High Nitrates!!!

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Yeah, to be more accurate, I think you would say nitrate levels that high indicate that the cycle is not completed; most reefers would consider readings below 20 as "cycled"

I have no idea where this idea comes from! The purpose of cycling a new tank is to allow enough of the 2 kinds of nitrifying bacteria to become established so that ammonia is quickly turned into nitrate. The level of nitrate is then managed by removal/export of some sort.

 

[Spare time]

I learned the hard way to. Get another test kit. Red sea or Salifert. No way tour nitrate is that high with a 2 week old tank.

Yeah it can be that high from cycling. Also, API isn't that innacurate/bad. It is popular to bully api on this forum but 99.999% of the time it appears to be a user error in reading the color card as precipitation can make it appear at 0.25. My guess is that the OP has some nitrite and that is making it appear high or they added way too much ammonia.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

In my experience topping off with distilled which is seen as too pure and contains no nutrients/minerals drops nutrient levels extremely low and many people recommend it too. Here’s one of many articles on it. https://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/can-you-use-distilled-water-in-a-saltwater-fish-tank/

Top off water is to replace what's evaporated, and minerals don't evaporate! I'm sorry, but you are only going to confuse people with this inaccurate information!
Most experienced reefers use RODI as top off... I guess we're all wrong...

 

[ZombieEngineer]

In my experience topping off with distilled which is seen as too pure and contains no nutrients/minerals drops nutrient levels extremely low and many people recommend it too. Here’s one of many articles on it. https://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/can-you-use-distilled-water-in-a-saltwater-fish-tank/

That advice does not apply to saltwater. That article is about freshwater.

Deionized water or RODI for short is the gold standard for saltwater top off. You get plenty of nutrients from feeding the fish and minerals are are replenished through water changes not top off.

 

[AydenLincoln]

That advice does not apply to saltwater. That article is about freshwater.

Deionized water or RODI for short is the gold standard for saltwater top off. You get plenty of nutrients from feeding the fish and minerals are are replenished through water changes not top off.

There’s more than one article and yes it absolutely does apply to saltwater too and I’ve seen what happens to my levels when I top off with distilled and don’t add any nutrients back they fall to critical levels needed to maintain a reef tank.

 

[SilvermistInc]

My Nitrates are really high at the moment and i’m going to get my first fish tomorrow because my tank is fully cycled and i’m wondering if some tap water conditioner will solve the problem

What exactly is high?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

What exactly is high?

He said about 100.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

There’s more than one article and yes it absolutely does apply to saltwater too and I’ve seen what happens to my levels when I top off with distilled and don’t add any nutrients back they fall to critical levels needed to maintain a reef tank.

I'm sorry, but that is simply wrong. To tell a beginner that they need to add something to top off water when you have no idea what their tank needs is irresponsible. I assume you are referring to needing to raise alk, calcium, and the like? That's a whole other discussion and definitely not something a complete beginner with nothing in the tank needs to worry about

 

[Mikedawg]

I have no idea where this idea comes from! The purpose of cycling a new tank is to allow enough of the 2 kinds of nitrifying bacteria to become established so that ammonia is quickly turned into nitrate. The level of nitrate is then managed by removal/export of some sort.

So how do you determine when a tank is cycled? Metrics?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So how do you determine when a tank is cycled? Metrics?

A tank is cycled in the basic sense when 2ppm ammonia is converted completely to nitrate in 24 hours.
There are of course "cycles" other than the nitrogen cycle that occur in reef tanks, but this thread is about the basic nitrogen cycle.

 

[Mikedawg]

A tank is cycled in the basic sense when 2ppm ammonia is converted completely to nitrate in 24 hours.
There are of course "cycles" other than the nitrogen cycle that occur in reef tanks, but this thread is about the basic nitrogen cycle.

And what levels of nitrate should the conversion produce?

 

[AydenLincoln]

I'm sorry, but that is simply wrong. To tell a beginner that they need to add something to top off water when you have no idea what their tank needs is irresponsible. I assume you are referring to needing to raise alk, calcium, and the like? That's a whole other discussion and definitely not something a complete beginner with nothing in the tank needs to worry about

Remineralizing Distilled Water​

The best way to use distilled water is to mix it with minerals.

This remineralized distilled water makes among the top choices for saltwater aquariums because it is no longer harmful to your fish.

Can Distilled Water Be Used in a Saltwater Aquarium? - Aquarium Sphere

Setting up a marine aquarium can be a fascinating and rewarding experience but you should be familiar with the processes and equipment involved.

aquariumsphere.com

They can absolutely research it more but it’s true and again my personal experience and what others have told me they do when using distilled regularly as top off.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

There’s more than one article and yes it absolutely does apply to saltwater too and I’ve seen what happens to my levels when I top off with distilled and don’t add any nutrients back they fall to critical levels needed to maintain a reef tank.

Almost no tank requires nutrient dosing and the few that do the practice is generally to just feed more.

Maintaining parameters for coral skeletal growth requires additives, but this is typically performed (in order of usage/tank size) water changes -> kalkwasser or allforreef -> 2/3 part dosing -> calcium reactor.

Top off water should always be RODI or RODI mixed with just the right amount of kalkwasser to meet alkalinity demand.

Note for OP. The talk of alkalinity calcium magnesium is applicable for stoney corals only. This is not necessary for fish only.

 

[Clownreef]

There’s more than one article and yes it absolutely does apply to saltwater too and I’ve seen what happens to my levels when I top off with distilled and don’t add any nutrients back they fall to critical levels needed to maintain a reef tank.

Ive been doing this for 22 years… I have NEVER heard of that. Any reputable articles that mention this?

 

[AydenLincoln]

Ive been doing this for 22 years… I have NEVER heard of that. Any reputable articles that mention this?

Here’s one I’ve read recently but there’s others and this is my experience.

Can Distilled Water Be Used in a Saltwater Aquarium? - Aquarium Sphere

Setting up a marine aquarium can be a fascinating and rewarding experience but you should be familiar with the processes and equipment involved.

aquariumsphere.com

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

And what levels of nitrate should the conversion produce?

That is not part of the equation. If nitrates are high, then water changes are done to lower them.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Remineralizing Distilled Water​

The best way to use distilled water is to mix it with minerals.

This remineralized distilled water makes among the top choices for saltwater aquariums because it is no longer harmful to your fish.

Can Distilled Water Be Used in a Saltwater Aquarium? - Aquarium Sphere

Setting up a marine aquarium can be a fascinating and rewarding experience but you should be familiar with the processes and equipment involved.

aquariumsphere.com

They can absolutely research it more but it’s true and again my personal experience and what others have told me they do when using distilled regularly as top off.

I suggest reading this first. RHF is the expert of reef aquaria chemistry. I would not trust an article from a no name website nobody has heard of if it conflicts with anything said by randy.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php

 

[AydenLincoln]

I suggest reading this first. RHF is the expert of reef aquaria chemistry. I would not trust an article from a no name website nobody has heard of if it conflicts with anything said by randy.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php

Again this was just the website I could find that explained it easily. I have read it in several other places and my LFS recommended it too because topping off just distilled water off for me dropped my levels so low so I add minerals back.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I suggest reading this first. RHF is the expert of reef aquaria chemistry. I would not trust an article from a no name website nobody has heard of if it conflicts with anything said by randy.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php

I found another article: https://seatechh2o.com/difference-between-rodi-water-and-distilled-water/

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Again this was just the website I could find that explained it easily. I have read it in several other places and my LFS recommended it too because topping off just distilled water off for me dropped my levels so low so I add minerals back.

I don't want to take this thread off track. I would suggest posting a question about this in the reef chemistry forum. Randy moderates that forum and can explain it a lot better than I can.