Nitrates

[nyfishguy]

so i've been doing regular partial water changes (about 20% per week) and my nitrates hold at 10ppm. It doesen't matter if i haven't done a change in a week or an hour after i did one, they are always at 10ppm. now here's the thing.....i use reef crystals but thankfully i didn't get a bad batch. The calcium is fine and it mixes well. i have a RSM with the tunze skimmer and i skim hard. Now all i have right now are softies, shrooms, and one or 2 SPS so everyone's fine but do i do nothing or do attempt to control this problem?? I bought the tank used and pre-cycled but i let it run in for about 3 weeks before i started adding things just to be safe. all the other water parameters are fine.

 

 

so what does everyone think??

 

what can i do to get them as low as possible?? dont have room for caulerpa

 

input would be greatly helpful

[lakshwadeep]

what is your freshwater source?

[nyfishguy]

distilled for now until after the holidays and then i will get a R/O unit

[CSoli921]

how old is your test kit?

[nyfishguy]

how old is your test kit?

 

pretty old.....maybe approaching 2 years.....could that be it?? it's an API kit

[SPerry]

Get a new test kit and check your source and mixed water. 10ppm isn't going to kill anything but it would be good to reduce it if possible.

[Militant Jurist]

Before you buy a new kit, take a water sample (around the same time you test with your own kit) to the LFS and have them test it. Compare the results, and if they are that far off, you can get a new kit. Or, you can just know that 10ppm is whatever the LFS test says it was.

[nyfishguy]

Before you buy a new kit, take a water sample (around the same time you test with your own kit) to the LFS and have them test it. Compare the results, and if they are that far off, you can get a new kit. Or, you can just know that 10ppm is whatever the LFS test says it was.

 

 

doesen't that seem weird though.....i test the water im putting in to the tank and the nitrates read 0ppm....now should you be diluting them in your tank just a little bit??

 

at least cutting them to 5ppm???

 

but nothing not a budge.....just 10ppm all the time

[reefone]

double check ur test against the lfs.

[Reefnub21]

10 ppm won't harm anything. Nitrates start to get dangerous for SPS and other sensitive corals around 50ppm and fish 90ppm. Your water is perfectly fine!

 

Edit: Not deadly dangerous, but very irritating and harmful to your organisms immune response and organ systems. I'd just expect a lower shelf life for your fish is all if they stay at a constant 50ppm or so everday. 10 ppm is nothing to worry about IMO

[bdare]

Since you are not using RO/DI the water source could very well be the problem. Have you tested the makeup water before you added it to your tank? What test kit are you using? I've found it's near impossible to get nitrates to zero w/o growing macro algae of some kind.

[nyfishguy]

Since you are not using RO/DI the water source could very well be the problem. Have you tested the makeup water before you added it to your tank? What test kit are you using? I've found it's near impossible to get nitrates to zero w/o growing macro algae of some kind.

 

the nitrate level in the city of ny's water supply are absolute 0....i have a friend that works for the city dept. of enviornmental protection,,,,,

[bdare]

the nitrate level in the city of ny's water supply are absolute 0....i have a friend that works for the city dept. of enviornmental protection,,,,,

 

Test it. Only way to tell. I wouldn't trust hundreds of dollars in livestock on someones word.

[nyfishguy]

Test it. Only way to tell. I wouldn't trust hundreds of dollars in livestock on someones word.

 

 

just tested it..... 0 ppm

[S197]

you said you bought it used and pre cycled. But depending on how long the rock was in the air, if you had any tiny sponges on the rocks, etc... it may just be a little bit of die off. Since it has bacteria in it all ready it may be converting what ever decay there is to nitrates rather quickly... 1 month isnt a long time for a tank, even if the rock is from a 10 yr cycled tank theres always a little cycle when its moved from tank to tank. I would compare your results with your LFS just to make sure, but this may be the case.

 

Just thought of another thing.... if you let your tunze fill up and drop a little bit of organic waste into the tank that will add some nitrates pretty fast. Also if its not hitting high enough the DOCs could be going back into the tank instead of making it to the collection cup. I doubt this is the case but im tryin to give you somthing since it seems like you have nothing atm.

[nyfishguy]

you said you bought it used and pre cycled. But depending on how long the rock was in the air, if you had any tiny sponges on the rocks, etc... it may just be a little bit of die off. Since it has bacteria in it all ready it may be converting what ever decay there is to nitrates rather quickly... 1 month isnt a long time for a tank, even if the rock is from a 10 yr cycled tank theres always a little cycle when its moved from tank to tank. I would compare your results with your LFS just to make sure, but this may be the case.

 

Just thought of another thing.... if you let your tunze fill up and drop a little bit of organic waste into the tank that will add some nitrates pretty fast. Also if its not hitting high enough the DOCs could be going back into the tank instead of making it to the collection cup. I doubt this is the case but im tryin to give you somthing since it seems like you have nothing atm.

 

 

thank you everyone....the advice is great...i just wish i knew what to try to make it better....i dont like using chemicals in a reef tank and i'd have to eliminate the skimmer to make a refugium so i dunno....