What on earth is my nitrate doing...

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Tank's been set up for more than 6 months now. I've done about two water changes in that entire time, and none recently. Three fish, two shrimp, and an ungodly amount of snails/emerald crabs in 65 gallons, if that makes a difference. No meaningful forms of nutrient export, I'm not even running a skimmer. And yet, nitrate is practically 0 ppm. I'm using a Tropic Marin test kit, which I think is supposed to be fairly accurate. I do feed somewhat lightly, about 1/4 of a cube daily. I want to add some rock flower anemones, which do best in medium-high nitrate from my past experiences. Is there something wrong with my test kit? Should I just bump up feeding? Thanks!

 

[Fishy888]

IME soft corals can eat nitrates like skittles. They may be why your nitrates are low, assuming you have a decent amount of them.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

IME soft corals can eat nitrates like skittles. They may be why your nitrates are low, assuming you have a decent amount of them.

I don't have an awful lot of them, at least when compared to some tanks. I've got a rock of GSP about 4" wide, and a dozen or so rhodactis mushrooms.

 

[Fishy888]

They’re putting a dent in your nitrates at the very least, especially in a 65 gallon tank.

 

[LadAShark]

Tank's been set up for more than 6 months now. I've done about two water changes in that entire time, and none recently. Three fish, two shrimp, and an ungodly amount of snails/emerald crabs in 65 gallons, if that makes a difference. No meaningful forms of nutrient export, I'm not even running a skimmer. And yet, nitrate is practically 0 ppm. I'm using a Tropic Marin test kit, which I think is supposed to be fairly accurate. I do feed somewhat lightly, about 1/4 of a cube daily. I want to add some rock flower anemones, which do best in medium-high nitrate from my past experiences. Is there something wrong with my test kit? Should I just bump up feeding? Thanks!

I have trouble with 0 nitrates on a system where I have no real filtration aside from biological. I would slowly start dosing nitrates or ammonia according to the dosage rates listed here and see what happens. Corals and reefs in general, when doing well, can and will zero out your nutrients. Keep an eye on your alk, calcium, and phosphate as well as those will decline quickly as well when your reef isn't nitrogen limited.

 

[Dan_P]

Tank's been set up for more than 6 months now. I've done about two water changes in that entire time, and none recently. Three fish, two shrimp, and an ungodly amount of snails/emerald crabs in 65 gallons, if that makes a difference. No meaningful forms of nutrient export, I'm not even running a skimmer. And yet, nitrate is practically 0 ppm. I'm using a Tropic Marin test kit, which I think is supposed to be fairly accurate. I do feed somewhat lightly, about 1/4 of a cube daily. I want to add some rock flower anemones, which do best in medium-high nitrate from my past experiences. Is there something wrong with my test kit? Should I just bump up feeding? Thanks!

Congratulations! Your system is not overstocked.

You can does nitrate if needed. Can you hand feed the anemone?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Tank's been set up for more than 6 months now. I've done about two water changes in that entire time, and none recently. Three fish, two shrimp, and an ungodly amount of snails/emerald crabs in 65 gallons, if that makes a difference. No meaningful forms of nutrient export, I'm not even running a skimmer. And yet, nitrate is practically 0 ppm. I'm using a Tropic Marin test kit, which I think is supposed to be fairly accurate. I do feed somewhat lightly, about 1/4 of a cube daily. I want to add some rock flower anemones, which do best in medium-high nitrate from my past experiences. Is there something wrong with my test kit? Should I just bump up feeding? Thanks!

Sounds about right for a lightly loaded tank with working biological filtration.

I'd feed some more, or dose some nitrate.

I'd be cautious with light water changes.
Stuff builds up that you can't test for and will hit you when least expected.
The older the tank the less that's an issue, but I'd be careful with a young tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Are you tracking phosphate?

IMO, that's how I would decide whether to feed more or dose a form of N (ammonia, nitrate, amino acids, etc.).