What do you keep your Nitrates at?

[TbyZ]

My tank runs at 0 for nitrates and .02 for phosphates.... my corals have lost their color...and I am also assuming it is because of the lack of nutrients. I have been dosing nitrates...doing the stump remover... I don't like that... I can get my nitrates to about .75-1...and the color comes back. But they soon drop. I feed my fish a TON and the nutrients just zero out.

I remember when low to no nutrient was the aim... For me... it is trying to get them back up a bit. I am going to add some more fish and keep on feeding heavily.

What is your filtration for inorganic nutrient export? Do you dose carbon / bio pellets?

 

[Flippers4pups]

10-20ppm N03. P04 at trace. No pest algae growth. My SPS and LPS are growing nicely.

Let me say this though, the question the OP asked of everyone and everyone’s answer is not a basis to strive for in another’s system. Each system is unique in what my system can handle, isn’t always what someone else’s system can do.

Variables in bacterial strains, surface area of rock, sand, coral types and size, number of coral in the system, coral health, water volume, skimmer size and efficiency, water change size and frequency, lighting and duration, types of foods and how much is fed/how often......etc.

All of this combined and more, in a combined balance, determines how much “nutrients” one can get away with at any given moment.

One size doesn’t fit all. I wish it was easier than that, but it’s not.

Now having a starting point is good, around 5ppm N03 (to keep from staving coral) and low, but just readable p04 is ideal. Upside down N03 and p04 (p04 higher than N03) is a potential algae outbreak.

 

[Zack K]

160ppm Nitrate and 3ppm Phosphate. So far so good. Everything is growing and coloring great. Now I can just keep my alk steady I can grasp SPS a little better.

 

[TbyZ]

160ppm Nitrate and 3ppm Phosphate. So far so good. Everything is growing and coloring great. Now I can just keep my alk steady I can grasp SPS a little better.

LOL

 

[Shigshwa]

According to this article, having high nitrates isn't really a problem for coral growth, so long so you bump the alk up to compensate.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/8/chemistry

That said, I strive for the lower end at around 5ppm, and 0.02ppm phosphates, keeping alk at 9dkh. I run a recirculating biopellet reactor paired with GFO, and feed quite heavily. When I had the biopellets with an unrestricted outlet, that caused a stagnation of SPS growth from 0 nitrates, paling in color, and eventually caused a dino bloom, which I think could have been be caused by an excess of carbon in the tank.

 

[Ashish Patel]

My tanks about 8 month and nitrates are always 0.2-.5 and phosphates around .02-0.4. My colors are fine now. My initial paling I believe was by overlighting and perhaps too high alk. Since I have a good size population of fish and have constant food waste and use all natural nutrient export I am happy with my numbers. Alk and light intensity or photoperiod should be adjusted up or down based on nitrates. I've heard this from jason fox talk and its so true! When I tried to raise my nitrates it caused many new problems so I'd advice against dosing nutrients based on your test results or what others say.. Food and fish will increase nitrates and phosphates even if not testable. Dosing aminos also helps when nutrients are low

 

[Brian W]

Do you still run both the algae scrubber & the little macro algae fuge? Do you also dose carbon, or use bio pellets?

Right now I only run my fuge opposite of the tank's light.
The Algae scrubber is going on my current build 110 g tank.
I will have 2 clowns, 1 sixl ine wrasse, 1 damsel 1 yellow tank and a 1 spot fox face.

 

[Brian W]

My tanks about 8 month and nitrates are always 0.2-.5 and phosphates around .02-0.4. My colors are fine now. My initial paling I believe was by overlighting and perhaps too high alk. Since I have a good size population of fish and have constant food waste and use all natural nutrient export I am happy with my numbers. Alk and light intensity or photoperiod should be adjusted up or down based on nitrates. I've heard this from jason fox talk and its so true! When I tried to raise my nitrates it caused many new problems so I'd advice against dosing nutrients based on your test results or what others say.. Food and fish will increase nitrates and phosphates even if not testable. Dosing aminos also helps when nutrients are low

It could also be the light is too intense. I have 8 24" T5's and the sps that are dulling out are on a frag rack about 8" under the light.
I noticed a birdsnest frag is getting lighter everyday. I am going to move them lower and check the par today now that I know this.
I dose 5ml Acro Power once a week.
Thanks for the info.

 

[Tig_Tech]

Keeping my nitrates at 0ppm killed 90% of my sps eventually in my 2 year old tank. My Alk was always at 8.5dkh, Cal around 430, ran Rowaphos and skimmed wet. After about 4 months of not doing any water changes and just feeding my fish I eventually got back into it once I noticed a few residual encrusted "dead" sps starting to color and grow. I ended up taking my GFO offline, went from 8 fish to 19, and skim dry. Nitrates are currently around 5-10 steady and my newly acquired sticks haven't lost any color. Got to stock that tank and keep them fish pooping!!!

 

[pecan2phat]

My SPS frag tank colors dulled and faded out after 8 months of consistent 0~2 ppm N03, .03~.06 ppm P04. I started to exchange water from a high nutrient LPS tank and it got a little better but the N03 would get absorbed within 2 days. After about a month, I got tired of doing this along with the testing for N03 every 2~3 days so I bought potassium nitrate from green leaf and now keep the N03 at 10 ppm which has darken my SPS back to an acceptable color.

 

[acro-ed]

My SPS tank stays at 25ppm nitrate and has been growing well with good color. My smaller mixed reef stays around 2ppm nitrate and also has good growth and color. Both tanks are basically barebottom (tiny bit of sand in small patches) and both have well oversized skimmers and good flow. Both tanks are successful despite the Nitrate being far higher in one.

-Ed

 

[Nburg's Reef]

My NO3 was at 0 for the longest time and my acros looked like poop. I pulled my fuge and started dosing KNO3 (stump remover) after a few weeks at ~5ppm, everything colored up and I have been happy. I don't dose regularly anymore but NO3 stays around 1-2ppm, and things look good. I just don't have a lot of fish at the moment, so I need to add. Once I started dosing KNO3, my PO4 dropped to 0.00.

 

[Brian W]

My NO3 was at 0 for the longest time and my acros looked like poop. I pulled my fuge and started dosing KNO3 (stump remover) after a few weeks at ~5ppm, everything colored up and I have been happy. I don't dose regularly anymore but NO3 stays around 1-2ppm, and things look good. I just don't have a lot of fish at the moment, so I need to add. Once I started dosing KNO3, my PO4 dropped to 0.00.

My tank is 40 g and I'm that's part of the problem, I cant really add too may more fish. I thought about throwing in 2 more damsels but Im in the process of upgrading to a 110g tank so I will just wait until then. I already have a yellow tank and foxface in QT just waiting for the build to be complete to go into their new home.

 

[Nburg's Reef]

My tank is 40 g and I'm that's part of the problem, I cant really add too may more fish. I thought about throwing in 2 more damsels but Im in the process of upgrading to a 110g tank so I will just wait until then. I already have a yellow tank and foxface in QT just waiting for the build to be complete to go into their new home.

I have a 40g breeder too, so I am in the same boat. Not a lot of options for SPS reef safe fish in a 40g breeder.

 

[Brian W]

I have a 40g breeder too, so I am in the same boat. Not a lot of options for SPS reef safe fish in a 40g breeder.

very true

 

[Paul B]

My nitrates are 160.

 

[Brian W]

very true

;Dead;Mask;Nurse

 

[TbyZ]

My nitrates are 160.

What test kit do you use to get that reading? Redsea only goes to 60 on the high range test.

 

[Centerline]

My tank is 1.5 years old and for the last month my Nitrates have been at 0 and my Phosphates were at 0.08 according to my Triton test. I have sps and seems like the color is starting to dull. I have not done a WC in a couple weeks. I feed 1 cube of LRS Reef Frenzy daily which I bumped up to 2 a day now.
I run a fuge with the Kessil H380 and dry skim. What should I try and keep my nitrates at? Im guessing 5-10

Its funny I could not wait to have 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates and no algae...now I'm here and I want Nitrates again.

Yup, maybe even a little higher.

 

[DracoKat]

my nitrate is on the high side at 20ppm (could be 15, but I have a hard time reading the tests).
Phosphate is at .5

I am not in any hurry to reduce the Nitrate since my corals seem to be happy. they're growing, no algae in the tank either. Decided if it's not doing harm, I won't change it.