Nitrates in the tank will not drop bellow 40

[Reagan2646]

My tank has been having this problem for a few months now. My nitrates would always be at zero but suddenly my nitrates rose and will not drop I have tried carbon dosing, matrix, and doing water changes but the number never seems to go down. I also run a skimmer on the tank but the number stays at around 40

 

[legionofdoon]

Poor Man's Nutrients Control - Donovan's Nitrate Destroyer

Hello fellow reefers!. I have been in the hobby for more than 3 years, the first 2 years was tough. Cyno, diatom, nuisance algae, high NO3 (120ppm at one time) and ich/velvet. I have tried several nutrient control method (poor man, so most of it were DIY project). GFO, water fall scrubber...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[legionofdoon]

Long read but worth it

 

[INWC3030]

That is kinda of a vague question.
Need to know what the size of the tank?
What type of tank? example: fish only, reef etc.
How often are you feeding?
What are you feeding?

 

[legionofdoon]

I'm down from off the charts to 6.9 as of last reading.

 

[Reagan2646]

That is kinda of a vague question.
Need to know what the size of the tank?
What type of tank? example: fish only, reef etc.
How often are you feeding?
What are you feeding?

The tank is a Red Sea reefer 350 G2 the tank in total is 90 gallons with a 72 gallon display tank and a 18 gallon sump the tank is a mixed reef tank with a blue tank and a yellow wrase and I feed twice a week with pellets or the clean up crew I have nassirius snails, a sand sifting starfish and turbo snails

 

[legionofdoon]

You only feed twice a week and have 40 nitrates? Are you sure your test is accurate? I feed pellets multiple times a day.

 

[Reagan2646]

You only feed twice a week and have 40 nitrates? Are you sure your test is accurate? I feed pellets multiple times a day.

Yes I’ve done both api and salifert tests and they both read about that range

 

[Reagan2646]

If this helps here is a picture of the tank

 

[Lavey29]

If this helps here is a picture of the tank

Nice looking set up but something doesn't add up. I have the XL300 with 12 fish and I feed heavy frozen twice daily but my nitrates are 10 to 12. There has to be another source for your elevated nitrates or your export is lacking. I'm also wondering about test accuracy.

 

[Reagan2646]

Nice looking set up but something doesn't add up. I have the XL300 with 12 fish and I feed heavy frozen twice daily but my nitrates are 10 to 12. There has to be another source for your elevated nitrates or your export is lacking. I'm also wondering about test accuracy.

I’m clueless to what could be causing it because ik it can’t be feeding but I’ve tried buying new tests and they all stay consistent on the readings and along with that the corals haven’t taken any damage even tho nitrates rose up so fast and are high

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There are lots of good ways to reduce nitrate, but 40 ppm is not a huge problem and I'd check again if is accurate if it is different than the recent past.

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION

Nitrate is an ion that has long dogged aquarists. It is typically formed in aquaria through the digestion of foods, and in many aquaria it builds up and can be difficult to keep at natural levels. In the past, many aquarists performed water changes with nitrate reduction as one of the primary...

www.reefedition.com

 

[legionofdoon]

Personally I don't like salifert nitrate tests. I used one and it was showing that I had nitrates between 25-50, got a Hanna and it was really 7.4. I did the tests side by side.

 

[Bucs20fan]

Personally I don't like salifert nitrate tests. I used one and it was showing that I had nitrates between 25-50, got a Hanna and it was really 7.4. I did the tests side by side.

I would highly recommend the hanna tester. I know it stinks to blow about $60 usd on a single tester, but I started with api, then mixed in some salifert tests, anddddd now have every hanna tester I need. Its well worth it.

 

[Reagan2646]

I bought a Hannah tester and nitrates came out to 50.8 still so the results haven’t changed on either test

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I bought a Hannah tester and nitrates came out to 50.8 still so the results haven’t changed on either test

Good choices to reduce nitrate are water changes, organic carbon dosing, and growing macroalgae.

This has more:

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION

Nitrate is an ion that has long dogged aquarists. It is typically formed in aquaria through the digestion of foods, and in many aquaria it builds up and can be difficult to keep at natural levels. In the past, many aquarists performed water changes with nitrate reduction as one of the primary...

www.reefedition.com

 

[Reagan2646]

I bought a Hannah tester and nitrates came out to 50.8 still so the results haven’t changed on either test

I did a water change and it dropped to 37.8

 

[kabal2]

what is your water source, tap or ro/di? did any of the fish die? is your life rock fresh cure rock or you got it from somebody? just asking those questions to try to find your high nitrates

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I did a water change and it dropped to 37.8

Sounds right for about a 25% water change.

 

[Dave1993]

just be glad your nitrates don't increase by 20 every 2 days when you have 0 fish and don't feed the tank