How to carefully raise nitrate level of 0 ppm to 3 ppm

Peter Brom

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Hi,

I’m cycling my 64 liters saltwater tank for approx. 2 months. About 1 week ago the Nitrate Level exploded suddenly from 5 ppm to 25 ppm. And the Nitrite level increased from 0 to 0.4 ppm. If have no fish or corals in my tank. My goal is to have both of them in the near future after the tank is stable.

Did a lot of research and the best practice was to do a 40% water change to lower the nitrate level. It worked a bit to good. The Nitrate level is stable at 0 ppm and the Nitrite level is stable at 0.005 ppm. See below all the other parameters.

Temperature: 26 °C
Salinity: 1.024
Phosphate: 0
KH: range 8.4 - 9.0 DKH
Calcium: 425
Magnesium: 1.300
PH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0

I understood that a Nitrate level of approx. 3 ppm and phosphate level of 0.02 is what is desired to have when you want corals. But I couldn’t find a good and safe solution how to raise both levels. Does anyone have a good and safe practice how to do this ?

Many thanks for replying.
 
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Peter Brom

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Indeed that should happen.

But I checked it multiple times with the Hanna Nitrate checker and the red sea test kit and both had the same result. The only thing that happened is that the skimmer worked overtime. Had to empty and clean it almost daily.
 
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Peter Brom

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That is certainly a good option. Only I'm not ready yet for adding fish, because I'm an absolute beginner. So i wanted to get all parameters stable for some while before taking the next steps.

I was reading about this product: Nyos NITRATE+. It raises the Nitrate level by adding 1 ml NITRATE + with 1 ppm.

Would you advise this ?
 

I never finish anythi

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The thing is
That is certainly a good option. Only I'm not ready yet for adding fish, because I'm an absolute beginner. So i wanted to get all parameters stable for some while before taking the next steps.

I was reading about this product: Nyos NITRATE+. It raises the Nitrate level by adding 1 ml NITRATE + with 1 ppm.

Would you advise this ?
A fish is the best option imo.
 

Nman

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That is certainly a good option. Only I'm not ready yet for adding fish, because I'm an absolute beginner. So i wanted to get all parameters stable for some while before taking the next steps.

I was reading about this product: Nyos NITRATE+. It raises the Nitrate level by adding 1 ml NITRATE + with 1 ppm.

Would you advise this ?
Pick your self a nice reef safe fish That would do the job as said from above . Also keep your cycle going strong. Only my opinion.
 

Dburr1014

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Adding fish will raise nutrients
Adding fish actually won't raise it but feeding the fish will. :) This will add no3 and po4.
If your cycled, you are ready for fish.
Don't stay 0 and 0 for too long. That will be asking for trouble.

What's your stocking plan?

Edit: I understand you are a beginner.
Why do you think you need to wait to add fish?
99% of people will add fish first. That other 1% just do coral and no fish at all. Is this your plan? Maybe we can get someone that is doing that to chime in.
 

Dburr1014

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That is certainly a good option. Only I'm not ready yet for adding fish, because I'm an absolute beginner. So i wanted to get all parameters stable for some while before taking the next steps.

I was reading about this product: Nyos NITRATE+. It raises the Nitrate level by adding 1 ml NITRATE + with 1 ppm.

Would you advise this ?
You can certainly do this. Also add a product for po4.
Is not as easy and there is nothing in the tank yet to take it up. This may(or may not) start some algae growth.
 

ptrick21186

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If you're waiting for your tank levels to stabalize on a brand new tank before adding fish you're going to have a pretty boring tank for awhile. Most tanks don't REALLY stabalize until about 6 months to a year. And then all that's gonna change once you start adding live stock anyways.
 

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FWIW, 3ppm nitrate and 0.02ppm phosphate are more like bare minimum levels of nutrients, for the average system. You want more like 5-10ppm nitrate (potentially more if you're after soft corals) and at least 0.03ppm phosphate, particularly in a newer, unstable tank.

A fish is a good idea, not least since fish don't care about nutrient levels. Except when it grows them snacks.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Hi,

I’m cycling my 64 liters saltwater tank for approx. 2 months. About 1 week ago the Nitrate Level exploded suddenly from 5 ppm to 25 ppm. And the Nitrite level increased from 0 to 0.4 ppm. If have no fish or corals in my tank. My goal is to have both of them in the near future after the tank is stable.

I would just caution that the observed nitrate rise was likely not real at all, and was just reflecting the tiny nitrite rise, which interferes with nitrate testing and can give big false high readings.

The water change was likely unnecessary.
 

Fishy888

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If you're waiting for your tank levels to stabalize on a brand new tank before adding fish you're going to have a pretty boring tank for awhile. Most tanks don't REALLY stabalize until about 6 months to a year. And then all that's gonna change once you start adding live stock anyways.
^^^ This! I’m glad you decided to get a fish. As stated above fish won’t add nitrate, not directly at least. They add ammonia both from their waste and their respiration. The good bacteria will break it down into nitrite. Then another type of beneficial bacteria will break the nitrite down into nitrate. So fish do help raise nitrates indirectly.

It’s always best not to opt for chemicals to raise your levels if it can be avoided. Fish food (especially good quality pellets and frozen food) are balanced with respect to nitrates and phosphates. I try to maintain a 10:1 ratio of nitrates and phosphates or close to.

Don’t chase numbers though. That applies to all your levels. It can have major consequences. Ask me how I know.

I keep my phosphates between 0.07 and 0.1 ppm and nitrates about 7 to 10 ppm. Sometimes N and P are 11:1 or 8:1 with no Ill effects. If you have 30 ppm nitrates and 0.05 ppm phosphates then I’d try to correct it.

Whatever you do though please don’t let N and P drop to 0 ppm. Your good bacteria will die off if you do, potentially allowing dinoflagellates to take over.
 
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Peter Brom

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I would just caution that the observed nitrate rise was likely not real at all, and was just reflecting the tiny nitrite rise, which interferes with nitrate testing and can give big false high readings.

The water change was likely unnecessary.
This i didn't know, i checked on a daily basis. Thanks for the info
 
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Peter Brom

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^^^ This! I’m glad you decided to get a fish. As stated above fish won’t add nitrate, not directly at least. They add ammonia both from their waste and their respiration. The good bacteria will break it down into nitrite. Then another type of beneficial bacteria will break the nitrite down into nitrate. So fish do help raise nitrates indirectly.

It’s always best not to opt for chemicals to raise your levels if it can be avoided. Fish food (especially good quality pellets and frozen food) are balanced with respect to nitrates and phosphates. I try to maintain a 10:1 ratio of nitrates and phosphates or close to.

Don’t chase numbers though. That applies to all your levels. It can have major consequences. Ask me how I know.

I keep my phosphates between 0.07 and 0.1 ppm and nitrates about 7 to 10 ppm. Sometimes N and P are 11:1 or 8:1 with no Ill effects. If you have 30 ppm nitrates and 0.05 ppm phosphates then I’d try to correct it.

Whatever you do though please don’t let N and P drop to 0 ppm. Your good bacteria will die off if you do, potentially allowing dinoflagellates to take over.
Thanks for the valuable information. I have decided to take 2 Amphiprion Ocellaris where 1 is bigger than the other. These fish are suitable for beginners and easy(er) to keep. Regarding the Nitrate values, the employee of the fish store said that Nitrate values should be between 3 ppm and 5 ppm if you also take corals (which I intend). However, I also read on several sites that a Nitrate value of approximately 5 ppm to 10 ppm (depending on which corals you take) is recommended. Still a lot to learn :)
 

Tired

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Aiming for 5-10 is probably better. Harder for it to accidentally get too low, and a lot of easier corals prefer that slightly higher level. 3-5 is more for a lower-nutrient tank that's intended to have a lot of fussing about and delicate corals, which isn't really what you want.
 

Fishy888

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Thanks for the valuable information. I have decided to take 2 Amphiprion Ocellaris where 1 is bigger than the other. These fish are suitable for beginners and easy(er) to keep. Regarding the Nitrate values, the employee of the fish store said that Nitrate values should be between 3 ppm and 5 ppm if you also take corals (which I intend). However, I also read on several sites that a Nitrate value of approximately 5 ppm to 10 ppm (depending on which corals you take) is recommended. Still a lot to learn :)
As much as I hate to say it you can’t always go by what the LFS says. They’re in it to make sales after all. Definitely try for 5 to 10 ppm, and if you only want to keep soft corals you could even go as high as 15 ppm.
 

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