NO Nitrates

KingReef · Apr 17, 2020

I am having an issue with some of my corals. My elegance and hammers are not extending fully. My parameters seem ok and I will list them. The one thing that is sticking out is my nitrates are always reading 0. There is very little in the way of algae in my tank. I am running carbon and GFO. I am wondering if that is taking up the excess Nitrate. I am also running a skimmer. I am wondering if the lack of nitrate could be causing my corals to not open up fully. This has been an issue for weeks. I have tried moving the corals about once a week for less flow, less light and more flow to see if anything helped.

Thanks for any input.

Parms
SG 1.025
temp 78.8
pH 8.0
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
phosphate .10
cal 620 (high but coming down)
dKh 8.4
mag 1320

Perthegallon · Apr 17, 2020

You need nitrates and the suggestion is it takes 6 months to see a change if you are having a lighting issue you need to rent a par me meter can we see pics of the tank and do you have any fish in it or do you feed it anything?

Perthegallon · Apr 17, 2020

KingReef said:
I am having an issue with some of my corals. My elegance and hammers are not extending fully. My parameters seem ok and I will list them. The one thing that is sticking out is my nitrates are always reading 0. There is very little in the way of algae in my tank. I am running carbon and GFO. I am wondering if that is taking up the excess Nitrate. I am also running a skimmer. I am wondering if the lack of nitrate could be causing my corals to not open up fully. This has been an issue for weeks. I have tried moving the corals about once a week for less flow, less light and more flow to see if anything helped.

Thanks for any input.

Parms
SG 1.025
temp 78.8
pH 8.0
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
phosphate .10
cal 620 (high but coming down)
dKh 8.4
mag 1320

I would turn off the skimmer it sounds like your overskiming the waste so the corals aren’t getting food

Flippers4pups · Apr 17, 2020

GFO won't bring down N03. Try not doing a water change for a couple weeks or longer to raise N03.

KingReef · Apr 17, 2020

I do have fish, 12 of them. I feed every day with Rods food, reef roids and dry seaweed. I'll shut off the skimmer for a week and see if that helps.

LiveWire · Apr 17, 2020

I agree. Unless you have a largely stocked system I think you have too much filtration going on at this time. When is the last time you did a water change? I know my elegance starts to close up a bit when I have not dosed Minor and trace elements or have done a water change in awhile. You should be able to get NO3 up a bit by feeding heavier too.

KingReef · Apr 17, 2020

I did a 15% water change a week ago. I am dosing mostly Brightwell A and B and Mag plus iodine.

Perthegallon · Apr 17, 2020

KingReef said:
I do have fish, 12 of them. I feed every day with Rods food, reef roids and dry seaweed. I'll shut off the skimmer for a week and see if that helps.

That’s a really nice tank wow

KingReef · Apr 17, 2020

Perthegallon said:
That’s a really nice tank wow

Thanks!

Perthegallon · Apr 17, 2020

KingReef said:
Thanks!

How many gallons and what brand and model?

sde1500 · Apr 17, 2020

I'd say it is likely just as much that calcium level as it is low nutrient levels. I believe well within the range of where that calcium is now limiting growth.

KingReef · Apr 17, 2020

Perthegallon said:
How many gallons and what brand and model?

It's a waterbox 170.5. System is a 170 total gallons, 130 gal display and 40 gallon sump

Little_Red_Ryan_Hood · Apr 17, 2020

KingReef said:
I am having an issue with some of my corals. My elegance and hammers are not extending fully. My parameters seem ok and I will list them. The one thing that is sticking out is my nitrates are always reading 0. There is very little in the way of algae in my tank. I am running carbon and GFO. I am wondering if that is taking up the excess Nitrate. I am also running a skimmer. I am wondering if the lack of nitrate could be causing my corals to not open up fully. This has been an issue for weeks. I have tried moving the corals about once a week for less flow, less light and more flow to see if anything helped.

Thanks for any input.

Parms
SG 1.025
temp 78.8
pH 8.0
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
phosphate .10
cal 620 (high but coming down)
dKh 8.4
mag 1320

Phosphate seems to be on the high end IMO. I typically recommend.03 phosphate. Nitrate should be raised up to about 2-5 ppm. As you noted, Calcium should come down into the high 400's.

I have had problems with low nitrate in the past. No matter what I did, I couldn't keep it up. My corals all looked dull and not healthy. The only thing that worked for me was dosing nitrate.

If you are looking for a great price on nitrate check out acroporium.com.

KingReef · Apr 21, 2020

Just an update. My skimmer has been off for 4 days and my nitrates still have not risen. My water is cloudy, though not so cloudy you can't see through it. Should I be concerned about the cloudiness? I am thinking it is a bacterial bloom as the bacteria are the only things breaking down the waste in the water now...

Perthegallon · Apr 21, 2020

KingReef said:
Just an update. My skimmer has been off for 4 days and my nitrates still have not risen. My water is cloudy, though not so cloudy you can't see through it. Should I be concerned about the cloudiness? I am thinking it is a bacterial bloom as the bacteria are the only things breaking down the waste in the water now...

Was your tank cycled how long ago?
Have you added any new live stock recently?
Are you 100% that test kit is working correctly
Do you have any nitrites

Perthegallon · Apr 21, 2020

KingReef said:
Just an update. My skimmer has been off for 4 days and my nitrates still have not risen. My water is cloudy, though not so cloudy you can't see through it. Should I be concerned about the cloudiness? I am thinking it is a bacterial bloom as the bacteria are the only things breaking down the waste in the water now...

Do you have macro alage or other corals that could be eating your nitrates