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High Nitrate
- Thread starter George
- Start date
George,
You are doing all you can unless you are overfeeding. Nitrates are something we all fight with. Do you have a refugium set up growing algae? That can help. I use a sulfur denitrator on both my tank so it keeps my nitrates in check. Are you doing 10% water changes weekly? I personally would not worry about a 10-20ppm nitrate reading. But if zero is what you want try a sulfur denitrator.
You are doing all you can unless you are overfeeding. Nitrates are something we all fight with. Do you have a refugium set up growing algae? That can help. I use a sulfur denitrator on both my tank so it keeps my nitrates in check. Are you doing 10% water changes weekly? I personally would not worry about a 10-20ppm nitrate reading. But if zero is what you want try a sulfur denitrator.
since you guys are talking about hi nitrate, and we always hear that question "what is your nitrate level?", does anyone have chart or rule of thumb on what range is bad for what type of coral? i myself have not seen one.
for example o-5 safe for most acro/ 5-10 still ok for less demanding ones but not as colorful/ 10 -20 turning brown/bleaching/ 20-30 dying/ 40+ buy new rocks.....lol. (i made these ranges up as a sample; it's hypothetical)
also test kits varies quite a bit, even salifert. how accurate can one get to the "true" measurement?
i just got a pinpoint nitrate monitor and after a careful calibration, it detects more nitrate than the salifert. 10 vs 2 ppm.
people who claim that they have zero or undetectable level...wonder what test kit they use. the only time i ever get an undetectable level is before the mixed water gets into the tank. i set my calibration of the nitrate monitor to 10 and over (if the level is less than 10 then it just says low level). i am clearly no expert but i have been keeping mostly lps's, some softies and few sps's with some fish for a few years now.
would like to hear other people's input on this.
for example o-5 safe for most acro/ 5-10 still ok for less demanding ones but not as colorful/ 10 -20 turning brown/bleaching/ 20-30 dying/ 40+ buy new rocks.....lol. (i made these ranges up as a sample; it's hypothetical)
also test kits varies quite a bit, even salifert. how accurate can one get to the "true" measurement?
i just got a pinpoint nitrate monitor and after a careful calibration, it detects more nitrate than the salifert. 10 vs 2 ppm.
people who claim that they have zero or undetectable level...wonder what test kit they use. the only time i ever get an undetectable level is before the mixed water gets into the tank. i set my calibration of the nitrate monitor to 10 and over (if the level is less than 10 then it just says low level). i am clearly no expert but i have been keeping mostly lps's, some softies and few sps's with some fish for a few years now.
would like to hear other people's input on this.
my coral's are thriving regardless.long term "exposure" to nitrates is what's bad for corals. As a matter of fact, some softies don't mind some trace nitrates in the tank, and even clams benefit from it. Most people who keep hard corals prefer to keep the nitrates lower because it keeps the corals colored up nicely (along with several factors) instead of looking all brown. Frequent water changes, wet skimming (to prevent breakdown into trates), portioning out the food; target and/or spot feeding all help in the reduction of nitrates (as does cultivating chaetomorpha or other algaes in the sump).
Water changes are still the best option IMO
Water changes are still the best option IMO
