Nitrate in my freshly made salt mix

Hellybell80

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 30, 2020
Messages
196
Reaction score
390
Location
Worcestershire uk
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Morning you beautiful lot.

I'm having a little issue with nitrates. They are between 25-30ppm. Not overly stressed about it but I have been working on lowering them over the last few months. I've added maxspec bio balls as well this week as I belive the ceramic (chineese) blocks have NOT helped at all. I have 30 15cm chineese blocks in the sump.
So the addition of 10 of the nano spheres I'm hoping it will help to bring it down.
I do 10-15% water changes a week depending on sand bed. Feed every other day much to the dismay of the fish. Frozen mysis shrimp. Nitrates havnt changed. My phosphate was 0.03 but I raised it a little to help to lower the nitrates soo I could carbon dose....
But I thought I would test my actual fresh mixed salt water and I have 2.5ppm of nitrate in it. 0.02 from my RO filter water. Could this be an issue?
I'm aware its not the cause of the high nitrates in the aquarium, but could the nitrate in the salt mix be making it harder?
 

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,677
Reaction score
18,660
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
What salt mix?

I recently received a hanna nitrate checker. Tested my fresh mix of IO and it came back at 1ppm. Not to sure I trust the hanna, but it came back the same number 5 times in a row.
 

Crashnt24

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 20, 2019
Messages
582
Reaction score
711
Location
Denver, CO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
As randy said, even at 2.5 water changes would bring the nitrate down to closer to 2.5 depending on the size of water change.

Also, I don't think the bio balls help much in the ways of nitrate reduction(very minimal reduction). They host more of the bacteria that turn ammonia into nitrate as the end product.
How much rock do you have? Do you have a sand bed? If so, how deep? A refugium? The bacteria that turns nitrate into gas to leave the aquarium, lives in no oxygen zones. So unless you have a deep sand bed or several thick peices of rock, adding more porous media won't help much. I suggest a removable nitrate sink like macro algae. Get a refugium or turf scrubber if you don't already have one. In the mean time, keep up the water changes and maybe increase it to 25% water changes if that's feasible for you.
 

bsr2430

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 24, 2015
Messages
2,252
Reaction score
3,044
Location
Staunton Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Could this be a leeching problem?
What’s your container look like?
What was your tds of your fresh water before you added the salt?
Every cleaned that container with a chemical to remove any build up?
 

bsr2430

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 24, 2015
Messages
2,252
Reaction score
3,044
Location
Staunton Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Sorry, just saw the .02 tds in your freshwater. I’d change the membrane at that point. I change mine as soon as it hits .02.
But the real problem is, how is a fresh salt batch already starting nitrates.?!?!
 

bsr2430

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 24, 2015
Messages
2,252
Reaction score
3,044
Location
Staunton Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
As randy said, even at 2.5 water changes would bring the nitrate down to closer to 2.5 depending on the size of water change.

Also, I don't think the bio balls help much in the ways of nitrate reduction(very minimal reduction). They host more of the bacteria that turn ammonia into nitrate as the end product.
How much rock do you have? Do you have a sand bed? If so, how deep? A refugium? The bacteria that turns nitrate into gas to leave the aquarium, lives in no oxygen zones. So unless you have a deep sand bed or several thick peices of rock, adding more porous media won't help much. I suggest a removable nitrate sink like macro algae. Get a refugium or turf scrubber if you don't already have one. In the mean time, keep up the water changes and maybe increase it to 25% water changes if that's feasible for you.
Couldn’t have said it better.
 
OP
OP
Hellybell80

Hellybell80

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 30, 2020
Messages
196
Reaction score
390
Location
Worcestershire uk
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
True or not, there's no way that 2.5 ppm nitrate in your salt water is causing anything more than 2.5 ppm nitrate in the aquarium. :)
Completely agree with that. Wasn't thinking it was causing the high 25+nitrate. just thought it strange it had any at all.
 
OP
OP
Hellybell80

Hellybell80

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 30, 2020
Messages
196
Reaction score
390
Location
Worcestershire uk
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Could this be a leeching problem?
What’s your container look like?
What was your tds of your fresh water before you added the salt?
Every cleaned that container with a chemical to remove any build up?
It is due a clean now its empty. Slight build up from the salt. Tds is zero in RO water
 
OP
OP
Hellybell80

Hellybell80

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 30, 2020
Messages
196
Reaction score
390
Location
Worcestershire uk
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
As randy said, even at 2.5 water changes would bring the nitrate down to closer to 2.5 depending on the size of water change.

Also, I don't think the bio balls help much in the ways of nitrate reduction(very minimal reduction). They host more of the bacteria that turn ammonia into nitrate as the end product.
How much rock do you have? Do you have a sand bed? If so, how deep? A refugium? The bacteria that turns nitrate into gas to leave the aquarium, lives in no oxygen zones. So unless you have a deep sand bed or several thick peices of rock, adding more porous media won't help much. I suggest a removable nitrate sink like macro algae. Get a refugium or turf scrubber if you don't already have one. In the mean time, keep up the water changes and maybe increase it to 25% water changes if that's feasible for you.
I have 40kg of rock in the main display. About 2 inch overall of sand. The sand is cleaned weekly in different parts of the tank.
I did have a refugium until I found an aptaiser in it so binned it. I need to get some more but the clean stuff is out of stock everywhere.
I had to do a 100 litre water change today as I used reflux rx a couple of weeks ago for briopsis, which has now gone. I know water changes don't remove it all but hardly any difference after the water change. Phosphate was 0.08
 

Fourstars

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
1,033
Reaction score
1,483
Location
West
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I see it’s a new tank. I would not freak out and make a bunch of changes. As the tank matures and the livestock grow out, it will drop. for now I would just monitor to make sure the trend is not upward. I would feed daily just be frugal, nothing should hit the bottom. Also keep those socks clean.
 
OP
OP
Hellybell80

Hellybell80

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 30, 2020
Messages
196
Reaction score
390
Location
Worcestershire uk
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I see it’s a new tank. I would not freak out and make a bunch of changes. As the tank matures and the livestock grow out, it will drop. for now I would just monitor to make sure the trend is not upward. I would feed daily just be frugal, nothing should hit the bottom. Also keep those socks clean.
Completely agree that why I've just let things be but kept up with sand cleaning and water changes. I know as I add more corals it will go down.
The floss I use gets changed daily as the sock were just a nightmare to wash in the machine.
Corals are all growing well
 

ss30

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 11, 2014
Messages
253
Reaction score
189
Location
Oxford, England
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The Bio balls etc that you have added will take time to get live and start reducing your nitrates, just like your live rock did.
 

excell007

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 15, 2020
Messages
325
Reaction score
294
Location
Houston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
2.5ppm on the SW mix and you will only be adding .25 on a 10% water change. If your tank has 25ppm, removing 10% of the water should reduce nitrate by 2.5ppm. So in theory even if your SW mix has a bit of nitrate, you should be removing 2.25ppm with every 10% WC. Don't worry about it too much.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 71 37.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 63 33.5%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.3%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 1 0.5%
Back
Top