Nitrates

[revoran]

Hey guys,


Well today I did my weekly water test on my 120, and found 5ppm nitrates. Is that terribly bad? and how long can I leave it before I HAVE to do a waterchange? all other parameters were right on the money.

8.2 ph
0 ammonia
0 nitrites
5ppm nitrates

the reason I ask is because I was borrowed someones RO/DI and he got it back . I have about 20 gallons of water left, but I am trying to save that water for next week when chris builds my sump! If need be I could get the ro back probably, but trying not to be a pest. Thank you

 

[revoran]

ALso I did roughly 20% Water Change 2 weeks ago.

 

[coolsurf]

5 is not bad at all. As a matter of fact I need to have a little nitrate in my tank for my clams. Some folks can never even get theirs to 0 no matter what they do. Water changes (providing you have a skimmer) should be 10% weekly or 20% bi-weekly.

 

[revoran]

yeah thats what i have been doing, but this would be my bi weekly change, but low on water and would like to save it for next week if possible.(safe)

 

[coolsurf]

Could you and should you are two different things. I'm very faithful when it comes to water changes. What is your bio load? If it's light than you would probably be fine.

 

[revoran]

bio load is very light atm 2 clowns and a 3-4 inch fox...got 2 shrimps no corals.

 

[oldschool52]

Sounds to me that you're doingaa great job. I've been doing this salt water thing on & off for 35+ years. Just that you actually Test your tank you are one up on a lot of people. IMO and this is from my experiences and research Nitrates are the least thing you need to worry about especially @ 5ppm. In my tanks (72g, 55g, 45g, 40g) I do a 10 - 15% change every 2 weeks and the 5 gal PICO seahorse tank 1 gal every other day. (there are baby and adult dwarf seahorses in it).

Because of the bio-load on my tanks and feeding they get (we have been told by some club members we have some of the fattest fish they've seen) my numbers are the following:

Ammonia = >0.25
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates= 30 or less (tanks have macro algae growing)
Magnesium= 1350
Calcium= 450
Strontium= 10
Phosphate= 0
S/G = 1.025
pH= 8.0 to 8.1
Temps on fish/corals = 78 to 80 F
My RO/DI = 1 or less TDS

These are my numbers and my tanks do great with these params. As long as you do not have any drastic changes ie. ammonia spiking, phosphate going through the roof, pH hanging more than .3 at any given time and temps changing 4 or 5 degrees drastically, you should be ok. Just do things in moderation and take it slow. You are definitely on the right track, IMO and everyone has differences of opinions. What works for one may or may not work for you. After a bit you will learn what works for you and what doesn't. Use the numbers as a guideline and don't panic if they are not exactly ideal. After a while you will probably be able to look at the occupants in your tank and say, "That thing/critter doesn't look right I'll bet my XYZ is off". You test the tank and find out you were right something is off and you correct it. Just keep doing what you're doing and you should be very successful in this hobby.

 

[oldschool52]

Oh yeh the reason I put the temps for fish/corals is because seahorse tank is kept @ 72 to 76.

 

[coolsurf]

With a bio-load that light you should not have any issues. Fish are much more tolerant than corals so you really should be ok. You can pick up a decent RO/DI from Pure Water Club for around a hundred dollars. Just something to think about in the future. GL with your sump project. :up: