Should I dose nitrates?

[blasterman]

Also check your salt water and source water for phosphate. Don't trust R/O water unless you verify it.

I still suggest feeding more to increase nitrate with a food low in phosphate to bump up nitrate. However, this process takes weeks to produce results. Nitrate dosing is cheap and reliable though.

Stable levels of nitrate of around 5ppm has been my suggestion for years for a mixed tank.

Phosphate is such a ghost in the machine. I dump fertilizer in my tanks to keep it detectable.

 

[ZachP]

Also check your salt water and source water for phosphate. Don't trust R/O water unless you verify it.

I still suggest feeding more to increase nitrate with a food low in phosphate to bump up nitrate. However, this process takes weeks to produce results. Nitrate dosing is cheap and reliable though.

Stable levels of nitrate of around 5ppm has been my suggestion for years for a mixed tank.

Phosphate is such a ghost in the machine. I dump fertilizer in my tanks to keep it detectable.

Ya I’ve tested fresh mixed water with my own RO/DI water and all that. It’s all good. Pretty sure it’s just coming from the rock. It’s coming down and staying down so I’m happy.

I’ve still been feeding very heavily, It’s not near enough though.

5ppm is my aim. Just testing daily to keep an idea of how much I need to dose daily to maintain that

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Just wanted to give an update on this. I did start dosing nitrates last Saturday. Since then my chaeto has started doing great and my refugium is functioning quite well. I have gotten my phosphates down from roughly .1 to about .05. I’m dosing about 2-3ppm nitrate daily. Looks like I may need to start dialing down my refugium until I get more fish In here (a problem id be happy to deal with lol). Thanks @Ippyroy and @Randy Holmes-Farley

Sounds good.

Happy Reefing.