Nitrates

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badazzgemini3356

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jun 20, 2009
Messages
5
Hey o-fishy-onados. I have a 90 gal. saltwater tank. One, yellow, sailfin and blue hippo tangs, 2 clowns, 3 cleaner shrimp, a few hermit crabs and a blue tip bubble anemone. Trying to get my nitrates down. Within the last week I just dropped quite a bit of macroalgae in my 20 gal. refugium. Current levels ammonia-0, nitrite-0, pH-8.3, calcium-440, Kh-9, nitrate-40, phosphate-0. I know 0 is a good nitrate level, but what's acceptable? Is duckweed good for saltwater?
 
Hey o-fishy-onados. I have a 90 gal. saltwater tank. One, yellow, sailfin and blue hippo tangs, 2 clowns, 3 cleaner shrimp, a few hermit crabs and a blue tip bubble anemone. Trying to get my nitrates down. Within the last week I just dropped quite a bit of macroalgae in my 20 gal. refugium. Current levels ammonia-0, nitrite-0, pH-8.3, calcium-440, Kh-9, nitrate-40, phosphate-0. I know 0 is a good nitrate level, but what's acceptable? Is duckweed good for saltwater?
 
I'm not a salt water guy but some nitrates are OK, especially if you have plants.

Higher nitrate levels have theorized to cause some hole in the head problems as well as other diseases. These I think happen when the nitrates are above 20ppm.... but like I said I don't know squat about salt water.
 
How old is your tank? How much do you feed and how often? I would to a 50% pwc and try to drop them down to about 5-10. Also, test your water source and see if that is the problem. Don't double post either as it makes more work for the mods to clean up.

Welcome to AA!
 
I didn't mean to offend you with the double post. But I'm basically new to this posting thing. It won't happen again! My tank is about 7 moths old. Doing the WC today. Thanks.
 
Doesn't offend me lol, just telling you as I would hate for the mods to have to clean up double posts left and right. We were all new here at one time. If it is 7 months old, your tank should be taking care of some of those nitrates. I would check your water source as I said before and watch your feeding. If none of those are the problem, I would have to think something died. Hope this helps.
 
+2 what thom said, and to fishes 40ppm nitrate is ok, but not good.
try to make it lower to 5, I tried to hard to lower to 5, but my tank stays at 20ppm and my corals,fishes, and inverts r doing fine.

let the macroalgae adjust to your tank, and they should help control the nitrate a little bit, also try to cut down the feeding for a couple days and see if your nitrate will drop down.
 
Nothing has died. I feed brine flakes and mysis shrimp probably about three hours apart. not more flakes than they can eat in 2 minutes and a cube of mysis. Too much? Could that be my nitrate problem? Hate to starve the lil fellas..., and I only use distilled water.
 
I absolutely hate feeding flake food, just too messy for me. Try cutting back to about half the amount of flakes you are feeding and half a cube and feed every other day for a week after your pwc and see what happens.
 
Being that this is a FOWLR tank I would say you would be OK in that type tank but with the anenome in there I would say you would need to bring it down to reef parameters. It needs to be as close to 0 as possible. At least 20 or below.
 
I'd say start getting RO water and only feed them once a day. And half what your feeding them.
I have the same problem, by nitrate stays around 15-20pprm. I got told, To remove it, Do 4 consecutive water changes @ 30% and it should bring it right down to 0-5. But after thats done, Gotta find the source.
Also, Go buy a nitrate sponge. I just purchesed one yesterday and put it into my filter. I'll test today and see if i have much of a result.
 
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