Need some advice (HELP!!) from an experienced reefer on water parameters.

[drunkn_reefr]

Hello I am new to the site and new to the hobby. I'll try and keep it as short as possible and give all info needed to help. I have a 40 gallon breeder with custom AIO sump I purchased on line that runs the entire back of the tank with 2- 4" filter socks. I also have 2 AI Prime, return pump, 2 wave makers and a Tunze protein skimmer (which I am currently not running). I have 5 fish, some CUC, and some softies and a couple monti frags. I feed fish daily.

Problems- No nitrate in my tank. I decided to cut back on water changes from every week to every three weeks to raise nitrates but now my alkalinity is low. I was thinking of dosing kalkwaser but my calcium is at 420. I'm thinking i need to go back to weekly or bi-weekly water changes & deal with the low nitrates another way. Any advice on what can be done.

Fish are doing good and corals are doing ok to not so great. My beginner softies are all ok. My Zoas don't seem to be doing so good.

Tank Parameters
Nitrate 0
Phosphate .03
Alkalinity 6.6 dkh
calcium 420
salt 35 ppt Reef Crystals

 

[blaxsun]

I’d be curious what your PH is? What kind of test kit(s) are you using? I’d probably want to rule out anything with the test kit before changing anything else - so you could always have your LFS test your water just to be sure.

 

[Gtinnel]

If you just want to add nitrates they can easily be dosed with neonitro or a diy solution made with sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate.
If you stick with not doing your weekly water changes trying to raise nitrates then you can just dose an alkalinity supplement by itself, so you don't raise calcium higher than you want with kalk. It's incredibly cheap and easy to make an alkalinity supplement with baking soda that you can get at the grocery store.

You may be able supplement alk with weekly water changes, but that likely won't last for much longer as your tank matures. You also have to make sure that the water change with water that has a higher alk doesn't cause too big of a swing in your tank.

 

[Oldreefer44]

IMO, always good to get a second opinion whenever their is a water parameter anomaly. Trust but verify by having your LFS retest for you as stated above or, if that is inconvenient, keep two different test kits for each of the major parameters. Good chance that you have some nitrate and therefore are chasing something that doesn't need chasing.

 

[drunkn_reefr]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have three different nitrate test kits. Hanna/ Nyos / API. They all test 0 nitrates. I have a Hanna Alkalinity checker as well. I did recently get new reagent for the alkalinity tester because the one it came with went bad and was showing low readings. I will take my water to the LFS & get it tested before I think about dosing.

 

[drunkn_reefr]

Hey everyone- back again. got my water tested at the LFS. I thought I'd share.
Alk was 6.4 (I did a 20% water change over the weekend to get my alk up.)
Alk is now 7.4
Calcium 420
Nitrate 1.0
Phosphate .03
PH 7.8

So wanted someone to weigh in on which way I should go. Should I water changes to get alk up and run low/no nitrates or stop water changes dose nitrates and alk? would like to get my alk up to 8.5-9.0. as always your opinion would be appreciated.

 

[a.t.t.r]

Edit Wrong thread my bad

 

[Oldreefer44]

I would concentrate on getting ALK up and then go from there. IMO, much better to address one thing at a time especially since nothing else stands out as a significant problem and almost everything you change will have a cascading effect on something else.

 

[Billdogg]

Although your alkalinity may be a little low (I aim for 8.0), everything else is just about perfect IMO. I'd just do a few more water changes to bring it up a bit. The softies won't really use any alk at all, and if you've just got a couple montipora frags, they won't need a whole lot for now either. As they grow that can and will change. For the time being, I wouldn't dose anything at all.

 

[drunkn_reefr]

Water changes sound like the way to go. Thank you guys.
I appreciate you guys taking the time. None of my friends are in the hobby and I don’t have a great LFS in my area.

 

[Billdogg]

Water changes sound like the way to go. Thank you guys.
I appreciate you guys taking the time. None of my friends are in the hobby and I don’t have a great LFS in my area.

There is probably a local area reef club. They can be a great resource for information, as well as a great source for frags! I buy 99% of my corals at swap meets, where WYSIWYG is truly WYSIWYG!!!

 

[Cell]

Dosing baking soda is so cheap and easy I would choose that over increased water changes and potentially having to dose nitrate.

 

[fachatga]

You said you don’t want to dose alk since your calcium is fine but there are alk supplements that don’t do much if anything at all to calcium. This way you don’t need to change water to get alk up to help with the nitrates. Also you could remove a filter sock or two. Or don’t change them out as often

 

[kittenbritches]

Hey everyone- back again. got my water tested at the LFS. I thought I'd share.
Alk was 6.4 (I did a 20% water change over the weekend to get my alk up.)
Alk is now 7.4
Calcium 420
Nitrate 1.0
Phosphate .03
PH 7.8

So wanted someone to weigh in on which way I should go. Should I water changes to get alk up and run low/no nitrates or stop water changes dose nitrates and alk? would like to get my alk up to 8.5-9.0. as always your opinion would be appreciated.

1) What salt are you using?

2) To clarify, are you only feeding your fish once a day?

I feed 2-3x a day and my nitrates are usually ~10-15. I have a few xenias and a fuge with chaeto to help with the excess nitrates. I've never had them read 0, though.

 

[drunkn_reefr]

Dosing baking soda is so cheap and easy I would choose that over increased water changes and potentially having to dose

There is probably a local area reef club. They can be a great resource for information, as well as a great source for frags! I buy 99% of my corals at swap meets, where WYSIWYG is truly WYSIWYG!!!

that’s something I would definitely be interested in. Thanks!

 

[drunkn_reefr]

You said you don’t want to dose alk since your calcium is fine but there are alk supplements that don’t do much if anything at all to calcium. This way you don’t need to change water to get alk up to help with the nitrates. Also you could remove a filter sock or two. Or don’t change them out as often

I didn’t know if I should dose kalkwasser because my calcium is high. Or al least at a good level. I wouldn’t be opposed to dosing alkalinity but I’m a little hesitant of dosing anything due to my inexperience in the hobby.

 

[drunkn_reefr]

1) What salt are you using?

2) To clarify, are you only feeding your fish once a day?

I feed 2-3x a day and my nitrates are usually ~10-15. I have a few xenias and a fuge with chaeto to help with the excess nitrates. I've never had them read 0, though.

I’m using Reef crystals. I feed the the fish heavily once a day. I could break into two times. But I feel like they are eating plenty of food. Im going to add another fish or two which will help as well.

 

[kittenbritches]

I’m using Reef crystals. I feed the the fish heavily once a day. I could break into two times. But I feel like they are eating plenty of food. Im going to add another fish or two which will help as well.

I'd recommend you recalibrate your refractometer (if you're using one) and make sure your SG is 1.024-1.026 (ideal). With Reef Crystals your alkalinity definitely shouldn't be that low unless you aren't adding enough salt. Test the water after it's been mixing for at least four hours. It should be around 10 dKH. Your pH is also on the low side, which makes me think there's an issue with the water on the front end.

I would personally try to get the saltwater tuned in to where it should be with your salt before dosing to compensate for errors once it's in the tank.

As for the feedings, your fish and CUC will be happier with 2-3 feedings a day. In nature they have access to food and are eating all day long. And between the bit of food they don't eat and increased poop, your nitrates should go up on their own.

 

[drunkn_reefr]

I'd recommend you recalibrate your refractometer (if you're using one) and make sure your SG is 1.024-1.026 (ideal). With Reef Crystals your alkalinity definitely shouldn't be that low unless you aren't adding enough salt. Test the water after it's been mixing for at least four hours. It should be around 10 dKH. Your pH is also on the low side, which makes me think there's an issue with the water on the front end.

I would personally try to get the saltwater tuned in to where it should be with your salt before dosing to compensate for errors once it's in the tank.

As for the feedings, your fish and CUC will be happier with 2-3 feedings a day. In nature they have access to and are eating all day long. And between the bit of food they don't eat and increased poop, your nitrates should go up on their own.

My alkalinity is low because I backed off of my water changes due to my low nutrients. I thought if I did them less frequently than I could bring up the nutrients. That didn’t work out and my alk dropped. I have already began more frequent water changes to get the alk back up. My salt level is good. I have a refractometer and I had my LFS check my parameters to make sure everything was inline with what I was seeing at home. I do appreciate the input. I’ll check back in soon.

 

[ChaosAquaculture]

Alk honestly is more important than nitrates are. Nitrates are also not always detectable in test kits - kali