I need some help here.

[oysterxfast5]

Ok so I understand that the ammonia and nitrite are bad, but should my nitrate levels be low high or in the middle. My ammonia and nitrite are at 0 and my nitrate is a 40ppm. PH is at 8.4 (about the middle of the day) Alkalinity is at 300. Thanks to faulty tools my salt was at 1.030 instead of 1.026, thus the death of two cleaners. got a new hydrometer and am bringing the salt down over the next few days. But is my water pretty good. I had my LFS test to find out why the cleaners i bought died and thats what my water was by his test.
He didn't say anything other than the salt so i guess it is good.

 

[chaseracing]

Salinity probably would not kill a cleaner. Especially at 1.030.

My tank hovers around 1.030 and I have 6 shrimp in there.

The Nitrate may have done it. Ornamental shrimp are particular about nitrates.

Nitrate should be at zero.

-=E=-

 

[oysterxfast5]

Waterchange take care of that or something else i need to do.

 

[zach0660]

Do a large wc, do you have an algae or diatom problem?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Here, read through this for questions about water parameters: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

 

[oysterxfast5]

algae tends to grow in just a few days if i dont use my magnetic cleaner to clean the front off. not sure what a diatom is. I just recently changed to getting ro water for the wc, so maybe that will help too. so it sounds like i could run carbon and lower the nitrates.

 

[chaseracing]

I do not believe carbon will remove the Nitrates. You can either do a decent size waterchange, or start growing macroalgea.

The macro makes a huge difference, but pretty much requires a sump/fuge type of filtration setup.

I believe there is also a Nitrate Sponge type of thing available but I have never used one.

-=E=-

 

[oysterxfast5]

so just do about a 10 gallon or is that over doing it in a 30.