Nitrates -- Zero Or Just Above?

[Alaskan Reefer]

Need some opinions on this. I switched my tank up to BB a few months ago, and everything is responding very very well. My rocks have stopped shedding now, and my skimmer seems hungry most of the time and my chaeto ball is deteriorating. Nitrate tests are consistently 2.5 now with the Salifert. I still have a few dozen bioballs in the sump, which I was using as a safety net during the change (removed all my sand at once), that I could remove. I could also start dosing vodka, and I have the tank / plumbing / sand materials fully ready for a RDSB.

The question though is, for a mostly SPS tank with a few LPS and zoas, is 0 nitrate ideal, or is just a little above that okay / desirable?

 

[davewbush]

IMO you want to shoot for 0 but I do notice that some very nice sps tanks have a little nitrate in them. You will want to keep it below 5ppm.

 

[acronuts]

With no sand it seems to be a lot harder to store nitrates, so you may have measurable nitrates. That would actually is my preference though, because you don't have worry about seeing those stored nitrates again.

 

[Alaskan Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14718603#post14718603 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by acronuts
With no sand it seems to be a lot harder to store nitrates, so you may have measurable nitrates. That would actually is my preference though, because you don't have worry about seeing those stored nitrates again.

I reckon that's the beauty and the bane of the BB tank. If we're truly shooting for absolute zero, then I'll progress on with the bioball removal / RDSB installation next. TBH, I've had SSBs for so long that I've never really shot for nitrates under 5 ppm, which was as low as I ever had them consistently in SSB tanks.

Mostly just wanted to know if there was any beneficial reason to keep them skating just above zero, if none then it's time to chew off that last little bit...

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Depends on what "just above" 0 is. Technically, you don't want 0, but when you are reading in increments of 1ppm, shoot for 0. You probably want a few tenths though.

 

[pledosophy]

Your nitrate levels depend on what you are keeping. If one of my tanks hits zero I freak out, if the other hits zero I do a happy dance. Depends on the stock.

 

[Alaskan Reefer]

I'll get rid of the rest of the bioballs then and see where it ends up after another month -- if still not at 0 on the Salifert, then I'll add in the RDSB. Tank isn't having any problems and SPS / LPS are colorful and growing, but it sounds like I can do better getting that 2.5ppm reading down to 0.