Nitrate and ph help

[Jameswebb96]

Hey guys,

im new to all this and hopefully will get some good advice here,

my nitrate has bottomed out and my ph seems to be dropping.

was wondering what I can do to get theses two back on track.
My parameters
ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrate 0
Kh 8.5
ph 7.2 maybe lower
Phosphate 0
Calcium 500
salinity 1.025
The tank is around 2 months old

Was dosing Red Sea alkalinity Red Sea reef energy and nopox
stopped nopox dosing

Feed the fish once a day


Any advice would be much appreciated thanks

 

[Saltyreef]

Feed more, decrease nutrient export and open a window!!

 

[Pistondog]

I assume you run a skimmer if you dosed nopox.
Run the airline outside to reduce co2 in fhe tank.
Check your testing methods.

 

[Jameswebb96]

Feed more, decrease nutrient export and open a window!!

I feed half a cube of frozen product they have at my lfs called gamma brineshrimp.

im also following reef energy 4ml a day dose.

suppose I could feed the fish twice a day see how it goes.

I’ll also keep window open

 

[Jameswebb96]

I assume you run a skimmer if you dosed nopox.
Run the airline outside to reduce co2 in fhe tank.
Check your testing methods.

No skimmer, I was following the Red Sea 21 day cycle and it pretty much tells you to continue dosing nopox till I see nitrates down to around 2ppm but as I was doing this it just drop so quick.

testing I use Red Sea test kits and Salifert

 

[gbroadbridge]

No skimmer, I was following the Red Sea 21 day cycle and it pretty much tells you to continue dosing nopox till I see nitrates down to around 2ppm but as I was doing this it just drop so quick.

testing I use Red Sea test kits and Salifert

Red Sea Nopox requires the use of a skimmer. Guess you missed that in the instructions.

In any case NoPox is a bad idea in a new tank unless you have really good live rock from the ocean.
The Red Sea mature kit does say that it must be used with live rock.

Do yourself a favor - don't use nopox and do not dose reef energy, a new tank does not need it.
The only thing a new tank needs are weekly 10% water changes.

 

[Jameswebb96]

Red Sea Nopox requires the use of a skimmer. Guess you missed that in the instructions.

In any case NoPox is a bad idea in a new tank unless you have really good live rock from the ocean.
The Red Sea mature kit does say that it must be used with live rock.

Do yourself a favor - don't use nopox and do not dose reef energy, a new tank does not need it.
The only thing a new tank needs are weekly 10% water changes.

Must have missed that in the instructions but to be fair I was only following the instructions/advice at the lfs.

I’ve stopped nopox completely, I thought reef energy was good for the corals.

but again I’m new to all this so gotta learn somehow.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Must have missed that in the instructions but to be fair I was only following the instructions/advice at the lfs.

I’ve stopped nopox completely, I thought reef energy was good for the corals.

but again I’m new to all this so gotta learn somehow.

Reef energy can be good for coral, but it can also be very good for stuff you do not want to encourage in a new tank.

The LFS likes you to buy stuff. Unfortunately, a lot of the advice they give is also aimed at selling you stuff.

You'll find mostly good advice here.

 

[Pistondog]

Using Nopox is a nutrient, nitrate and phosphate, export method. You dose a carbon source to feed bacteria that consume the nutrients. The bacteria must then be skimmed out and removed, or they die and release the nutrients back into the tank.

As @gbroadbridge said, no need for nopox now. Do the water changes and let things mature. And enjoy your tank.

 

[Jameswebb96]

Reef energy can be good for coral, but it can also be very good for stuff you do not want to encourage in a new tank.

The LFS likes you to buy stuff. Unfortunately, a lot of the advice they give is also aimed at selling you stuff.

You'll find mostly good advice here.

So I’ll up the feed to twice a day for the fish and stop nopox completely, hopefully I’ll see the nitrate come back up slightly.

anything else I need to do or is that it.

thanks for the help guys