HIGH Phos and Nitrates (But everything is doing okay?!?)

[T-reefs]

Set up my first reef tank in November and added my first corals a couple of weeks ago and everything is doing amazing! Everything opened up within hours if not minutes and even a blasto which came in pretty rough shape is now thriving. But when I went to test phosphates and nitrates they were extremely high. (phos of more than 0.25ppm and nitrates of 30ppm). Am I simply getting lucky? And should I take steps to lower my values? or would it be best to leave things as is. Please let me know. Super excited to be a new member of this community!

Stocking:
- 4 Zoa Frags
- 2 Blasto Frags
- 1 Hammer Frag
- 2 Chalice Frags

 

[Trenton Henderson]

Set up my first reef tank in November and added my first corals a couple of weeks ago and everything is doing amazing! Everything opened up within hours if not minutes and even a blasto which came in pretty rough shape is now thriving. But when I went to test phosphates and nitrates they were extremely high. (phos of more than 0.25ppm and nitrates of 30ppm). Am I simply getting lucky? And should I take steps to lower my values? or would it be best to leave things as is. Please let me know. Super excited to be a new member of this community!

Stocking:
- 4 Zoa Frags
- 2 Blasto Frags
- 1 Hammer Frag
- 2 Chalice Frags

The Zoas probably won’t hate it, but the others might be sensitive to those levels over time. Being that they are LPS, 10-20 ppm Nitrate would probably be okay. Phosphate can be troublesome above 0.1 ppm as it contributes heavily to nuisance algae and bacterias, as well as slow calcification of stony corals.

How long have they been in the tank? How big is the tank? How many/what kind of fish? How much do you feed?

In my tank, I aim for 0.03-0.08 Phosphate and between 4 and 10 ppm Nitrates, but I also have SPS. Everything benefits from some nutrients, but too much can cause issues.

If it were me, doing a decent size water change (50% ish) would do well as a first step. Reducing feeding can also help.