0 Nitrates

[bjeffries]

My E170 has tested 0 Nitrates for two weeks in a row using Hannah HR tester. Sal 1.025, phosphate .07, Alk 9.8, calcium 425. I have charcoal in my basket. Is 0 bad for nitrates. My tank is 7 years old. Everything looks pretty good. Thanks for feedback. Brian

 

[CHSUB]

My no3 have tested 0 since I stopped using wet dry filters in 1993…no worries yet! You are fine….

 

[mcarroll]

At the thank's age, you should be able to trust how it looks.

If there's any room for improvement (there always can be) then I know for sure it would be incremental change, nothing drastic. For example if you were already feeding X three times a day to the tank, consider making the portion sizes a little larger, or adding a fourth feeding, etc. Or slow down or eliminate one of your filtration strategies if that were to make sense....everything is optional, but usually I strip down to just a skimmer and the live rock in the tank.

 

[bjeffries]

At the thank's age, you should be able to trust how it looks.

If there's any room for improvement (there always can be) then I know for sure it would be incremental change, nothing drastic. For example if you were already feeding X three times a day to the tank, consider making the portion sizes a little larger, or adding a fourth feeding, etc. Or slow down or eliminate one of your filtration strategies if that were to make sense....everything is optional, but usually I strip down to just a skimmer and the live rock in the tank.

Thank you for the response. That makes sense.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I would feed more or dose N in some fashion. I don’t agree that undetectable nitrate is the best plan. It may be ok if there are enough other sources of N than nitrate, but I do not think making that assumption without testing it in your tank is optimal.

 

[bjeffries]

I would feed more or dose N in some fashion. I don’t agree that undetectable nitrate is the best plan. It may be ok if there are enough other sources of N than nitrate, but I do not think making that assumption without testing it in your tank is optimal.

What would be a good N to dose? Maybe I’ll supplement some.

 

[BriDroid]

Does the water in the cuvette have a light pink color to it? My HR test would show 0 but it would be slightly pink, meaning that there is something there. I bought a LR test kit for when the HR shows 0. The LR kit will normally show 1-2ppm.

 

[bjeffries]

Does the water in the cuvette have a light pink color to it? My HR test would show 0 but it would be slightly pink, meaning that there is something there. I bought a LR test kit for when the HR shows 0. The LR kit will normally show 1-2ppm.

Thank you. It did have a pink tint. I’m sorry but what is LR kit?

 

[BriDroid]

Thank you. It did have a pink tint. I’m sorry but what is LR kit?

The low range nitrate test vs the high range kit.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What would be a good N to dose? Maybe I’ll supplement some.

Ammonium bicarbonate (I use that daily), sodium nitrate (I use that for occasional large corrections) or calcium nitrate.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/