Nitrate problem

[mantis keeper]

Whats an ideal nitrate for a 20g tank?

 

[Baldyreef]

Whats an ideal nitrate for a 20g tank?

hard to truly say without knowing what your plans are for the tank in question

 

[mantis keeper]

hard to truly say without knowing what your plans are for the tank in question

The tank has 2 dried corals and theres 1 mantis sheimp 1 yellow ring cowrie snail 1 small hermit sand bed 2 inches and a canister filter and also a surface skimmer

 

[Baldyreef]

The tank has 2 dried corals and theres 1 mantis sheimp 1 yellow ring cowrie snail 1 small hermit sand bed 2 inches and a canister filter and also a surface skimmer

will you be planning on adding any live coral?
what kind of a mantis shrimp is it?

 

[mantis keeper]

will you be planning on adding any live coral?
what kind of a mantis shrimp is it?

Nope

 

[Baldyreef]

Nope

got it then that definitely helps a ton, in that case then you dont really have to chase a specific number, id reccomend just trying to keep it under 20ppm

 

[mantis keeper]

got it then that definitely helps a ton, in that case then you dont really have to chase a specific number, id reccomend just trying to keep it under 20ppm

But the nitrate level is 100ppm but test is brand new does it matter?

 

[Frogbit277]

Add fast growing corals or macroalgae to bring the nitrates down

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I like nitrate less than 10, less than 5 is even better.
100 nitrates means a problem is building up.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

But the nitrate level is 100ppm but test is brand new does it matter?

100?
What test are you using?
Water change schedule?
Any filtration in your tank?
Photo of your tank?

 

[Subsea]

But the nitrate level is 100ppm but test is brand new does it matter?

When you say test is brand new, what does that mean?

When & how was this tank cycled? Details matter!

What are your present readings of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

Know this, any nitrite reading will interfere with nitrate reading.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I recommend 5-50 ppm nitrate, but higher levels can be fine and some great tanks have 100+ ppm.

 

[BryanM]

I would say 10-20 is where most of us are comfortable.

100 requires more info on what test kit, how much do you feed, how old is the tank, etc.

As Randy did say there are some exceptional tanks running 100+, so its not necessarily a problem, but if things in your tank are not happy this is definitely something worth addressing.