Nitrates constantly at15-20ppm

[Mwhitedesigns]

Good evening,
I have a Fluval Spec Evo 5 gal reef tank I've been starting. I have 2 Hermits, 2 turbos, a cleaner shrimp, a golden headed goby, neon green montipora, a small zoa frag and a small pipe organ coral. Nitrate ppms are constantly at 15-20 ppm. I plan on upgrading to the Intank media basket and run the standard floss, Chem pure and purigen but haven't yet (wife says I've spent toomuvh money already).

With that being said i do weekly 25% water changes using RO/DI and instant ocean salt mix. Tonight i decided to do a 25% change and let it mix a bit Then do another 25% change in the hopes i could reduce my nitrates. I always take the filter out and swish/rinse it out in the water that i pull from my tank. They are still at 15-20! Even though my corals and everything look to be thriving i just want to get the nitrates lower. I am using an api test kit. Besides the test being bad, are there any other reasons my nitrates could be high? I've tested to rodi and it shows 0 ppm. Any thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[GoVols]

Even though my corals and everything look to be thriving i just want to get the nitrates lower. / Any thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Yeah,
Leave them be or bring them down real slow.

If it ain't broke, then don't fix.

 

[Mwhitedesigns]

Yea I get that. I think it's more for piece of mind at this point since I'm relatively new to the scene.

 

[GoVols]

Yea I get that. I think it's more for piece of mind at this point since I'm relatively new to the scene.

(lol)
Tinker bug gets us all...

Just bring them down nice a slow.

 

[Mwhitedesigns]

Yea. I'm just curious as to why wouldn't they change/drop at all from this WC? It's not like it's a big tank!

 

[GoVols]

Yea. I'm just curious as to why wouldn't they change/drop at all from this WC? It's not like it's a big tank!

First off:
Welcome to Reef 2 Reef, and hope you feel at home.

I'd get the Salifert or Red Sea nitrate test kit, so you know where you really stand.

I'll use API for cal and alk all day long, but that's where I stop with API.

You don't want to bottom out your phosphates either. If your not careful, your going to hit cyano and dino's....

Again:
I would leave it be

 

[Mwhitedesigns]

Thanks. I'll just get another test and see what's really going on.

 

[Jason mack]

Welcome too R2R ...my tank has been running at 50 rpm nitrates for months ....if uour tank is not loaded with sps it won't be a problem ...if you want too reduce them try a 50 % wc ...your tank is only 5g ...that should be easy .you should see a difference then ...

 

[Mwhitedesigns]

I technically just did a 50% WC?

 

[wesman42]

Most nutrient export in this hobby is based on either a reactor or a natural form like a refugium. You aren't going to get very far with that small of a tank in terms of nutrient export unless you employ either nitrate absorption media....or somehow increase the amount of anaerobic bacteria (more rock or sand).

 

[Mwhitedesigns]

Looks like I'll be looking at that in tank media basket sooner than later. As for adding sand, I have some live sand left. Wash it throughly in RO/DI before adding?

 

[Jason mack]

I technically just did a 50% WC?

No technically you did 2 25% wc ..if your nitrates are say 20 ..you did a 25 % wc ..so in theory you would reduce your nitrates to 15 ...if you then did another 25 % wc it would only reduce your nitrates to 10-12 ppm .....if you did a 50% wc it would have reduced it to 10 ppm or under ...in theory ...

 

[Mwhitedesigns]

Gotcha, thanks.

 

[madweazl]

If you're getting the same results before and after the water change, your test method or your test kit is the problem. If you changed 25% of the water and your source water for the water change is free of nitrates, the nitrate levels of your tank must come down 25% as well.

Color change kits are hard to read; Salifert and Red Sea have lower resolution kits that help distinguish these lower results better than most. I prefer the Salifert kit to the Red Sea because of the lower cost and simplicity (it also takes 1/3 the time to perform).

 

[cmcoker]

Also, on the API one of the bottle you need to shake the crap out of for a full minute. If you skimp on the shaking your reading will be off. Are you following that step?

 

[ihavecrabs]

Gotcha, thanks.

For peace of mind (since that is what you were looking for) my nitrates are 25ppm at the moment [emoji4]

Like others have suggested, there is nothing wrong with trying to lower them. Most prefer nitrates lower but don't do it too quickly!

As far as the tests reading the same after a WC, have you tested your new saltwater mix for nitrates? Unless they are high too, I'd suggest a second test with a different test kit. If your water is the culprit, better to fix it there.

 

[madweazl]

Also, on the API one of the bottle you need to shake the crap out of for a full minute. If you skimp on the shaking your reading will be off. Are you following that step?

And when you do that, the caps usually like to leak which makes you even less confident in the result.

 

[cmcoker]

And when you do that, the caps usually like to leak which makes you even less confident in the result.

I never had the Reagent bottles leak, thats what I meant, should have been more clear. But the test tubes leak for sure, when I used them I'd put a bit of saran wrap, or wear a nitrile glove, and hold with my finger to shake
Step 4 is what I was referencing

 

[Pntbll687]

15-20 nitrates are perfectly fine in a tank. If everything is looking good and healthy, then keep em where it's at.

Getting nitrates down to zero isn't a good idea either. You'll have no nutrients in the tank and stress everything out, not to mention dino sand cyano will show up.

 

[Mwhitedesigns]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'll try adding some sand to thicken my bed. I have some live left over so I will just rinse the crap out of it.

Regarding the API test, i shake the crap out of it. I'll buy a salifert rest and see if they differ,