Tested my water....

I went and got a liquid water test kit today....It tests for pH, ammonia, nitrite & nitrate.

Here are the numbers I got for both my 20 gallon & my 50 gallon:
pH: 7.8
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 160

From what I've read the nitrate is WAY high....what can I do to lower it?

And is it possible that I did something wrong? I just did a water change a few days ago in my 20 gallon when I switched it from gravel to live sand. I haven't done any water changes to the 50 gal. The 50 gal has recently started getting a lot of dark red slimy algae stuff in there, but none in the 20 gal. So would they really have the same nitrate levels?? Oh, I have live rock in both tanks too, if that makes any difference.

Also, is the pH at an acceptable level?

 

Your PH is low. should be 8.2-8.4
Nitrate is SUPER high. Water changes will help. How old are your tanks? Also what do you have in them. Im sure some people with more knowledge will chime in and help you out.

 

I've had both tanks set up since about April of last year.

20 gal: 2 clown fish, 1 blue damsel, 1 mysterious fish (possibly a damsel??) & a green mandarin

50 gal: 2 black damsels, 1 domino damsel, 1 blue damsel & 1 coral beauty

I also have a few snails in each tank & one hermit crab in the 20 gal...not sure if I have any left in the 50 gal, they tend to hide out in there...I randomly see them, so I assume I still have one or two

How often is it safe to do water changes? Is there anything I can do to speed up the process of lowering the nitrate? And do water changes help with raising the ph?

 

Was this the same readings for both tanks? that dos not sound right to me. if it was i would look to see if the test kit has expired, or maybe try doing the test again. just dos not sound right that both tanks would give you the same readings.

 

I can't find an expiration date on the test kit...its an API Saltwater Master Test Kit - Marine...

And yeah, the same readings for both tanks...which is part of what I thought was odd especially given the differences in how they each look. I'll try doing it again & see what happens. I might try to find a place around here that tests the water for me to see what they say.

 

First thing I noticed, the 20 gallon is way overstocked. The 2 clowns and a single damsel would be about the stocking limit. Also, a mandarin has no business being in a 20. How long have you had it?
How much rock, and what kind of skimmers are you using on both tanks? Are you using RO/DI or tap?
But it is strange that both tanks came out the same. I would do the test again, and if it still reads the same, either take a water sample to the LFS for testing or buy just another nitrate test to verify the results.

 

I've had the mandarin about 8 months or so.

I'm using RO water now...I had been using tap, but just switched over to RO somewhat recently.

I'm not quite sure how much rock I have in them...here's a pic of them if that helps any...


this pic is a little old & was taken after cleaning, so that's why it looks cloudy


Oh yeah, I have skunk cleaner shrimp in the 50 gal...almost forgot about that lil guy!

 

here is a thread that explains on how to read the expiration date on api test kits,

http://www.3reef.com/forums/water-chemistry/those-who-use-api-test-kits-fyi-48335.html

the credit gos to lunatik_69

 

Well, looking at the pics, I would suggest more rock, but also by the pics, I would say faulty test kit. Not seeing a lot of nuisance algae. Also looks like great coraline growth. If the nitrates had been that high for any extended time, you'd have a lot of algae, no coraline, and the cleaner shrimp and other inverts would most likely be dead.
I would still either take a water sample to the LFS, or at least get another nitrate test. Just so you can verify the first one.

 

Thanks for all of the replies! And thanks for that link on how to find the expiration date! According to it, they aren't expired. The dates on each of the bottles range from 2/09 - 5/09.

I just retested the nitrate for the 20 gal & still got the same thing. It could be lower than 160, but its still higher than 80, according to what I did & comparing the colors.

I think I will take in a sample to have it tested. Are the testing services at places like petsmart/petco accurate? I haven't found too many places near me that specialize in fish. I got all of my supplies from a friend, but I don't think he has any special equipment to test...I believe he'd just have to use one of the test kits too.