Nitrates and ORP trouble questions

[lostmojo]

So I picked up an apex to better track my tanks stats. I am running the ORP probe and reading around 170-192 throughout a full 24 hour period.
My nitrates have not been tested in over week but they were 0 the last time with my skimmer running 24/7. i have a new tester arriving since i ran out of tests.
I keep the tank at 78F.
The tank has been cycled for 7 months, but very lightly stocked currently. I am working on getting PH and nitrates up a little more, and get the ORP levels sorted out a bit.

My issue is i turned off the skimmer before i got the apex installed to try to raise my nitrates a bit. I set it up to run for 1 hour each day initially with the apex but after reading more in to ORP, i kicked the skimmer back on to see if i can get my numbers to a more normal level. I am hoping for around 300-400 was supposed to be pretty solid.

My questions come down to, what can i do to raise nitrates with the skimmer running?
Any other suggestions or solutions to raise ORP?

I have considered ordering an ozone generator for the skimmer and running that for 1-2 hours each day and experimenting with more of that. I have run ozone before in a tank and i really liked how that tank performed. I would have the apex monitor ORP and only turn it on when needed.

I have 5 total LPS and softy corals in the tank at the moment and no fish. Making changes is pretty easy with how lightly stocked it is at the moment.

Thanks for any help

 

[CasperOe]

For raising nitrates, there's a variety dosing options such as Brightwell's NeoNitro, food grade sodium nitrate or even ammonia.. One of my threads from a couple of days ago addresses the same issue.

As for the ORP, ozone is a good option. I am running ozone on my tank without a filter sock or roller and i sit at around 300.

I don't chase it though, why would you?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Nitrate or ammonia dosing is cheap and easy. I recommend food grade sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate, ammonium bicarbonate, or ammonium chloride for these purposes.

Feeding more is also an option.

I do not recommend doing anything just to raise ORP. There's no evidence that any particular ORP is best, and doing things to artificially raise ORP may have no benefit at all. That said, ozone has its own benefits, such as reducing yellowing, that are not linked to the ORP itself.

 

[lostmojo]

For raising nitrates, there's a variety dosing options such as Brightwell's NeoNitro, food grade sodium nitrate or even ammonia.. One of my threads from a couple of days ago addresses the same issue.

As for the ORP, ozone is a good option. I am running ozone on my tank without a filter sock or roller and i sit at around 300.

I don't chase it though, why would you?

Im not chasing it 100%, but its a reference point of potential other issues going on with my tank at the moment. I would like to try and get everything where it belongs at this point, its the last little details and avoid future problems once i get things stabilized.

 

[lostmojo]

Nitrate or ammonia dosing is cheap and easy. I recommend food grade sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate, ammonium bicarbonate, or ammonium chloride for these purposes.

Feeding more is also an option.

I do not recommend doing anything just to raise ORP. There's no evidence that any particular ORP is best, and doing things to artificially raise ORP may have no benefit at all. That said, ozone has its own benefits, such as reducing yellowing, that are not linked to the ORP itself.

I dont disagree, but ORP could be a potential issue in the future so i am trying to just get everything inline and its down to ORP and nitrates mostly.

 

[gbroadbridge]

So I picked up an apex to better track my tanks stats. I am running the ORP probe and reading around 170-192 throughout a full 24 hour period.
My nitrates have not been tested in over week but they were 0 the last time with my skimmer running 24/7. i have a new tester arriving since i ran out of tests.
I keep the tank at 78F.
The tank has been cycled for 7 months, but very lightly stocked currently. I am working on getting PH and nitrates up a little more, and get the ORP levels sorted out a bit.

My issue is i turned off the skimmer before i got the apex installed to try to raise my nitrates a bit. I set it up to run for 1 hour each day initially with the apex but after reading more in to ORP, i kicked the skimmer back on to see if i can get my numbers to a more normal level. I am hoping for around 300-400 was supposed to be pretty solid.

My questions come down to, what can i do to raise nitrates with the skimmer running?
Any other suggestions or solutions to raise ORP?

I have considered ordering an ozone generator for the skimmer and running that for 1-2 hours each day and experimenting with more of that. I have run ozone before in a tank and i really liked how that tank performed. I would have the apex monitor ORP and only turn it on when needed.

I have 5 total LPS and softy corals in the tank at the moment and no fish. Making changes is pretty easy with how lightly stocked it is at the moment.

Thanks for any help

When did you last clean and calibrate the ORP probe.

They do need to be maintained and calibrated with a reference solution otherwise the number you have is meaningless.

Having said that, it really indicates nothing much useful in a running reef tank unless you are ading ozone.

There are a number of articles which you can read for further enlightenment starting with this one.

https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-12/rhf/feature/index.php

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I dont disagree, but ORP could be a potential issue in the future so i am trying to just get everything inline and its down to ORP and nitrates mostly.

It could be, but after monitoring it for years, I removed the probe since I never once acted on anything it told me.