nitrate update

[DeNero1331]

I have lowered my nitrates down to 5ppm (approx). I was trying to hold of on new purchases until I was sure it was low enough for everything to thrive.

Is this low enough for most corals or should I keep going lower?

I'm sure I can add some coral with this but would prefer to hold off if it will act as an irritant to any of them.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wooster]

in my opinion it can stand to get even lower if possible, but it should not be enough to really kill anything if all of your corals you will be getting are hardy ones.

 

[phases99]

5 ppm is fine for most soft corals. It sounds like you have just lowered them, how high were they and what did you do to correct the problem. The key is to keep them low and provide a stable environment.

 

[Phyl]

Mine are handling 5 ok. At 20 some were still ok but I had a couple that were melting down. I just started my fuge up so I'm hoping to be able to maintain my 5 or lower with the new macro I've got growing.

 

[DeNero1331]

I only have 5 fish (3 clowns and 2 damsels) in my 125g.
I had originally went w/ a fish only tank and the nitrates at one time were above 80ppm. Removed the bio balls, swapped the cc for a 3-4" sandbed, upgraded the lights for the fuge, added more macro algae, added 130lbs more lr and lowered the amount of feedings.

I'm sure I could have done more water changes to get the nitrates lower faster but I figured this is a more long term fix. Plus, I wanted to grow a couple macros in the main tank as well.

I was gonna get more corals yesterday but the two places I went had nothing that caught my eye. So I guess I'll be waiting anyways.