I have a quick question

[xWascallyWabbit]

In December I have installed a refugium to my 2 year tank. Nitrates have slowly dropped to 0 and phosphates are at 0.03.
Heres the question:
Should I he concerned with the low nitrates?

My thoughts:
I know that the Nitrate test kits only show what is left over in the tank. I know the 6 fish I have are producing ammonia as well as an auto feeder foing off 4 times a day.
There is still nitrates intake as algae is growing in the sump so should I be concerned that it's at 0 or just leave it be.

 

[Oldreefer44]

IMO, probably not. First question: Is this a fish only tank or do you have corals?
If fish only then nothing to worry about.
If you have corals and they look good then IMO nothing to worry about but suggest a second opinion as the likelihood of 0 nitrates is low so could be testing issue. Have LFS check it or get use a different test kit.

 

[xWascallyWabbit]

IMO, probably not. First question: Is this a fish only tank or do you have corals?
If fish only then nothing to worry about.
If you have corals and they look good then IMO nothing to worry about but suggest a second opinion as the likelihood of 0 nitrates is low so could be testing issue. Have LFS check it or get use a different test kit.

Good point. Heres some missing info.
Tank is mixed reef. All corals seem to be in good health. Nitrate test kit is Hannah. I've had no issues with it. I test weekly and have seen a steady decline. No change in the way I do the test so it should be consistent. Reagents are in date and not too old.

 

[cilyjr]

In December I have installed a refugium to my 2 year tank. Nitrates have slowly dropped to 0 and phosphates are at 0.03.
Heres the question:
Should I he concerned with the low nitrates?

My thoughts:
I know that the Nitrate test kits only show what is left over in the tank. I know the 6 fish I have are producing ammonia as well as an auto feeder foing off 4 times a day.
There is still nitrates intake as algae is growing in the sump so should I be concerned that it's at 0 or just leave it be.

You're correct in that there is nitrogen production happening.

Should you be concerned?
That's really up to you. The gold standard for the early '90s through mid 2000s was no detectable, nitrates or phosphates. I think people found that things seemed a little more healthy with small amounts that were detectable.


If it were me , it would not keep me up at night considering I ran a tank for close to 10 years without detectable nitrates. I would however consider allowing them to creep up a little bit.
I now function somewhere in the 3.5 to 5 range. The other question you should ask yourself is how accurate do you think your test kit is?

 

[xWascallyWabbit]

IMO, probably not. First question: Is this a fish only tank or do you have corals?
If fish only then nothing to worry about.
If you have corals and they look good then IMO nothing to worry about but suggest a second opinion as the likelihood of 0 nitrates is low so could be testing issue. Have LFS check it or get use a different test kit.

I'm hoping it's nothing to worry about. I appreciate your input. I have several options to consider.
I could:
Auto feed more food or increase the amount its drops or change filter floss less frequently or a combination of the two.
An obvious lever may be my protein skimmer but I already have it on the lowest setting (dry skim) it pulls out some but not crazy. Mostly use it for oxygenation w/ the benefit of pulling out gunk. The fugees definitely took over as the main nutrient export.

 

[Oldreefer44]

Good point. Heres some missing info.
Tank is mixed reef. All corals seem to be in good health. Nitrate test kit is Hannah. I've had no issues with it. I test weekly and have seen a steady decline. No change in the way I do the test so it should be consistent. Reagents are in date and not too old.

Good. The IMO don't worry about it.

 

[xWascallyWabbit]

You're correct in that there is nitrogen production happening.

Should you be concerned?
That's really up to you. The gold standard for the early '90s through mid 2000s was no detectable, nitrates or phosphates. I think people found that things seemed a little more healthy with small amounts that were detectable.


If it were me , it would not keep me up at night considering I ran a tank for close to 10 years without detectable nitrates. I would however consider allowing them to creep up a little bit.
I now function somewhere in the 3.5 to 5 range. The other question you should ask yourself is how accurate do you think your test kit is?

I'm considering letting my filter floss stay in the cups and really only change it once a week or 10 days. Just to let it provide more nutrients. That seems to be a really convenient way to see if I can get them to drift up a bit. In a few weeks if it doesn't I may consider dropping slightly more food as well.

 

[cilyjr]

I'm considering letting my filter floss stay in the cups and really only change it once a week or 10 days. Just to let it provide more nutrients. That seems to be a really convenient way to see if I can get them to drift up a bit. In a few weeks if it doesn't I may consider dropping slightly more food as well.

On a side note, I don't think anything will die. I suppose it's possible to see a slower growth rate or something. But who's really accurately actually counting growth rate?

The times I find my system a touch on the low side. I do exactly that, feed a bit heavier.