Low nitrates

[Jeezy85]

hi,

My nitrates are really low like near enough 0-1ppm.

I have stopped running my algae reactor so but I was wondering if me not running it will starve the corals?

 

[TheHarold]

hi,

My nitrates are really low like near enough 0-1ppm.

I have stopped running my algae reactor so but I was wondering if me not running it will starve the corals?

Are you running the triton method?

 

[SantaMonica]

You can just feed a lot, lot more.

 

[Jeezy85]

Yes I am running triton method but no refugium running due to the low nitrates.

I am feeding quite heavy but still no rise in nitrates

 

[jzw]

dose nitrates. we had the same issue months 1-6. heck, we still dose nitrates at month 12 lols.

 

[Joe Batt]

I have a similar problem. My nitrates are reading pretty much zero, with phosphates around 0.03-0.05. I run the Triton method with a good refugium. Everything seems to be growing OK, and I scrape the glass every other day so algae is growing.I am guessing that the cheato is using all the nitrates and hence nothing showing up.

I only use gfo, when the phosphates get higher, but at the moment no need.

I don't know if I should worry or if I should dose nitrates to bring it up to 5ppm...ish, or just leave it be.

 

[DFR]

What does your filtration system look like besides the algae reactor (filter socks, skimmer, etc.)? Also what are you other tank parameters?
The only reason I ask is because there are always ways you can play around with duration many of these equipments are running or you can completely take some offline. However depending on your other parameters (mostly just phosphate) you may want to take other measures.
As a side note, even with lower nitrates, your corals can do fine and color up nicely providing you supplement your system with amino acids.

 

[Jeezy85]

I have a rowphos reactor running too.

I was thinking of dosing Red Sea energy A&J but wasn’t sure it it was a good idea to use it with triton?

 

[Joe Batt]

What does your filtration system look like besides the algae reactor (filter socks, skimmer, etc.)? Also what are you other tank parameters?
The only reason I ask is because there are always ways you can play around with duration many of these equipments are running or you can completely take some offline. However depending on your other parameters (mostly just phosphate) you may want to take other measures.
As a side note, even with lower nitrates, your corals can do fine and color up nicely providing you supplement your system with amino acids.

I am running the full Triton method. I have a large refugium full of cheato, a skimmer, and two reactors. One runs carbon and the other GFO as and when needed, currently not running. I don't use filter socks at all, the cheato filters the water well and also feeds the cheato. I have today started to dose NeoNitro by Brightwell Aquatics.

I may also reduce the period that the skimmer is running down from 24/7 to 18/7.

 

[DFR]

I am running the full Triton method. I have a large refugium full of cheato, a skimmer, and two reactors. One runs carbon and the other GFO as and when needed, currently not running. I don't use filter socks at all, the cheato filters the water well and also feeds the cheato. I have today started to dose NeoNitro by Brightwell Aquatics.

I may also reduce the period that the skimmer is running down from 24/7 to 18/7.

Chaeto is very effective at lowering nutrient levels. If your system is doing well and everything is still growing, I really wouldn’t change anything. Decreasing the refugium photoperiod or the runtime of the skimmer will definitely increase your nutrient levels. Since you have both skimmer and refugium running simultaneously, if you decrease one, the other will probably compensate by additional uptake. If your chaeto starts to grow at a faster pace, just be aware that some of your trace elements may decrease a little quicker.
By changing my skimmer run-time from 24hrs to ~12hrs increased my nitrates from <0.2ppm to 1ppm. However my phosphate levels are still reading 0.00ppm. I also dose amino acids so I’m pretty confident that my corals are getting enough nutrition in my system.
Good luck!!!

 

[SantaMonica]

Remember that natural reefs have low enough nitrate that hobby test kits measure zero. Phosphate too.

 

[rock_lobster]

Remember that natural reefs have low enough nitrate that hobby test kits measure zero. Phosphate too.

not 100% sure but I bet wild reefs have really high particulate or organic load (from the billions of fish and other marine life) that isnt achievable in a reef tank(plus we have skimmers sucking up all the organics). My experience is No nitrate or phos in a reef tank = death really fast

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Good morning!! My tanks no3 has bottomed out again. I added 7 anthias to my tank Thursday and tested my no3 this morning. It read between 0 and 0.25 ppm. I’m kind of wanting to keep the levels higher around 5 ppm. I have dosed potassium nitrate in the past but didn’t really want to anymore. Should I turn my skimmer off for 6 hours a day or just give the tank/anthias more time and retest nitrates?

I currently have a 90 gallon system with mostly sticks. Large refugium lit by a h380.

 

[DFR]

Good morning!! My tanks no3 has bottomed out again. I added 7 anthias to my tank Thursday and tested my no3 this morning. It read between 0 and 0.25 ppm. I’m kind of wanting to keep the levels higher around 5 ppm. I have dosed potassium nitrate in the past but didn’t really want to anymore. Should I turn my skimmer off for 6 hours a day or just give the tank/anthias more time and retest nitrates?

I currently have a 90 gallon system with mostly sticks. Large refugium lit by a h380.

Being that you just added those fish, give it some time before you make anymore changes. If after a couple weeks your levels are still lower than you like, then I would definitely start looking at altering your filtration. Plus assuming your Refugium is lit opposite the display, the nitrates may be a little lower in the morning. For a moderately stocked 90, I would’ve probably used the h160 so I’m sure the system runs real clean with the 380 . And as your corals grow, your nutrient levels are only going to get lower so you could probably ditch the skimmer all together in the future.

 

[DFR]

I have a rowphos reactor running too.

I was thinking of dosing Red Sea energy A&J but wasn’t sure it it was a good idea to use it with triton?

I don’t see any reason not to try it out. From my understanding, they’re mainly amino acids and carbs (more or less food for the corals).

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Being that you just added those fish, give it some time before you make anymore changes. If after a couple weeks your levels are still lower than you like, then I would definitely start looking at altering your filtration. Plus assuming your Refugium is lit opposite the display, the nitrates may be a little lower in the morning. For a moderately stocked 90, I would’ve probably used the h160 so I’m sure the system runs real clean with the 380 . And as your corals grow, your nutrient levels are only going to get lower so you could probably ditch the skimmer all together in the future.

Thank you for the reply. I am a newer reefer and still trying to figure things out. I didn’t know nutriants would be lower in the morning I’ll have to test in the afternoon or evening to see if things change. I was also unsure how long it took how nitrates to start to rise after adding new fish. I’ll give it till the beggining of December and if things are still low should I turn my skimmer off for 8 hours to start? If so what time of day?

 

[DFR]

Haha we’ve all been there. I just got back into the hobby after about 6-8 years.
What I did was completely turned off my skimmer for a week and my nitrates went from <0.2 to 2. Then the following week I only ran it while my lights were on and it dropped to 1. I was okay with this so I left it at that schedule and my nitrates have been holding steady at 1ppm for a couple months now. Probably in the next 6 months to a year I’ll be taking the skimmer offline and relying solely on a refugium (no filter socks, gfo, skimmer, carbon, etc). As the need for any other filtration pops up I’ll utilize what’s needed.

 

[DarkSky]

I have a similar problem. My nitrates are reading pretty much zero, with phosphates around 0.03-0.05. I run the Triton method with a good refugium. Everything seems to be growing OK, and I scrape the glass every other day so algae is growing.

Same problems here, same method of reef keeping. Phosphates a bit high, 0 nitrates, but I was scraping every week at best. I started feeding a lot heavier and now I'm having to scrape every other day. SPS are coloring up better now too. Just seems more food was required.

 

[SantaMonica]

I bet wild reefs have really high particulate or organic load

Yes a tremendous amount of food particles in the water at all times, especially at night where sometimes divers can't see their hands because of the glare off of the particles.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Same problems here, same method of reef keeping. Phosphates a bit high, 0 nitrates, but I was scraping every week at best. I started feeding a lot heavier and now I'm having to scrape every other day. SPS are coloring up better now too. Just seems more food was required.

I am worried that if I start feeding an additional cube or two my nitrates could blow up? How much food did you increase by and how long did it take to see no3 increase?