Why are my Nitrates so low…

[Lionfish hunter]

I have a 235 gallon aquarium with no corals, 1 queen angel, and 3 yellow tangs. I feed a lot. I do have a refugium with chaeto but I have had the light off for 2 weeks and the nitrate went from 1ppm to .5ppm? I use nyos and api tests. They agree and I can tell by the increasing dynos that the nitrates have gone down. The phosphates are always 0. Nitrates are never over 1. Where on earth are the nitrates going? I feed ballpark 300 regular nls pellets and 300 haikari seaweed pellets a day. Absolutely no algae on rocks, some dyno on sand. No phosphate reducers and I dont change the filter sock. I do add kalkwasser. I do not do water changes.

 

[nereefpat]

My systems have always dropped to near zero for both as well. Rock and sand denitrification is my understanding.

 

[Lionfish hunter]

My systems have always dropped to near zero for both as well. Rock and sand denitrification is my understanding.

Do you dose nitrates? It is very confusing to me because I have had tanks in the past with the same amount of rock and sand with less fish that had insane levels of nitrate.

 

[ZoWhat]

Youve got kick butt LR full of nutrifying bacteria...as nature intended

Congrats

 

[Duffer]

Your bio load for a 225 is light , either get more livestock or dose some nitrates

 

[Lionfish hunter]

Your bio load for a 225 is light , either get more livestock or dose some nitrates

I had a 125 gallon for many years that had less fish that were fed much less. I would gain 200 ppm nitrates per year. Something very different is happening here.

 

[nereefpat]

Do you dose nitrates?

No. I have tried. But in my specific situation, when I dose nitrates, dinos explode in growth.

 

[Losirk]

might have to start peeing in the tank brotha. gets them nitrates right up

 

[Lavey29]

I have a 235 gallon aquarium with no corals, 1 queen angel, and 3 yellow tangs. I feed a lot. I do have a refugium with chaeto but I have had the light off for 2 weeks and the nitrate went from 1ppm to .5ppm? I use nyos and api tests. They agree and I can tell by the increasing dynos that the nitrates have gone down. The phosphates are always 0. Nitrates are never over 1. Where on earth are the nitrates going? I feed ballpark 300 regular nls pellets and 300 haikari seaweed pellets a day. Absolutely no algae on rocks, some dyno on sand. No phosphate reducers and I dont change the filter sock. I do add kalkwasser. I do not do water changes.

You probably have an efficient skimmer to. Maybe put that on 12 hours instead of 24 as long as you can maintain good 02 levels.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Your bio load for a 225 is light , either get more livestock or dose some nitrates

Agreed....also wondering no corals but is there a CUC of any sort affecting things?.

 

[Lionfish hunter]

You probably have an efficient skimmer to. Maybe put that on 12 hours instead of 24 as long as you can maintain good 02 levels.

No skimmer

 

[Lionfish hunter]

Agreed....also wondering no corals but is there a CUC of any sort affecting things?.

Lots of snails, conchs, starfish, hermit crabs.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Lots of snails, conchs, starfish, hermit crabs.

Sounds by looks of things both your CUC and Rock is killing it with Nitrates....I also run no skimmer on my 90, large varied CC, some well seasoned old rock, and now finally at around the 10 mark or so Nitrates since dumping the skimmer about a year ago. I was zeroed for probably almost a decade lol...

 

[Lionfish hunter]

Sounds by looks of things both your CUC and Rock is killing it with Nitrates....I also run no skimmer on my 90, large varied CC, some well seasoned old rock, and now finally at around the 10 mark or so Nitrates since dumping the skimmer about a year ago. I was zeroed for probably almost a decade lol...

Doesn’t the cleanupcrew poop as much nitrate as they consume? 10 nitrates is my dream. I never thought I’d say how do I get nitrates. Nitrates use to be what I hated most about aquariums.

 

[Lionfish hunter]

Sounds by looks of things both your CUC and Rock is killing it with Nitrates....I also run no skimmer on my 90, large varied CC, some well seasoned old rock, and now finally at around the 10 mark or so Nitrates since dumping the skimmer about a year ago. I was zeroed for probably almost a decade lol...

I guess it makes sense that as the clean up crew grows they would retain some of the nitrates they take in.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Doesn’t the cleanupcrew poop as much nitrate as they consume? 10 nitrates is my dream. I never thought I’d say how do I get nitrates. Nitrates use to be what I hated most about aquariums.

Nope, not in my opinion. Less. They are utilizing that detritus/ algae etc for growth building blocks. Then your rock with its inhabitants is also doing a bang up job to further break it down....somebody gonna come along and argue with me about it any minute though lol.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I guess it makes sense that as the clean up crew grows they would retain some of the nitrates they take in.

This^^^