0 nitrate 0 nitrite and 7dkh alkalinity

[40breederzach]

I have read the having detectable nitrate and nitrite is beneficial to healthy coral growth. I also would like to raise my alkalinity. Any ideas on how to raise these three. Also should i try to raise them. I run gfo and carbon and a skimmer. I haven't done a water change in about a month trying to let those numbers rise but nothing is doing any good.

 

[dbjonesjr]

A general rule of thumb to follow is as follows:
Low nutrients (nitrates, phosphates) = Low alkalinity (dKH)
High nutrients (nitrates, phosphates) = Higher alkalinity
This means that for a healthy reef tank you should not run high alkalinity without high nutrients. This can result in burnt and unhappy corals. That being said you can try dosing nitrates using potassium nitrate from your local hardware store (also known as stump remover) using this. However, you likely will not see immediate results and will need to continue dosing over time to see nitrates rise. I would recommend against raising nitrites as this can kill fish and other living creatures.
For raising alkalinity you can make a solution with soda ash or sodium bicarbonate of your choice. You could also do water changes with a salt that has higher alkalinity levels. Once again I would caution you from raising alkalinity levels as long as your nutrient levels stay low.

 

[Nburg's Reef]

You never want detectable nitrite in your tank. Its usually indicates issues with your nitrogen fixing bacteria colony.
Nitrates and Phosphates are a tricky subject as @dbjonesjr suggests. 7 dKH is borderline too low, which gives you no margin of error if you have an alk swing. I would recommend at least 8.5 which gives you some buffer zone if your alk fluctuates.
Nitrate testing is a way of testing if there is good nutrition in your tank but doens't tell the whole story. I for the life of me cant get nitrate to read on my Red Sea test and my ATI-ICP test had it at 0.01 ppm, however I feed like crazy and have good coral growth and color. I began focusing more on feeding my fish until they can't eat anymore than chasing nitrate numbers.

 

[40breederzach]

what is the best way of raising alkalinity and keeping there that i can hook up to a dosing system because being a college student i usually go home on weekends and on breaks.

 

[Nburg's Reef]

what is the best way of raising alkalinity and keeping there that i can hook up to a dosing system because being a college student i usually go home on weekends and on breaks.

The most affordable solution is a BRS setup for about $240 bucks which gets you all the solution you need for a while and 2 dosers. you just need timers for the dosers. Depending on budget, there are better dosers out there, but these are pretty solid and inexpensive. I would start by doing some water changes to slowely get your alk up to the desired level. Your salt should have a higher dKH than 7. most are in the 8.5-12 range. Once you are close enough, get your dosers going to dose a small amount each day, depending on your tank size, then monitor your alk almost every day at the same time for a week or so. I would then adjust the amount dosed based on alk trends (I would wait a few days or more between tweaks) until you end up not having to dose anymore. If you have SPS, you will likely use a lot. If you have leather and LPS, very little. My 40g sps used 35 mls per day, my red sea reefer 45 which has more than double the amount of water uses 12ml per day because I have very few SPS.

 

[40breederzach]

i have an apex on it so hooking up the 2 dosers to it would work?

 

[dbjonesjr]

what is the best way of raising alkalinity and keeping there that i can hook up to a dosing system because being a college student i usually go home on weekends and on breaks.

I actually am in the same situation (college) as you. I use kalkwasser in my auto top off to keep up with alkalinity and calcium. You can get away with manual dosing two part on a weekly basis if you are home every weekend or have someone to do it with you. If you want to go automated I'd second what @Nburg said as I have only had bad luck with Jebao dosers. But that is an option as well.
Edit: If you wanted to get the Apex dosing system that would work great as well.

 

[40breederzach]

would a kalk stirrer work for that?

 

[dbjonesjr]

There's all kinds of methods if you do a quick search. I just found kalk in the ato to be the easiest and cheapest for me but a kalk stirrer is another option.

 

[40breederzach]

does anyone know about how long a kalk stirrer will last before having ti change the kalk?

 

[Nburg's Reef]

I have never used kalkwasser because I find ATO fluctuates with humidity in my house so I can't say much to that, but I know a lot of people that use it. With the 2-part dosers, I also have an Apex and use a 2 way outlet splitter since Alk and Ca parts should be dosed 1:1 so 1 plug runs both so I save an outlet. You could also go with a DOS doser for more money, they are made to link with the Apex making everything easier.

Either method you use will require testing alk almost daily until you dial in your daily consumption. Then you can go to weekly, but demand will rise over time as corals and coraline grow bigger. so its never a set-it and forget it... more of a dial it in and maintain it.

 

[40breederzach]

about how my skimmer has been for months;Playful

 

[40breederzach]

in the way of set and dial in and set and dial againg

 

[Nburg's Reef]

What kind of skimmer? they should be pretty much set and forget. I usually dial mine in and never have to touch it until I soak it in vinegar.

 

[40breederzach]

i just soaked in vinegar and it made the night without overflowing cup. ill usually set it lower than where the cup screws on and wake up in morning to it overflowing. its a vertex omega 130

 

[Nburg's Reef]

I've had old skimmers do that many years ago, but my current skimmer has never overflowed in the 3 years I have used it. Do you notice it doing that when you dose or add anything to the tank? some additive will affect bubble formation in the skimmer.

 

[40breederzach]

i dont dose anything yet besides running gfo and carbon in a reactor.

 

[Johnson556]

Remove the GFO, only run carbon for a few days once every month or two then take it offline. Let the nutrients accumulate on their own, 7dKH is fine for your current nutrient levels.

As for dosing, since you have an APEX get the DOS or two BRS 1.1 ML dosers. I use ESV Bionic and love it, more concentrated so it lasts a while depending on your system. Just make sure you test test test while dialing in and test at least weekly or more once you begin adding corals.

As for the skimmer whats the water level in your sump, if its dialed back all the way and still overflowing each night its probably in too deep. Throw it on a platform of some sort so it hits the manufacturers recommended water level.

 

[40breederzach]

its at 7 3/4" i can raise that level but thats as low as the gate on my baffle kit goes. its not dialed all the way back i would set and it would ski nicely for 45 min then eihter fall down to halfway the body or it would overflow the cup almost instatnly.

 

[40breederzach]

i have a couple of zoas and a torch in tank now i have on the way a goniopopra, a hammer, an acan, a pulsing xenia, and a favia from the wwc sale.