Beginner need advice !

[AdrianGo06]

I started my 10g water box this past December everything seems fine I have a good amount of corals in the tank( that I got before it got bad ) mostly zoas but I also have two mushrooms , one torch, and two hammers and I have four fish. Two clowns , one goby, one fire fish .The tank started off fine and all parameters are fine I do frequent testing but when I started it I took advice from my brother saying feed twice a week ( big mistake I heard ) so my nitrates were not going anywhere. But now that I did a water change and now feeding every day for my guys the tank took a dive and nitrites stated building up but no algae over grow or cloudy water . nitrates stayed at 0 somehow I’ve been feeding every day for about three weeks now and corals seem fine my mushroom actually split my touch is doing great and my hammers are doing great despite the level of nitrates being almost non existent. My local store gave me a bottle of bacteria to start dosing through out the week after I did my water change this past Sunday everything seems fine but my zoas are closing up and not doing their thing . Any advice on how to get my nitrates up safely and prevent these nitrites , any advice please feel free to share I’ll take all the knowledge I can get !

 

[AdrianGo06]

Thank you !

 

[Ryanliyikun]

Sounds like your tank may be going through a mini cycle. If nitrites are showing and nitrates stay at 0, your bacteria probably haven’t fully caught up yet. I’d focus less on raising nitrates and more on getting ammonia/nitrite back to 0 first.

A few things I’d do:

• keep dosing the bacteria
• do small water changes to bring nitrites down
• feed lightly, not heavy
• keep testing ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate

Zoas closing is usually a stress sign, so they’re probably reacting to the instability. The good news is your other corals doing well is a solid sign. Once the tank stabilizes, the zoas should improve too.

 

[AdrianGo06]

Sounds like your tank may be going through a mini cycle. If nitrites are showing and nitrates stay at 0, your bacteria probably haven’t fully caught up yet. I’d focus less on raising nitrates and more on getting ammonia/nitrite back to 0 first.

A few things I’d do:

• keep dosing the bacteria
• do small water changes to bring nitrites down
• feed lightly, not heavy
• keep testing ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate

Zoas closing is usually a stress sign, so they’re probably reacting to the instability. The good news is your other corals doing well is a solid sign. Once the tank stabilizes, the zoas should improve too.

Thank you very much I appreciate the input will do on the light feeding and dosing the bacteria I’m getting water tomorrow for more changes !

 

[Fish Fan]

Sorry you're having some difficulty

Your tank has been running since December, so it's fully nitrogen cycled; no need to dose additional bacteria.

First thing, what are you using for test kits? It's important to know that your results are trustworthy.

Do you know any of your other parameters besides nitrate?

Throw the nitrite test kit out the window, you don't need to test for nitrite at all as it's non-toxic in saltwater aquaria (unlike in freshwater). I wouldn't do water changes or take any action based a test result for nitrite.

What then is the concern, low nitrate? Assuming your test results are accurate, feeding more should increase nitrate. If it does not, dosing nitrate or better still ammonia would be a good way to raise your nitrate if you really need to:

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

Posting some clear pics of your system, the corals in question, and listing your tank's parameters (temps, salinity, nitrate, phosphate, and Alk if possible) would go a long way to helping other R2R members better help you

I hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I started my 10g water box this past December everything seems fine I have a good amount of corals in the tank( that I got before it got bad ) mostly zoas but I also have two mushrooms , one torch, and two hammers and I have four fish. Two clowns , one goby, one fire fish .The tank started off fine and all parameters are fine I do frequent testing but when I started it I took advice from my brother saying feed twice a week ( big mistake I heard ) so my nitrates were not going anywhere. But now that I did a water change and now feeding every day for my guys the tank took a dive and nitrites stated building up but no algae over grow or cloudy water . nitrates stayed at 0 somehow I’ve been feeding every day for about three weeks now and corals seem fine my mushroom actually split my touch is doing great and my hammers are doing great despite the level of nitrates being almost non existent. My local store gave me a bottle of bacteria to start dosing through out the week after I did my water change this past Sunday everything seems fine but my zoas are closing up and not doing their thing . Any advice on how to get my nitrates up safely and prevent these nitrites , any advice please feel free to share I’ll take all the knowledge I can get !

I agree, don't test nitrites. Testing nitrites is irrelevant in reefing after the initial cycle. What are you using to test your other parameters?
Photos of your tank?
What are you feeding your tank?
If your tank is cycled, IMO you don't need to use bottled bacteria.

 

[Avgwarhawk]

Don't test Nitrites. No need.

 

[W31Olds]

Increasing Nitrates is easy but be cautious because it can lead to other problems like GHA.
Here are two ways to increase it.
Feed more
Dose something like Neonitro.
You do need an accurate way to test them, and 0 nitrates can also lead to problems. Dyno's

 

[get-salty]

Current problem is zero no4.
List your current water parameters and types of food you're feeding.

Agreed, stop with the water changes and leave it running while slowly raising the no4.

 

[AdrianGo06]

Current problem is zero no4.
List your current water parameters and types of food you're feeding.

Agreed, stop with the water changes and leave it running while slowly raising the no4.

 

[AdrianGo06]

Sorry you're having some difficulty

Your tank has been running since December, so it's fully nitrogen cycled; no need to dose additional bacteria.

First thing, what are you using for test kits? It's important to know that your results are trustworthy.

Do you know any of your other parameters besides nitrate?

Throw the nitrite test kit out the window, you don't need to test for nitrite at all as it's non-toxic in saltwater aquaria (unlike in freshwater). I wouldn't do water changes or take any action based a test result for nitrite.

What then is the concern, low nitrate? Assuming your test results are accurate, feeding more should increase nitrate. If it does not, dosing nitrate or best still ammonia would be a good way to raise your nitrate if you really need to:

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

Posting some clear pics of your system, the corals in question, and listing your tank's parameters (temps, salinity, nitrate, phosphate, and Alk if possible) would go a long way to helping other R2R members better help you

I hope this helps and good luck!

The nitrates read zero because the tester. Will put it at 0 if it’s below 5

 

[Fish Fan]

The nitrates read zero because the tester. Will put it at 0 if it’s below 5

Bellow 5.0 ppm nitrate could well be zero nitrate, which may invite dinos

 

[Tahoe61]

It's going to be a challenge to balance the tank chemistry because of the small volume of water and the amount of fish.
If it's a 10 gallon tank, it's probably only holding 8 gallons if that. Four fish and the required feedings are going to be an issue. Feeding the fish what they need and then maintaining nutrients in a small nano is going to be difficult.
I suggest a larger tank or less fish. You can also try doing a small water change daily.