What level should my nitrates be?

[James_O]

Usually, you can see dead algae on rocks.

Ok.

I just took a water sample to my LFS to test on their kits, and everything came back as my readings, although the nitrate was a bit lower than I expected.

 

[iMi]

I think that is an exaggeration. Low levels are useful to corals, but while there are few published studies, higher levels (0.1 ppm and above) do appear to cause toxicity.

Thanks for clarifying!