camilenoel
Community Member
TLDR: How do you increase nitrate levels safely and easily?
I have a 14g nano cube (build thread linked below) that currently just houses a small CUC and a maroon clownfish named Little Evil because he is small but thirsts for blood. It’s only been up about a month now but it was started with mature bioblock from my FOWLR tank so now I am just letting it mature a few months before I add corals. My nitrates have completely bottomed out to 0.0 but I know I need to maintain at least a little for my corals to thrive and grow.
I am already feeding heavily for there only to be one fish in there but I have only been feeding pellets for ease and nutrient control. Apparently my bacterial colony established really well and are eating up the excess nitrates so now I’m thinking maybe I should start feeding more nutrient heavy meaty food items to try and dirty it up a bit. Ive seen lots of great things about Reef Nutrition so I would like to try that but I’m not sure which one to get so recommendations are welcome!
I am also throwing around the idea of adding another fish in there but with the tank being so small and him being aggressive I dont know how that will go. I was thinking something like a shrimp goby might be a good choice because it can dart back in its cave if he decided to go after it and it would be really cool to pair it with a pistol shrimp. When I was searching for nano tank fish recommendations it was on every list but then when I looked at it individually everywhere recommended at least 30 gallons so I don’t know if I should. I guess I should also add that this tank will get upgraded eventually so it would not be doomed to the nano life forever but it could be another few years before that happens. Would love some thoughts and recommendations on fish additions to add more nitrate producers despite the size and aggressor in my tank (this tank was set up specifically for this fish to be able to be alone because of his aggression but he has been very chill since the move to this tank so i would be willing to try a “friend” once and see how it goes. If he kills them i will give up on that path as I don't want any other fish to die because of his evil self).
I am nervous to dose concentrated nitrate as I am trying to keep this tank as simple and low maintenance as possible, only dosing AFR to keep up micronutrients and alk for the corals, but I am willing to hear that option out if there cannot be another solution.
www.reef2reef.com
Thanks for your input!
I have a 14g nano cube (build thread linked below) that currently just houses a small CUC and a maroon clownfish named Little Evil because he is small but thirsts for blood. It’s only been up about a month now but it was started with mature bioblock from my FOWLR tank so now I am just letting it mature a few months before I add corals. My nitrates have completely bottomed out to 0.0 but I know I need to maintain at least a little for my corals to thrive and grow.
I am already feeding heavily for there only to be one fish in there but I have only been feeding pellets for ease and nutrient control. Apparently my bacterial colony established really well and are eating up the excess nitrates so now I’m thinking maybe I should start feeding more nutrient heavy meaty food items to try and dirty it up a bit. Ive seen lots of great things about Reef Nutrition so I would like to try that but I’m not sure which one to get so recommendations are welcome!
I am also throwing around the idea of adding another fish in there but with the tank being so small and him being aggressive I dont know how that will go. I was thinking something like a shrimp goby might be a good choice because it can dart back in its cave if he decided to go after it and it would be really cool to pair it with a pistol shrimp. When I was searching for nano tank fish recommendations it was on every list but then when I looked at it individually everywhere recommended at least 30 gallons so I don’t know if I should. I guess I should also add that this tank will get upgraded eventually so it would not be doomed to the nano life forever but it could be another few years before that happens. Would love some thoughts and recommendations on fish additions to add more nitrate producers despite the size and aggressor in my tank (this tank was set up specifically for this fish to be able to be alone because of his aggression but he has been very chill since the move to this tank so i would be willing to try a “friend” once and see how it goes. If he kills them i will give up on that path as I don't want any other fish to die because of his evil self).
I am nervous to dose concentrated nitrate as I am trying to keep this tank as simple and low maintenance as possible, only dosing AFR to keep up micronutrients and alk for the corals, but I am willing to hear that option out if there cannot be another solution.
Nano Build - 14g Simple Budget Nano Cube
Hello reefers! My name is Camile, I have a BS in Marine Bio and about 9 years of experience working in public aquaria and aquaculture but am new to reef keeping at the hobbyist level! I've had a well established FOWLR tank for about three years now and figured it was about time I got into...
www.reef2reef.com
Thanks for your input!
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