Nitrates too high?

[ThisCityIsDead]

i just had my water tested:

PH: 8.1, Amonia:0, Nitrite:0, Nitrate: 10/20 (the color was an in between 10 and 20) Salinity: 1.024

will the skimmer get rid of the nitrates or will i need to do a water change?

cycle is week 4.

4 peppermint shrimp, 1 sally lightfoot crab,1 feather-duster 1 coral bandit, 2 hermit crabs, and 1 snail.

suggestions?

 

[StaySalty]

Seems like your tank has cycled. I would do a 50% water change and see what the new nitrate reading is.

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

Do you think four weeks is to soon for a cycle? When should i do a water change?

 

[StaySalty]

4 weeks is about the average time but it can vary depending on how exactly the tank is cycled. I've seen people say their tank hasn't cycled even after 2 months.

But the params you posted are what someone is supposed to see after cycling-no ammonia, no nitrites, and elevated nitrates.

As for when you should do the water change, I dont think it really matters. I would do it atleast a few days before you add any fish. That's just me though.

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

Oh. Okay. I was just curious since people tend to say 6 weeks. I do have a bit of ditrius, so I guess I'll siphon that up. Do you think I should do about 50% or 30% of the 75G. All I did to cycle the tank was add live rock and cured Fiji rock. Waiting=death... Not patient at all. Haha.

 

[StaySalty]

I would do 50% and see what the new readings are. Just go slow when you add livestock. You don't want to shock the system with a high bioload that your filtration isn't ready to handle yet.

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

Nice. Thanks! I assume I should mix, a few days in adv., the salt in with the water I'm using to replace the saltwater. Correct?

 

[StaySalty]

A few days may be unnecessary. As long as you got enough movement for mixing 38 gallons of new saltwater, you shouldn't have to wait more than 24 hours.

 

[Saltliquid]

I'm using to replace the saltwater. Correct?

As for a skimmer and nitrate, nitrate is inorganic, skimmers only handle organics.
Yes and you top up with filtered fresh water for what evaporates, salt does not evaporate! Salt water sitting for a day or 6 months if no evap, is all the same and used that day or in size months is all the same as long as you use RO waters to mix salt in.

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

I saw some nice Picasso clowns at the Lfs. Are clownfish Hardy fish for my first pair of fish?

 

[usingthejohn]

I saw some nice Picasso clowns at the Lfs. Are clownfish Hardy fish for my first pair of fish?

Clown fish are very hardy. That's why so many tanks have them

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

The guy at the Lfs said Picasso and snowflakes were very aggressive.

 

[ca1ore]

A few observations. Nitrates of 10-20 are not terrible, I've run many tanks that high, but the goal ought to be for negligible readings (even if you never quite get there). Skimmer does not directly remove existing nitrates, but it does remove organics that if left in the tank, will form new nitrates. Make sure the water you are using to mix fresh saltwater is free of nitrates. There's a reason most seasoned reefers use RODI filters to get TDS to zero.

 

[Saltliquid]

Clowns are aggressive to other damsels on average; you see clowns are essentially damsels, except for the premnis, they are a classification on their own!
To minimise some amphiprions potential bad nature, don’t get a pair and they do not need anems in an aquarium, they prefer corals to laze in, but that’s not good either. If they take in the corals mucus a they do with anems, this can make them quite sick over time, weaken immune system and they may die.
Common sense tells us that if the clown fish may be nasty, if the other none damsel fish are larger, it may not be an issue.

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

I'm on my way to get my first pair of clowns. After about 30% of water change, nitrites are 0! Everything else stayed the same. The PH is 8.0 however. It dropped. I don't know why. How do I increase?

 

[acabgd]

Don't mess with your pH. In marine tanks the important value is alkalinity. As long as alkalinity is ok, pH will be in acceptable range. Just make sure to open the window in the room where your tank is located (in order to get more oxygen in there, this will also regulate pH).

 

[inetmug]

That reading is not bad. Nitrates nor phosphates really affect fish until very high. The invertebrate and corals can not tolerate it high. 20 could be very bad depending onlivestock

 

[ca1ore]

I'm on my way to get my first pair of clowns. After about 30% of water change, nitrites are 0! Everything else stayed the same. The PH is 8.0 however. It dropped. I don't know why. How do I increase?

Then you have some kind of measurement error. If nitrates were at 15, and you do a 30% water change, then dilution would end you up at 10, not zero.

 

[ThisCityIsDead]

I'm not sure, the test results said I had 0 of everything. The ph did drop.

 

[sc50964]

I was told that adding carbon will help to drop nitrate by a LFS, but I've never heard or read that from anywhere. Is it true?