Nirate at 20ppm help

My nitrate in my tank has been 20 ppm almost since it was started (after the first cycle). all other readings at zero and PH is at 8.2. water changes do not bring it down at all and I have almost nothing in the tank for bio-load, just what my signature says. I am using tap water... is the tap water completely responsible? have been told before I need an RO/DI unit and plan on getting one. but just not sure if that is the sole reason or maybe something else? any thoughts and help. I know I ask alot of questions and sorry for that...trying to learn.

 

The zero nitrate is a debatable issue. I am sure from time to time you could catch your tank at zero, maybe after a substantial water change, and if you are one that does weekly changes (of which I am not a fan) you may keep reading zero or next to zero. However, that does not mean there are no nitrates. Nitrates are a result of a healthy aquarium. It shows the natural process of waste being broken down. One contention I have about readings from test kits is, how accurate is that particular test kit. This in and of itself is a debatable subject for another time. From my own experience and seeing what is used in many lfs around my area I use the American Pharmaceuticals brand. Their nitrate shows nitrates when others don't. I am not promoting, just telling you my experience. Many corals (especially soft) actually use nitrates. A low level is beneficial to them. In my estimation many reef keepers become obsessed with the whole zero nitrate idea to the extent they are constantly doing water changes and disrupting the water chemistry in their tanks. Keeping nitrates low is optimal to the overall health of your tank but obsessing over it is needless worry. Far to many aqurists are more concerned with nitrates than overall water quality i.e. Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity, Iodine,SG and PH. Keeping these stable and not allowing big fluctuations is far more important for the health of the inhabitants of your tank. Too many times I have read on this and other forums where people state they don't even have test kits for some of the things I mentioned and worse yet are adding supplements blindly! And no, water changes don't necessarily put back all these things in the correct proportions and so that's all you need. Mag, calc and others can be used up quite fast in a biologically growing tank. The sea is very stable actually and the closer you can get to mimicking it's level and stability the better off your system will be.

 

It's probably entirely from the tap water. When I first started I used tap water and it had 20ppm nitrates. Just test your tap water. If you continue doing water changes with tap water you will run into algae issues as I did, that you can't cure. I would definitely invest in an RO/DI unit.

 

pecco22
Nitrate at 20ppm is not a problem IMHO
if you had a tank full of SPS corals, you would definitely want to get them lower
and 0 is the target under those circumstances

but with what you have now, and even with most soft corals like Shrooms, Zoas, leathers, toadies, polyps etc - 20ppm is not a major problem IME

RODI is a good idea and not just from perspective of Nitrate
none of us know from 1 week to the next, exactly what our tap water does contain
and eliminating the risk is a valuable reason to use RODI water IMO

Steve

 

In my 75 I never once tested lower than 20ppm I also never tested higher. With that being said I had 3 clams and SPS doing just fine in the tank. Your eyes are the best test kit. Like mentioned before test your tapwater to see if you have nitrates in it. I have a ro/di unit and I still get algae and my tds is 0

 

i cant seem to get my under the 10-20 range as well. i am assuming its the tap water i am using. just bought a new light fixture, and am building my sump, I definitly plan on buying a RO/DI unit next, although i frequently check my tap water its is always zero NO3.

 

Very very well put!

 

Mine seems to stay around 20 ppm also (sometimes it looks between 10 and 20 ppm). My fish and inverts are really healthy and doing well. All my original live rock hitch hikers are still alive and thriving. I also have practically no algae. I get a very small amount of dusting on the glass but that's it. It never gets worse. I used RO water.

I think that as long as everything in your tank seems healthy, it's okay for the nitrate to be around 20 ppm.

 

ok some what everyone has said. the nitrate level of 20ppm is not a big deal. now I do have GHA in the tank and several different macro algae in my tank. do I assume then the tap water is the cause of this? I will some pics of the algae so you know what I mean.

 

the algae actually looks like some sort of a macro, there on the rocks. The stuff in the sand is GHA. just siphon that out if you can. The tap water likelly contains many heavy metals and phosphates, which will contribute largely to the algae issues. So will the tank being so new.

Now, about the zero nitrate thing. I also have just recently (this weekend actually) learned about that. Anthony Calfo came to out local reef club to speek, and he actually touched on this. He recommended that a few of us up our bio load with doubling the amount of fish we have in the tank. Which contrary to most beliefes is the wrong thing to do. He also said to run around 10ppm of nitrates and your zoas will take off like crazy, along with the coloring of the SPS being much more vibrant and full. Just something to think about coming from a somewhat "reef god" if you will.