question regarding phosphates and nitrates

1life4dataking

New member
I have the test kits made by red sea max. and i was testing for phosphates and nitrates and they are off the charts both of them. Phosphates read way above 0.64 ppm and nitrates way above 4ppm. my question is, what can cause false readings because all my fish are doing great i have no algae at all in my tank. I also have a new skimmer reef octopus 8 nwb 200. and not to mention that all my snails are doing great as well. so i was told that those things dieing was cause of high nitrates and phosphates but haven't had any probs with them. I am going to take my water to my lfs to have them test it but if you guyz have any idea's why my tank is ready at such high levels i would appreciate the input. oh i also forgot to mention that I am also running a phosphate reactor that i just replaced the gfo in. thnx for your guyz help.
 
The fish and snails will be fine with nitrate and phosphate at that level, and even much higher. Stony corals might have some issues. I probably would ignore the phosphate level unless I wanted to keep stony corals, and I'd get a second opinion on the test kit before spending much money.
 
but what about algae i have none in my tank and I was also told that phosphates and nitrates cause this. I still consider myself a nood still learning year and 5 months in by the way
 
Algae need a number of things to grow, and your test kits might not be all that accurate. Since the tank doesn't have a problem, I wouldn't worry.
 
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