Nitrate 13.5?

[ken840515]

Hello,

I just check the Nitrate with hanna checker and the number came up with 13.5.
Is this OK number for soft corals?
Looks pretty high compared to recommended number.
How to reduce the Nitrate?

Thank you

 

[Pistondog]

Hello,

I just check the Nitrate with hanna checker and the number came up with 13.5.
Is this OK number for soft corals?
Looks pretty high compared to recommended number.
How to reduce the Nitrate?

Thank you

Thats perfect.
Make sure you have some phosphate too, 0.05 to 0.2 ppm.

Edit: water changes are best to reduce nitrates.

 

[Dom]

Hello,

I just check the Nitrate with hanna checker and the number came up with 13.5.
Is this OK number for soft corals?
Looks pretty high compared to recommended number.
How to reduce the Nitrate?

Thank you

Leave it alone; it isn't an issue.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

13.5 might actually be on the low end for soft corals

 

[ken840515]

Thats perfect.
Make sure you have some phosphate too, 0.05 to 0.2 ppm.

Edit: water changes are best to reduce nitrates.

Is this good number?
I heard i have to get between 3-5ppm for the soft corals

 

[Pistondog]

Is this good number?
I heard i have to get between 3-5ppm for the soft corals

Listen to the advice on this thread.

 

[CHSUB]

While the number may appear fine, and in many cases it is, the ideal number is undetectable. No3 is basically leftover nutrients that are not utilized by any of your reef inhabitants.

 

[exnisstech]

When I tested this tank two weeks ago NO3 was 33.3 and PO4 was 0.62. I think you need to feed more ;)

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Is this good number?
I heard i have to get between 3-5ppm for the soft corals

You heard wrong ;)

 

[Tamberav]

Is this good number?
I heard i have to get between 3-5ppm for the soft corals

Be sure to always check dates of where you read this info. It used to be people would chase low numbers and this is outdated information. This hobby evolves quickly.

My guess is this is where the confusion comes from. Old threads, old blogs, some people may parrot this information again, etc.

 

[Dom]

I heard i have to get between 3-5ppm for the soft corals

I'd be curious to know where you obtained this information.

 

[ken840515]

I'd be curious to know where you obtained this information.

 

[ken840515]

Saw it from BRS

 

[Pistondog]

It is tough to know what is best and soft corals will grow in a range of water conditions.
What is ideal?
If your tank has conditions that will likely grow what you want, then stay the course and dont make changes simply to optimize to an 'ideal' range.
Changes are worse than steady parameters, in general.

 

[Dom]

Saw it from BRS

I'm surprised that the information came from someplace reputable.

I was ready to torch your LFS. :face-with-tears-of-joy:

I still wouldn't worry about your N03. I typically sit at 13 myself.

 

[ken840515]

That is for soft corals only tank they said

 

[BryanM]

That is for soft corals only tank they said

You asked, we answered, you don't like the answer.

The BRS stats are fine if you want to try and chase numbers. Noteworthy though would be if you bottom out either N or P, or both, you will ignite different algae issues.

Did you see @exnisstech reply? Gorgeous tank with 30+ nitrates and .6phos.

There are plenty of success stories with "dirty" tanks, and just as successful with ultra low nutrient tanks.

I prefer modest numbers and buffers from bottoming out. Nitrates 10-80, phosphates .1-.3. FWIW, my tank is currentlly around 23 nitrates, and everything is happy.

 

[Miami Reef]

That is for soft corals only tank they said

That’s only their opinion. :)

There are countless fantastic tanks with nitrate over 20 ppm. It’s clear that low nitrate isn’t the key to success.

 

[exnisstech]

What I like to do when I start a tank is just let it run and see where levels end up. IME trying to control too much early on just leads to tail chasing and instability. In addition to the tank above I have another tank that runs N and P at or near zero with no intervention on my part. I will dose that tank to get them detectable. 0 scares me more than high levels. I've never had dinos and really don't want that experience.
JMO but I think chasing N and P levels on a newer tank can lead to frustration and aggravation for newer reefers and can actually be detrimental to the tank as it prevents it from maturiting to what I like to think if as a natural state. I have multiple tanks running all at different levels of N and P.

This is the tank I have to occasionally dose N and P because they'll test zeros. I've recently switched to dosing ammonium which seems to have a much better effect keeping levels detectable without continuous dosing.

 

[ken840515]

You asked, we answered, you don't like the answer.

The BRS stats are fine if you want to try and chase numbers. Noteworthy though would be if you bottom out either N or P, or both, you will ignite different algae issues.

Did you see @exnisstech reply? Gorgeous tank with 30+ nitrates and .6phos.

There are plenty of success stories with "dirty" tanks, and just as successful with ultra low nutrient tanks.

I prefer modest numbers and buffers from bottoming out. Nitrates 10-80, phosphates .1-.3. FWIW, my tank is currentlly around 23 nitrates, and everything is happy.

Thank you