Keeping sps in high nitrates

[jordanrb]

I havr had consistent 20ppm nitrates since the tank started. Cant get it to drop and I think its from the live rock. Tried 20% water changes every other day. Filters and skimmer are cleaned regularly. Dont really allow any buildup anywhere. Have a decent selection of soft, lps and euphyllia. I have a 20g cube running an ai prime.



Parameters are all steady at:

Nitrates 21ppm

Ph 8

Alk 8

Calcium 450

Magnesium 1300



I want to get into sps but dont want to cause issues to the tank.

 

[brandondavidson]

I am by no means an sps expert but 20 nitrate isn’t tooooo high. I had issues with high nutrients and saw some more greens come out in my acros then adjusted my feeding and added some extra mechanical filtration and they came down. My acros are looking great and lots of corals are adaptable to various parameters so long as they are stable and within reasonable ranges. I’d do a “test” sps and see how it does and go from there. Also seek out aquacultured corals that are well adjusted to tank life as opposed to recently shipped in.

 

[Reefer Matt]

25 ppm nitrate, .05 ppm phosphate:

 

[JonoH]

No issues with your parameters - mine sat at 25-50ppm for 2 years!

 

[coral reeftank]

Your nitrate values are fine, many sps keepers have nitrates much higher.

Myself included, I’ve run tanks near 0 nitrate and with abundance over the years. The more important parameter is your phosphates and keeping that above 0 ppm. Anecdotally a ratio of 100 nitrate : 1 phosphate seems to be the Goldilocks zone in terms of nutrients

Your general parameters are relatively in line, have you ever done an icp test before? That may help identify some glaring deficiencies. But apart from that I would not worry too much about trace elements until you begin stocking the system heavily with coral. If your tank is relatively lightly stocked and you’re on a consistent water change schedule then most values should be relatively fine, unless the salt mix is of low quality or deficient in key minerals.

Along with this, feeding the tank a high quality feed will also help ensure long term success. Once the corals become large colonies people often struggle with maintaining nutrients due to demand of the corals.

 

[jordanrb]

I am by no means an sps expert but 20 nitrate isn’t tooooo high. I had issues with high nutrients and saw some more greens come out in my acros then adjusted my feeding and added some extra mechanical filtration and they came down. My acros are looking great and lots of corals are adaptable to various parameters so long as they are stable and within reasonable ranges. I’d do a “test” sps and see how it does and go from there. Also seek out aquacultured corals that are well adjusted to tank life as opposed to recently shipped in.

I just gey spooked where most things online say as close to zero as possible for sps.

Will.definitely get a tester

 

[Afterhoursaquarist]

Is it barebottom? The corals look great! They covered alot of the rocks. I think adding some more biomedia to the sump might help! And some beneficial bacteria like dr tims. My sps always looked best between 7-15 no3.

 

[jordanrb]

25 ppm nitrate, .05 ppm phosphate:

Wow! I guess that answers my question. That is beautiful.

Did you ever try to lower your nitrates or did you just commit to steady perameters and see what happens? Do you dose?

 

[jordanrb]

Your nitrate values are fine, many sps keepers have nitrates much higher.

Myself included, I’ve run tanks near 0 nitrate and with abundance over the years. The more important parameter is your phosphates and keeping that above 0 ppm. Anecdotally a ratio of 100 nitrate : 1 phosphate seems to be the Goldilocks zone in terms of nutrients

Your general parameters are relatively in line, have you ever done an icp test before? That may help identify some glaring deficiencies. But apart from that I would not worry too much about trace elements until you begin stocking the system heavily with coral. If your tank is relatively lightly stocked and you’re on a consistent water change schedule then most values should be relatively fine, unless the salt mix is of low quality or deficient in key minerals.

Along with this, feeding the tank a high quality feed will also help ensure long term success. Once the corals become large colonies people often struggle with maintaining nutrients due to demand of the corals.

What would you recommend for keeping phosphates up?

To be completely honest I have no idea what an icp test is. I will have to look into that.

Any recommendations on feed? I would like to have a more mixed reef but definitely less on the sps. Just definitely want to add some.

 

[coral reeftank]

What would you recommend for keeping phosphates up?

To be completely honest I have no idea what an icp test is. I will have to look into that.

Any recommendations on feed? I would like to have a more mixed reef but definitely less on the sps. Just definitely want to add some.

Generally frozen foods are great, mainly because they are fresher and less “dense” so you can control nutrients easier. A fish’s digestive system isn’t the most efficient so a lot of the nutrients pass through them after the food is processed in the gut.

Phosphates are also supplied through foods as well, and many dry foods like pellets contain a lot of phosphates. It’s about finding a good balanced diet for your specific reef and the fish you keep. Generally if you feed the fish well, they can fertilize your corals.

Things become a different story when you have more corals than the fish load can accommodate, that’s when coral feeding and the dosing of extra supplements come into play. This usually takes a few years to reach this point. If the tank isn’t too heavily stocked with corals yet, I’d just focus on feeding a nutritious and varied diet to your fish.

 

[jordanrb]

Generally frozen foods are great, mainly because they are fresher and less “dense” so you can control nutrients easier. A fish’s digestive system isn’t the most efficient so a lot of the nutrients pass through them after the food is processed in the gut.

Phosphates are also supplied through foods as well, and many dry foods like pellets contain a lot of phosphates. It’s about finding a good balanced diet for your specific reef and the fish you keep. Generally if you feed the fish well, they can fertilize your corals.

Things become a different story when you have more corals than the fish load can accommodate, that’s when coral feeding and the dosing of extra supplements come into play. This usually takes a few years to reach this point. If the tank isn’t too heavily stocked with corals yet, I’d just focus on feeding a nutritious and varied diet to your fish.

I definitely have more coral than fish load. I think my current corals are doing well becuase I have chosen easy ones. I am almost positive I will need to dose for any sps I have to keep it happy.