Test results

[gareth.hubbarde]

Tested tank with new salifert test kits results are:

Calcium 400
Nitrate 100 ppm
Ph 8
Phosphate 1 ppm

Nitrite 0

Am wondering how to help bring nitrate figure down, and should I add calcium yet or leave it. Only got a CUC and a leather coral in at moment.

Tank details

94l
100w heater
1000 l/pH return pump
Nano skimmer
Purigen net
300g carbon
11kg live rock
4 kg sand half bought as live.

2 red legged hermit crabs
1 blue legged hermit crab
2 nassarius snails
1 Mexican turbo snail.

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[Reef of Fillory]

Water changes will help bring down nitrate and phosphate

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[Reef of Fillory]

A gfo reactor (or mixing gfo with your carbon) can help bring your phosphate down

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[Brieninsac]

Nitrates 100 ppm and Nitrites 0 ppm doesn't make sense to me. I suggest you do your tests again.

 

[gareth.hubbarde]

So api test shows nitrate @ 20ppm perhaps I misread the salifert result. First time using it. Will do a 10l water change this weekend and hopefully start to see those high values come down.

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[Sk8r]

How's your skimmer? THat also helps with nitrate, the better the more help.

 

[gareth.hubbarde]

Skimmer is working its a kent nano skimmer that came with the tank.

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[mcgyvr]

A 50% water change should reduce nitrates/phosphates by 50%
25% by 25%,etc.... you can do the math from there and decide how to proceed...

do not add anything to the tank (cal/mag/alk wise at this time and probably never depending on whats going in the tank).. Just do water changes to keep and get nitrates/phosphates where you want them..
(Your next question is going to be "where do I want them" isn't it?)
For what you have nitrate of 20ppm is TOTALLY FINE.. but that phosphate needs to go.. I'd suggest a few large water changes right off the bat to get that phosphate down quick.. Get it to .1 or less if you can.. .04-.08 is better.. .03 is totally fine/best..
Your nitrate will go down too which is fine.. (I've had "softie/leather coral" tanks with 50+ppm of nitrate without any issues... it would be with SPS/LPS but softies... piece of cake)

400 cal is fine and whatever your salt mix is normally will either raise it (if higher than 400 normally) or keep it about the same..

You are NO where near the "dosing" anything stage yet and unless you get stony corals you will never need to..
You have a small tank.. There is no normal chemistry problem/algae,etc.. that water changes won't fix..
Don't add reactors.. don't get suckered into thinking you need anything along those lines at all...

Oh... did I mention water changes..

 

[A sea K]

Nitrates 100 ppm and Nitrites 0 ppm doesn't make sense to me. I suggest you do your tests again.

Nothing at all unusual about -0- nitrite, unless of course the tank is still cycling. If you do detect nitrite and the tank has been cycled then you have a problem that needs to be addressed.

 

[gareth.hubbarde]

Can only do 10l water change at a time, I don't have a bigger container to mix the salt in.

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[thegrun]

Are you sure you are reading the test kit correctly? For high range you view the test sample from the top down, for more accurate low range tests you read the sample from the side and divide the test reading by 10. If your nitrates really are at 100 I would suggest you get more buckets or totes so that you can make at least a couple of 50% water changes or you will soon have an algae problem.

 

[reefling]

Add macro algae. Chaeto or calerpa prolifora

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