0 Nitrate

[jadedog]

My tank is about 3months old and my nitrates are 0 with a hannah checker. So I took a entire week to heavily feed and it did absolutely nothing hannah still reading 0. I guess I will be manually dosing nitrates I also ordered a hannah phoshate checker which will come in soon. Is there anything else I should do? All my corals look good expect my torch. My zoa actually grew two new heads this month. Im pretty worried about my nitrates situation but the nitrate booster comes on Tuesday so hopefully it helps.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What did you buy?

I recommend food grade sodium nitrate or ammonium bicarbonate to boost N. They are inexpensive from Amazon.

 

[jadedog]

What did you buy?

I recommend food grade sodium nitrate or ammonium bicarbonate to boost N. They are inexpensive from Amazon.

Brightwell aquatic neonitro will this also work?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Brightwell aquatic neonitro will this also work?

Yes, it’s just expensive and lacks a purity guarantee that the food grade products have.

 

[JennyG]

My tank is almost 3 years old and I cannot for the life of me get nitrates above 0. Sounds like I need to start dosing.

 

[jadedog]

My tank is almost 3 years old and I cannot for the life of me get nitrates above 0. Sounds like I need to start dosing.

How are your corals?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My tank is almost 3 years old and I cannot for the life of me get nitrates above 0. Sounds like I need to start dosing.

Did you try feeding more?

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

I have the low nutrient problem too, and do what Randy mentioned. Its so much cheaper make your own. If phosphate is ok, i would just dose nitrate to avoid overfeeding and algae issues.

 

[exnisstech]

Maybe take a look at Randy's article on ammonium dosing. I have one tank with chronic low N and P and I dosed N and P separately mixing my own solution then later switched to ammonium bicarb which gave better results.
Feeding more did nothing for me as far as raising N and P as I was already feeding 4-5 times a day.

 

[kboogie]

I’m wondering if people with zero nitrates are experiencing problems other than the reading on a test?


If your corals are thriving is there a need to make a change.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m wondering if people with zero nitrates are experiencing problems other than the reading on a test?


If your corals are thriving is there a need to make a change.

There are two concerns.

1. Risk of dinos.
2. Not knowing if there is adequate N or not.

 

[JennyG]

I’m wondering if people with zero nitrates are experiencing problems other than the reading on a test?


If your corals are thriving is there a need to make a change.

My corals look fine, but they aren’t growing. I have a frogspawn, a hammer, a Kenya tree, a mushroom, a candy cane, and two acans.

 

[CHSUB]

I’m wondering if people with zero nitrates are experiencing problems other than the reading on a test?


If your corals are thriving is there a need to make a change.

No need to do anything. There is an no3 derangement syndrome on R2R.

 

[CHSUB]

would just dose nitrate to avoid overfeeding and algae issues

Dosing nitrate will avoid algae issues that over feeding would cause? Not agreeing, could you elaborate…

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

No need to do anything. There is an no3 derangement syndrome on R2R.

So you are confident his corals are getting all the N they need? On what do you base that?

 

[CHSUB]

So you are confident his corals are getting all the N they need? On what do you base that?

While of course I don’t know for sure. However with what the op states I would never consider an N deficiency.

 

[CHSUB]

heavily feed

My zoa actually grew two new heads

All my corals look good

And tank at 3 months too young, imo, to do anything differently.

 

[Amstar]

My tank is fallow right now and I found ghost feeing and to much phyto drove up phosphates but my nitrates were still to low

So I used this and made a gallon mixture and dosed from the gallon mixture until my nitrate got to where i want it (over a period of a few days) - I then dose ever other day to keep them in range of where I want until I can get my fish back in the tank then readdress if I will still dose

 

[IceNein]

Honestly, I stopped caring about N and P. I am feeding as much as I'm going to, I was dosing ammonia and I got a massive algae outbreak. Ulva, gracillaris, and caulerpa were going wild. I was trimming them back and N & P were still at zero. My corals look fine, honestly they looked better before I started dosing.

So I have just accepted that the algae in my tank is going to eat all the free N & P, and I have just stopped caring. I have never had dino or cyano problems, and like I said, the coral seems fine. So my current opinion is: Who cares.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Dosing nitrate will avoid algae issues that over feeding would cause? Not agreeing, could you elaborate…

overfeeding would also raise phosphate which would cause algae issues.