Nitrates wont go away?

D

DLreef

New member
Well my current stock for my 35g is
1 clown
a bunch of snails
1 turbo snail
1 hermit crab
candy cane and Duncan coral

I tested over a week ago and had 40 nitrates, so I put off getting any more stock for another week. I have done a 5g water change every other day for the past week. So I have easily changed 25-30g of water. But I tested today and still have 40ppm of nitrates :uhoh3: How is this possible :deadhorse1:

Everything is doing great, so I don't know how my nitrates are still so high :sad2: Note: I don't have a skimmer but still...........
 
Also im using API liquid test, that's about 4-5 years old, could this be the problem?? The exp date is 2017 but....
 
and depending on each individuals setup having 40ppms isnt a bad thing. i like mine to stay around 60-80 to aid in my macro growth.
 
Test kits a just not reliable from what I have experienced. Definitely see if you can borrow someones or bring water to your LFS, just to get a second test going.

Having said that I have dosed Red Sea NOPOX for several months and it does the job, but I wouldn't start unless you have a solid test kit, as you will have to test frequently with this dosing in the beginning,
 
hotelbravo said:
and depending on each individuals setup having 40ppms isnt a bad thing. i like mine to stay around 60-80 to aid in my macro growth.
Click to expand...

60-80 No3 definitely inhibits growth in most corals. But if your main desire is to grow macro algae then 60-80 is fine.
 
kegogut said:
60-80 No3 definitely inhibits growth in most corals. But if your main desire is to grow macro algae then 60-80 is fine.
Click to expand...

main desire is growing macro the only coral i have are GSP, Daisy polyps, and button polyps which dont have any problem growing.
 
Nitrates are not the end of the world IMO. I, almost religiously, have about 5 ppm nitrates for well over 16 months. I do attribute that to having crushed coral for my substrate. My fish, SPS (acro, monti), LPS, etc... are all happy. I never liked the API test kits, I now use Salifert and NYOS for my test kits.
 
I mean 5, I use the NYOS for the nitrate kit. I have had great success with not having 0 NO3 just like many others. I am "semi-retired" so my tanks get great care all day.

My first post was to not to stress over the ordeal. I didn't run a skimmer for quite a while. When I changed test kits and started a skimmer it was a different story (My numbers were similar to yours). Very well could be the same for you.

How are you feeding your fish? (Daily or x times daily)
 
Another week and another 20g WC and still no difference in nitrates :S

I got a new API test and it shows the same...... My salt mix before hand has 0 nitrates but the main tank still has 40........ I don't know how this is possible with the only fish being a clownfish in a 35g tank
 
If your mixed new water has 0 nitrates a 50% water change will drop nitrates from 40 to 20 ppm. Another, 20 to 10. Another 10 to 5... etc. 15% water changes (~5 gallons) won't drop nitrates very much.

Test your mixed new salt water for nitrates before the next change. RO water with a TDS of 6 could have just about anything in it.
 
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