about fixing the brown coloration of the sand? I want my nitrates as close to zero as possible. is it true that some corals need higher nitrate levels to grow? I've had this tank for over a year everything looks pretty good however I think I should have better growth could nitrates be my problem then?

Budman's Corals · Nov 9, 2013

Reef addict 01 said:
okay so the vodka dosing should help with nitrate correct? So if I lower my nitrates then I should have better coral color and growth? How do I go about fixing the brown coloration of the sand? I want my nitrates as close to zero as possible. is it true that some corals need higher nitrate levels to grow? I've had this tank for over a year everything looks pretty good however I think I should have better growth could nitrates be my problem then?

Tell us your Parameters .

mike007 · Nov 9, 2013

How long has your tank been set up? Brown algae my be diatoms. Voda dosing is not a quick fix you need to give us your test results. If you have high nitrates it is caused by excess nutrients. Water changes and will help but you need to figure out why your nitrates are high. If the tank has new it may not bhave cycled yet. Most of the time nitrate issues are caused by overfeeding.

Reefing Madness · Nov 10, 2013

Whats your current flow in the tank?

Reef addict 01 · Nov 10, 2013

I'll have to go home and test my water again tonight I have a saltwater master kit so I can get things like ph, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia but not calcium and such. As far as flow I'll have to check the pump sizes but my corals seem to have good motion but perhaps I need more towards the sand bed. I just worry about to much flow I'm not really sure how to set my pumps in that tank as far as flow and where they need to be ill take post some pics of the tank later and you guys can see what I'm working with.