Question about my nitrate

[zachary1124]

Hello everyone, after doing a water test I was gonna start doing a reef but I started to notice after two or three months my nitrates been at the same level and has never went up. Should I be worried about this before I start to put coral into my tank

 

[lowkeymon12]

Ultra low nutrient systems can work for some corals, however a nitrate of 3-10 usually suits most reefers best

 

[zachary1124]

Ultra low nutrient systems can work for some corals, however a nitrate of 3-10 usually suits most reefers best

Yeah, I don’t know what it is. I don’t think it’s at the zero, but it’s not at the five so I have no idea what it is exactly.

 

[Fish Fan]

Looks like your tank has been running for sometime and has fish, so it is cycled. I think it just runs low on nitrate, which is not uncommon. I tend to follow the guidelines from Randy Holmes-Farley on where to keep your levels, including nitrate:

Randy’s Thoughts on Nutrient Target Ranges

Thoughts on Nutrient Target Ranges by Randy Holmes-Farley Almost nothing in the world of reef aquarium chemistry causes as much discussion as selecting and maintaining ranges for nitrate and phosphate. Some aquarists want low targets, some want...

www.reef2reef.com

From the above:
"4. What targets seem reasonable? Of course, that depends on all the other factors at play, such as types of corals, availability of ammonia, particulate foods, etc. However, for a mature mixed reef, this would be how I personally would run it:

• Let nitrate float between 5 ppm and 50 ppm. I’d use gentle export in this range, such as growing macroalgae.
• Above 50 ppm, I’d begin to focus more on reducing it, by organic carbon dosing, turf or macroalgae, etc.
• Below 5 ppm, I’d begin to dose ammonia or feed more. The target level might drop lower if dosing ammonia, just like the heavy in/heavy out scenario where nitrate may not be as needed.
• Let phosphate float between about 0.06 ppm and 0.3 ppm. This range is higher than I’ve recommended in the past. I’d use gentle export in this range, such as growing macroalgae.
• Above about 0.3 ppm, I’d begin to focus more on reducing it, by turf or macroalgae, or a binder such as GFO or lanthanum (has its own risks to tangs). If a binder: GO SLOW. Turf and macroalgae will typically be slow enough.
• Below 0.06 ppm, I’d begin to dose sodium phosphate or feed more to get the level up."

So in your case you can first try feeding the fish more and see if that brings up the nitrate, and if it's still chronically low you can dose nitrate or even better dose ammonia:

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

DIY Ammonia Dosing Chart

Introduction: Many reef tanks have an incredible nitrate demand, and despite the additional fish and coral food, still struggle to make an impact on the nitrate level. This can subject corals, anemones, coralline, macro/microalgae, and clams to nutrient starvation. Any photosynthetic organism...

www.reef2reef.com

It would probably be a good idea to check your phosphate too, you don't want either phosphate or nitrate to zero out

I hope that helps and good luck!

 

[zachary1124]

OK, I have to redoing the test and actually reading how to do it. I found out I was missing a vital step forgetting to shake bottle number two. This is the results after the second test.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Value looks fine to me. I recommend 5-50 ppm as a good target range.