Nitrate, at 0 should i be concerned
- Thread starter TMNZ
- Start date
wrassie86
Premium Member
With that new info,it sounds like you just need to give it more time and the corals will come around.I would be more concerned if they were really light in color ,but it looks to me like your still dealing with some nutriant issues.Could be leaching from the rocks as the vodka pulls the levels down.If you have brought high levels down in 3 mos then i would keep on the path your going and it will pay off.But once the corals do start to color up,be carful with the vodka.
Froggy
Reef "Hobbyist"...right!?
I have heard of some people adding nitrate to their tanks to benefit Tridacna clams. I read that Wayne Shang adds water from his FOWLR angel tank to his 700 gallon reef tank to add a bit of nitrate to benefit the many clams he has. His 700 gallon reef normally runs at zero nitrate but the occasional additions of nitrate raise the nitrate level a bit in the reef tank for a couple of days before returning to zero.
Quote from Wayne Shangs book The Captive Marine Aquarium :
"Water is changed every four to six weeks. Normally, the water is drained directly into the reef system. If no new coral was introduced during that period of time, the water is then pumped back into the fish-only tank. It is kind of a recycling process. The reason that nutrient rich water is brought into the reef system from the fish-only system is mainly to benefit the large poulation of Tridacna clams. Of course other corals might also benefit from this practice. The nitrate level in the fish-only system is normally around 10 PPM. This will bring up the nitrate level of the reef system just a little. But, it will drop back down to zero in just a couple of days." - Wayne Shang
Wayne Shang has one of the most colorful reefs I have ever seen so TMNZ's question regarding nitrate may not be as far off base as some think. Of course running low nitrate is the goal but an occasional minor rise in the level may be beneficial in some circumstances.
Quote from Wayne Shangs book The Captive Marine Aquarium :
"Water is changed every four to six weeks. Normally, the water is drained directly into the reef system. If no new coral was introduced during that period of time, the water is then pumped back into the fish-only tank. It is kind of a recycling process. The reason that nutrient rich water is brought into the reef system from the fish-only system is mainly to benefit the large poulation of Tridacna clams. Of course other corals might also benefit from this practice. The nitrate level in the fish-only system is normally around 10 PPM. This will bring up the nitrate level of the reef system just a little. But, it will drop back down to zero in just a couple of days." - Wayne Shang
Wayne Shang has one of the most colorful reefs I have ever seen so TMNZ's question regarding nitrate may not be as far off base as some think. Of course running low nitrate is the goal but an occasional minor rise in the level may be beneficial in some circumstances.
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Froggy
Reef "Hobbyist"...right!?
TMNZ, here is a link to Wayne's homepage. Check out the slide show of his 700 gallon reef.
http://www.underseadiscovery.com/home.htm
http://www.underseadiscovery.com/home.htm
Bear in mind that the fact that he adds nitrate to benefit clams (something others do as well), does not imply that the nitrate is doing anything good, bad, or otherwise for coral coloration, and if you look at the wider world of reef aquaria, many with fine colors have low nitrate. I've never once heard of someone getting better coral coloration by adding nitrate.
So I would not put any money on nitrate additions increasing the coral coloration. But doing it for a while should also not hurt anything, assuming you can find a good nitrate source to use.
If you try it, let us know what you find.
So I would not put any money on nitrate additions increasing the coral coloration. But doing it for a while should also not hurt anything, assuming you can find a good nitrate source to use.
If you try it, let us know what you find.
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Froggy
Reef "Hobbyist"...right!?
I agree Randy. I did not intend to imply that the added nitrate would provide better coral coloration. I only intended to post an example where adding nitrate to an aquarium may be of some use ( raising and maintaining health in tridacna clams) and not just an outlandish idea. Again, Wayne Shang keeps an extremely low nutrient tank 99% of the time and seems to only increase the nitrate in the tank a little bit and this only last a couple of days before returning to zero.
:thumbsup:
Sounds good.
Sounds good.
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