Parameters

[moryan86]

Question my tank is going to be 4 months cycled come the 24th of this month and I was uncertain as to what the nitrate level should be as far as acceptable when I do introduce corals. I tested with my Red Sea test kit and it’s at 10 ppm.

 

[Idech]

10 ppm is perfect. It’s a generally accepted good level to keep.

 

[fishski13]

Depends on which corals, as sps most often need low levels, lps can do with any under 15-20ppm and softies and most leathers like a bit dirties water. So 10 ppm is perfect for most corals as beginners.

 

[moryan86]

10 ppm is perfect. It’s a generally accepted good level to keep.

Ok then my salinity I just tested was 1.026 or 35 ppt should that be good for adding corals and what parameters would my tank need to add and keep corals?

 

[Pistondog]

1.026 and 10 ppm for nitrate, below 0.1 for phosphate.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

The tables at the top of this link explain generally where you want your parameters to be (the only thing that’s really arguably important to measure from table 2 under normal circumstances is Nitrate):

Optimal Parameters for a Coral Reef Aquarium: By Randy Holmes-Farley

[note: edited on 5/29/2022 to update the nitrate and phosphate sections with higher recommended levels.] One of the main roles of an aquarist with a coral reef aquarium is to ensure that the conditions are right for their tank inhabitants. There are many different attributes of the aquarium...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Idech]

Ok then my salinity I just tested was 1.026 or 35 ppt should that be good for adding corals and what parameters would my tank need to add and keep corals?

 

[moryan86]

Thank you so much for this info