Water parameters

[Ramon84]

Good morning 3 weeks ago I did a 30 percent water change nitrate were at 13 and phosphate where at 0.06 last week my nitrate were at 0 and phosphate at 7 didn’t do a water change last week and kept feeding normally. Did my weekly water test again and nitrates still 0 and phosphate at 0.08. What should I do I don’t think nitrate at 0 is good the color of my coral isn’t as popping as normal is. Any suggestions will be great. Hope everyone has a Great Day!

 

[Euphyllia97]

Good morning 3 weeks ago I did a 30 percent water change nitrate were at 13 and phosphate where at 0.06 last week my nitrate were at 0 and phosphate at 7 didn’t do a water change last week and kept feeding normally. Did my weekly water test again and nitrates still 0 and phosphate at 0.08. What should I do I don’t think nitrate at 0 is good the color of my coral isn’t as popping as normal is. Any suggestions will be great. Hope everyone has a Great Day!

Or you can feed a bit more, but that might make a mess out of your tank or disrupt nitrate/phosphate balance.. In which case it is better to dose nitrates directly in the system (available as commercial branded products)

 

[NowGlazeIT]

You could add more fish

 

[56longroof]

You could add more fish

I second this. Also what's your feeding schedule?

 

[Euphyllia97]

I agree that adding a new fish might be a good option, however it might be the case that you don’t want another fish or that you are limited by already having reached your maximum amount of fish considering space/agression. (Always consider adults size) So no don’t blindly add a fish to get nitrates. If the latter is not the case, start thinking about some additional color

 

[CHSUB]

Algae use nitrogen, corals need food, No3 is leftovers that algae can use if needed. it is likely that your 0 no3 reading is below your kit’s resolution and you don’t lack nitrogen. Feeding more food is an opportunity you should consider…

 

[56longroof]

If your going to dose I would dose ammonia over nitrate. From what I've read so far corals prefer that anyway.

 

[Ramon84]

I feed shrimp or pellets usually switching 1 time daily before lights go out and I add 3ml of fuel every 3 days and spot feed I have 2 clowns ya I was looking at a benny

 

[Ramon84]

I was afraid to dose anything to raise my nitrate because incase of a spike later . I dose alka and calcium daily

 

[Euphyllia97]

I feed shrimp or pellets usually switching 1 time daily before lights go out and I add 3ml of fuel every 3 days and spot feed I have 2 clowns ya I was looking at a benny

I’d go with the blenny and see how that turns out for you (unless you have a really small tank). I would only dose that what is really necessary. I agree with Ramon that it is said that dosing ammonia is better because it goes through a natural cycle. But I would stay away from that and dose nitrates if you want to go for dosing. I’m not aware if ammonia dosing being benificial over nitrates is scientifically backed, but I do know that the risks are a lot higher and the reward might just not be worth it.

 

[rishma]

Dosing nitrate is what I would do, (actually I just dosed some). I have no reason to worry about a spike later.

Some tanks run low in nitrate, like my current tank, and occasionally I boost it because I prefer it not to be zero. If it gets low, I dose enough to raise it to 10ppm.

The feeding more advice is reasonable. I adjust my foods to try and keep nitrate and phosphate stable. I prefer to dose if something needs correcting because I have control of the amount. I try to use feeding to maintain it.

I dose ammonia regularly, it’s also an option, but I suggest you dose nitrate instead to if you want to raise it.

 

[exnisstech]

If your going to dose I would dose amonia over nitrate. From what I've read so far corals prefer that anyway.

I agree with this. I have a tank that runs very low N and P and saw much better results dosing ammonium bicarb vs dosing N and P.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/

 

[Ziggy17]

What is the mechanism you’re using to export nutrients? Skimmer, chaeto, just water changes?

Instead of 30% WCs, try 10%. That should help keep your nitrates up and won’t disturb the phosphate number but reset any imbalances in trace or other issues.

If you’re skimming, try going with a dryer skim. I dry skim which means my collection cup doesn’t fill up in a week, maybe half. Or try running it 12 hours a day instead of 24.

I dose ammonium 2x daily, but only after I made all those changes first. You have to get a feel for how much ammonium your system is capable of absorbing. Once and awhile I still made need to dose nitrate to pop it up to 10 when it hits 5, in conjunction with the ammonium. Same with PO4, when it hits .05, I’ll dose to bump it to .08.

I find in my tank, if my nitrate gets up to 15 and phosphate to .1, I start getting algae issues. So my healthy range is 8-10 NO3 and .06-.08 PO4

 

[Hishman]

Had the same issue with 0 nitrate and .08-.04 pho Feeding only frozen. LPS were bleached and I saw a burnt tip or two on SPS.

I dosed nitrate for a few days and had a pretty big algae outbreak but the LPS almost immediately started coloring back up.

still at 0 nitrate but phos dropped to .02. 0 nitrate seems to be fine as long as you are dosing nutrients and they are available to coral

 

[Ramon84]

I used water changes and chemi pure

 

[Ziggy17]

I used water changes and chemi pure

Reduce the size of the WC and see what happens. Stay away from chemipure. Give the tank a natural way to find where it wants to be. Once you know that, then tinker around with exports and absorption.