High nitrate!

[luffy]

Helloo,
So i have had this tank for about 5 months, and just now started seeing my nitrates stay at 20ppm-40ppm, i just did a 20% water change yesterday and i tested it today for nitartes again and it still hasnt changed, i dosed with prime and thats it, i wonder if i should dose stability or something else, im also thinking if i need to replace my cartridges for my filtration or just rise them , now that im thinking about it might be the reason. What do you guys think, i did just have a blenny die but i dont think that is a reason for high nitrates.

 

[edsbeaker]

Hi there.
Have you tested your water after mixing it to make sure it isn’t your RODI?
How big is your tank?
Do you use a skimmer or any filter floss or filter socks?
What are your phosphates at?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That nitrate is fine, IMO. Prime is doing nothing useful.

 

[Fish Fan]

Helloo,
So i have had this tank for about 5 months, and just now started seeing my nitrates stay at 20ppm-40ppm, i just did a 20% water change yesterday and i tested it today for nitartes again and it still hasnt changed, i dosed with prime and thats it, i wonder if i should dose stability or something else, im also thinking if i need to replace my cartridges for my filtration or just rise them , now that im thinking about it might be the reason. What do you guys think, i did just have a blenny die but i dont think that is a reason for high nitrates.

I can't view your video, but I'm sure others can. I wouldn't dose Prime, there's just no reason to, and it can cause some problems. Prime does not help with ammonia, and you shouldn't rely on it to do so, you want your rocks and sand to be your natural biofilter. Prime is an effective dechlorinator, but typically you would dechlorinate before adding water to your tank.

Are you using tap water for your tank?

 

[spicymikey]

Nitrate in that range is not ideal by any stretch but it is not going to kill anything. Do you have Coral in this tank? If so the bigger question would be what are your phosphates? High phosphate, let's say above 0.2 PPM, can possibly stress out some sensitive corals and will definitely brown out many of them especially SPS corals

 

[Reef Jedi]

Make sure you are using rodi water as mentioned above. Do you know your levels before your water change? Maybe do another 20% and see if that brings them down. Maybe they were higher and that water change brought them down a little bit another may help. I’d personally do another and re test a ln hour after to see if that brings it down.

Are you using a good test kit method? Is the kit new and not expired? These are just thoughts.

 

[luffy]

Hi there.
Have you tested your water after mixing it to make sure it isn’t your RODI?
How big is your tank?
Do you use a skimmer or any filter floss or filter socks?
What are your phosphates at?

I only tested the salinity of the water i make and my local fish store (i work at) uses rodi water. I dont have a protein skimmer since i do a water change every two weeks (20%), i do have a sock with

That, ill test my levels again, i remember my ammonia being at 0ppm and nitrite being at 0ppm and phosphate being alittle high around 0.25 . I use api marine testing drops

 

[edsbeaker]

I only tested the salinity of the water i make and my local fish store (i work at) uses rodi water. I dont have a protein skimmer since i do a water change every two weeks (20%), i do have a sock with

That, ill test my levels again, i remember my ammonia being at 0ppm and nitrite being at 0ppm and phosphate being alittle high around 0.25 . I use api marine testing drops

A couple of things jump out as possibilities of the high nitrates and phosphates that I would check first to eliminate as the problem.

First API test kits are highly unreliable. I would recommend switching over to Sailfert. They are relatively inexpensive, but a lot more accurate. Then you will have a better idea of the true levels in the tank.

If after using a reliable test you find levels are still high, the next thing I would do is test your newly mixed saltwater for nitrates and phosphates BEFORE you make a water change to make sure your RODI water isn’t the source of nitrates and phosphates.

If those results are 0 for both nitrate and phosphates, then the high levels must be from either overfeeding, overstocking, or not enough water changes to keep levels lower. On their own, especially if you don’t have any nuisance algae, your levels are not horribly high. It really is considered a problem if week after week the levels continue to trend higher and higher instead of staying at a stable level.

At this point, if you would like to get the levels down, more frequent water changes would be your best bet until the nitrate and phosphates are where you want them. If they start trending up again, you may find that you may need to change your filter sock more, increase your water changes, or add a protein skimmer. All of these things will help.

Although there are chemicals and additives available for EVERY problem in our reef tanks, it is best to figure out the cause of that problem and not rely on quick temporary fixes. They will just have you turning in circles and never getting a permanent fix. It’s always best to fix the problem and not just cover it up.

Let me know if you have any other questions!