PLEASE Help

SaltwaterWorld1780 · Nov 9, 2019

brandon429 said:
list all the sources of protein you have added to the water since the start, from that list we can discern your source of nitrate

Just the 2 shrimp for about a day. After that I got worried because of the high parameters.

brandon429 · Nov 10, 2019

Two shrimp are known to degrade into high nitrate, your full problem has been solved. Regarding algae or no algae, you can search out on this site high nitrate no algae tanks, and low nitrate high algae tanks. It ranges tank to tank. if you were to search any info outside this thread you will see high nitrate isn’t harmful to fish or bacteria, your tank never had any issues this entire time. Merely a nitrate reading from meat you put into the tank designed to break down into nitrate.

SaltwaterWorld1780 · Nov 10, 2019

brandon429 said:
Two shrimp are known to degrade into high nitrate, your full problem has been solved. Regarding algae or no algae, you can search out on this site high nitrate no algae tanks, and low nitrate high algae tanks. It ranges tank to tank. if you were to search any info outside this thread you will see high nitrate isn’t harmful to fish or bacteria, your tank never had any issues this entire time. Merely a nitrate reading from meat you put into the tank designed to break down into nitrate.

Even two small shrimp in a 200 gallon system for only 24 hours would raise that much nitrates?

brandon429 · Nov 10, 2019

Yes, problem solved. We have proven the existence of bacteria in more ways than one, from many angles. I doubt another thread has measured them in as many ways: known submersion times, lots of shrimp decay, live rock, directly inputted nitrifying bacteria, no extended free ammonia, measured endpoint nitrogen cycle=nitrate, and any bioload inputted will live.

Your thread isn’t an emergency thread. It’s a thread about basic nitrate questions. Search out: Randy Holmes Farley, nitrate in the reef aquarium. It covers all future concerns about the variability of nitrate and if it has impacts on being present in a cycled reef tank.

Take time to read that and it will shape future discussion and planning for nitrate

SaltwaterWorld1780 · Nov 11, 2019

brandon429 said:
Yes, problem solved. We have proven the existence of bacteria in more ways than one, from many angles. I doubt another thread has measured them in as many ways: known submersion times, lots of shrimp decay, live rock, directly inputted nitrifying bacteria, no extended free ammonia, measured endpoint nitrogen cycle=nitrate, and any bioload inputted will live.

Your thread isn’t an emergency thread. It’s a thread about basic nitrate questions. Search out: Randy Holmes Farley, nitrate in the reef aquarium. It covers all future concerns about the variability of nitrate and if it has impacts on being present in a cycled reef tank.

Take time to read that and it will shape future discussion and planning for nitrate

Ol thanks, the only reason I put emergency is that I have 2 sailfin tangs, one Naso tang 2 clown fish, one coral beauty and a snowflake eel in a smaller tank, and I know they are getting finicky.