Originally Posted by
srfisher17
http:///forum/post/3200372
That's good to know. Common sense says high nitrates should have an effect. I sure don't suggest it, I just hate to see folks with FOWLR tanks go nuts when nitrates get to, say 60ppm. I'm really surprised that there isn't anything commonly available showing the problem---but all I've seen is anecdotal.
I have always accepted whatever Randy Holmes Farley has said as gospel when dealing with the chemistry of our systems. Here is his take on nitrate. (by the way typical ocean values of nitrate according to him "Variable (typically below 0.1 ppm)."
"Nitrate is an ion that has long dogged aquarists. The nitrogen that forms it comes in with foods, and can, in many aquaria, raise nitrate enough to make it difficult to maintain natural levels. A decade or two ago, many aquarists performed water changes with nitrate reduction as one of their primary goals. Fortunately, we now have a large array of ways to keep nitrate in check, and modern aquaria suffer far less from elevated nitrate than did those in the past.
Nitrate is often associated with algae, and indeed the growth of algae is often spurred by excess nutrients, including nitrate. Other potential aquarium pests, such as dinoflagellates, are also spurred by excess nitrate and other nutrients. Nitrate itself is not particularly toxic at the levels usually found in aquaria, at least as is so far known in the scientific literature. Nevertheless, elevated nitrate levels can excessively spur the growth of zooxanthellae, which in turn can actually decrease the growth rate of their host coral.
For these reasons, most reef aquarists strive to keep nitrate levels down. A good target is less than 0.2 ppm nitrate. Reef aquaria can function acceptably at much higher nitrate levels (say, 20 ppm), but run greater risks of the problems described above. "
