Nitrates!!!!!

[Somuchflo99]

I’ve been doing small water changes every day of about 2 g

 

[Somuchflo99]

 

[Somuchflo99]

 

[Somuchflo99]

 

[Somuchflo99]

 

[roberthu526]

I use Red Sea Pro and they are pretty good in my opinion

 

[Flippers4pups]

Okay, my gut feeling is that the N03 kit may be bad. The only way to verify this, as others have stated, is to have your water tested at your LFS. It’s not impossible that N03 is that high, but likely it’s not.

 

[Somuchflo99]

Ok so the test must be good source water is spotless

 

[Somuchflo99]

So my nitrates are really that off what the heck

 

[Somuchflo99]

Going to lfs ( @YourReef ) tomarrow for complete water test

 

[Somuchflo99]

Still confused on why corals look just fine inverts look fine fish look fine but nitrates at 40 ppm...?!

 

[Somuchflo99]

Shouldn’t these animals be freaking out by now if that were the case

 

[Bronc]

No. High Nitrates aren’t necessarily that bad, especially if it happened slowly.

 

[Somuchflo99]

So what do I do now do I keep doing water changes till it evens out

 

[Bronc]

I’d listen to what everyone else has said and take a sample to a LFS to get tested. I’d also upgrade to better test kits. I prefer Red Sea but the others mentioned in the thread are also good.

Also, go slow. If everything is happy it can’t be too bad.

 

[Somuchflo99]

I’d listen to what everyone else has said and take a sample to a LFS to get tested. I’d also upgrade to better test kits. I prefer Red Sea but the others mentioned in the thread are also good.

Also, go slow. If everything is happy it can’t be too bad.

good call just guess I got worried I will take everyone’s advise thanks a lot

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

I run my system at 15ppm nitrate Lps love the extra food. I would slowly get it down. I use sugar dosing in my system when I don't feel like doing water changes. I started slow half dose feeds bacteria which will consume the nitrates then get sucked out by the skimmer.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Sounds like your test kit is now garbage. The reagents in the bottle sticks to the walls of it. Honest mistake, it happens. Shake the bottles next time and when the reagents are in the test tube with your tank water. Shake that also.
One other thing that is very important to get is a 5ml syringe. The laser etching on the vials for the "5ml fill to line" are sometimes way off. I had 1 vial that was 1ml off. So if I had trusted the line it would have been only 4ml of tank water being tested.

I noticed this as I use a syringe to fill the tube but I've been going by the line, not the "5ml" amt of water as the tube to the line is always just less than a 5 ml syringe. Do we go by actual 5 ml of water or by the line on the tube?

 

[Susan Edwards]

Still confused on why corals look just fine inverts look fine fish look fine but nitrates at 40 ppm...?!

I cannot get my nitrates down below 20. I range from 20-40 and my corals seem good except for some from the last new batch which haven't been happy period and I'm going to lose a few of them--they are on their way out. Trying to figure out if I should be dosing. P0 4 today was .02, nitrates after a 8 % water change 40.... Of course, I tested this evening instead of morning as usual

@Shaddow_wolf169 How much sugar do you dose? Do you dose every day or only when nitrates climb? I need to do something. I'd be happy with 10-15!

 

[Somuchflo99]

Any fish food that keeps nitrates down and fish healthy