Nitrate at 0ppm

[ninjamini]

I just tested my nitrates and they are at 0 ppm. Can that be right? I have never achieved that before. They were usually at 40 and then I got them to drop to 20 for a while. Now 0. There are only 2 things that I have done over the last 2 months. Add cheto and stop feeding algae sheets for the tang. I think I will get some algae sheets and see if it goes up?
Now to get that phosphate to 0 as well. Now its at .1.

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by ninjamini
I just tested my nitrates and they are at 0 ppm. Can that be right? I have never achieved that before. They were usually at 40 and then I got them to drop to 20 for a while. Now 0. There are only 2 things that I have done over the last 2 months. Add cheto and stop feeding algae sheets for the tang. I think I will get some algae sheets and see if it goes up?
Now to get that phosphate to 0 as well. Now its at .1.

Comon,, is gotta be the Chaeto,, I dont think algae sheets NORI , have something to do with your trates... MINE a year ago where at 40-60ppm,, now down to 10-20ppm and my chaeto ball has gotten HUGE!!

 

[farslayer]

Mine are at 0 with no chaeto It's not impossible to do, I have lots of corraline, low bioload, lots of corals, skimmer, sterilizer, no sump. Congratulations BTW, it really makes the tank much healthier.

 

[puffer32]

Don't deprive your tangs nori even if it does cause trates, which i don't think it does, especially if they gobble it down like my fish do. trates are ok as long as they kept low. I have never had ), even with a fuge with tons of chaeto and as long as my sps are thriving with 20 trates, i am happy

 

[teen]

technically your nitrates will never be at zero, since they are the bi-product of nitrites. basically it means that there isnt a build up of nitrate in your tank, the nitrate gas is escaping the tank before it has time to build up, which is what you want.

 

[jerthunter]

I would worry about your phoshates being at .1 if you are testing 0 ppm nitrate. It appears that you are removing the nitrates faster than phosphates, most likely due to your macroalgae. I would try feeding more so that your macroalgae can continue to grow and keep the phosphates low, if you run out of nitrates your macroalgae will slow down its growth and you might find a raise in phosphates over time.

 

[emm0909]

Originally Posted by teen
The nitrate gas is escaping the tank before it has time to build up, which is what you want.
How does the nitrate gas escape faster in some systems? How do you increase this?

 

[sjimmyh]

Originally Posted by emm0909
How does the nitrate gas escape faster in some systems? How do you increase this?
Teen most likely just made a typo. Nitrate isn't a gas. He meant nitrogen gas. Nitrogen is the very end product of the ammonia cycle. Its what anaerobic bacteria break the nitrates down into.
You can increase this really with more places for the bacteria to grow. They only grow and convert nitrates to nitrogen in places of low to almost no oxygen content. THese are found deep in live rock and in deep sand beds or fuge mud. So, increasing the amount of any of these will increase the nitrate reduction by the bacteria... at least until it reaches maximum equilibrium, like teen was discussing... which is read by us as zero.
Plants of any kind use nitrates directly. They don't convert it like the bacteria do. So increasing the plant life in the tank (macro, coralline... even micro, though you don't really want that) will reduce nitrates also. Even corals that are photosynthetic (use light) will even decrease them somewhat, theoretically, because they have algae within their tissues. I am not really sure if a coral's internal symbiotic algae can actually use up nitrate faster than the coral produces it, but it could be possible. Corals really don't create a lot of nitrate IME.

 

[sjimmyh]

Originally Posted by Jerthunter
I would worry about your phoshates being at .1 if you are testing 0 ppm nitrate. It appears that you are removing the nitrates faster than phosphates, most likely due to your macroalgae. I would try feeding more so that your macroalgae can continue to grow and keep the phosphates low, if you run out of nitrates your macroalgae will slow down its growth and you might find a raise in phosphates over time.
I wholeheartedly agree. IMO, 1 ppm phosphate is a large source of fertilizer for microaglae. There are all kinds of discussions and experiments that describe what kinds of micro algae grow with high nitrates and what micros grow with high phosphate. It doesn't really matter to most of us though, as any micro algae can be problematic, regardless of species.
I would strive for 0 ppm phosphate as hard, if not harder, than a 0 nitrate level. Tanks usually don't have big micro algae issues until nitrates get 20 ppm or more (at least issues with the species that like excess nitrate), while algaes that thrive off phosphate really don't require much. 1 ppm could be plenty enough to lead to issues. Even in a tank with no detectible nitrate levels at all.
edit
BTW, Jerthunter, that's a great idea for phosphate removal in a tank with no nitrates and a fuge. I don't think I have ever heard of it before.

 

[farslayer]

Originally Posted by SJimmyH
I wholeheartedly agree. IMO, 1 ppm phosphate is a large source of fertilizer for microaglae. There are all kinds of discussions and experiments that describe what kinds of micro algae grow with high nitrates and what micros grow with high phosphate. It doesn't really matter to most of us though, as any micro algae can be problematic, regardless of species.
I would strive for 0 ppm phosphate as hard, if not harder, than a 0 nitrate level. Tanks usually don't have big micro algae issues until nitrates get 20 ppm or more (at least issues with the species that like excess nitrate), while algaes that thrive off phosphate really don't require much. 1 ppm could be plenty enough to lead to issues. Even in a tank with no detectible nitrate levels at all.
edit
BTW, Jerthunter, that's a great idea for phosphate removal in a tank with no nitrates and a fuge. I don't think I have ever heard of it before.
Right there with ya. I had a phosphate problem at one time, even though I was using RO water and maintained 0 nitrates. So, I started using phos gard in a canister and within 24 hours my phosphates dropped from around 2.5 to 0 and have stayed there ever since. I use a big ol Fluval FX5 on my 125 with carbon and phos gard and have been very happy with it. No room for a fuge

 

[teen]

Originally Posted by SJimmyH
Teen most likely just made a typo. Nitrate isn't a gas. He meant nitrogen gas. Nitrogen is the very end product of the ammonia cycle. Its what anaerobic bacteria break the nitrates down into.
You can increase this really with more places for the bacteria to grow. They only grow and convert nitrates to nitrogen in places of low to almost no oxygen content. THese are found deep in live rock and in deep sand beds or fuge mud. So, increasing the amount of any of these will increase the nitrate reduction by the bacteria... at least until it reaches maximum equilibrium, like teen was discussing... which is read by us as zero.
Plants of any kind use nitrates directly. They don't convert it like the bacteria do. So increasing the plant life in the tank (macro, coralline... even micro, though you don't really want that) will reduce nitrates also. Even corals that are photosynthetic (use light) will even decrease them somewhat, theoretically, because they have algae within their tissues. I am not really sure if a coral's internal symbiotic algae can actually use up nitrate faster than the coral produces it, but it could be possible. Corals really don't create a lot of nitrate IME.
pretty much what i was trying to get across before i went to work.

 

[sjimmyh]

Originally Posted by teen
pretty much what i was trying to get across before i went to work.
I figured... no biggy, the question that came up afterwards about someone wanting to increase nitrate gas expulsion from their tank is what made me expound for you.

 

[teen]

lol. thanks

 

[phishface]

Wouldnt you jusy harvest some of the macro.......to balance the prouction/consumption rates?

 

[sjimmyh]

Originally Posted by phishface
Wouldnt you jusy harvest some of the macro.......to balance the prouction/consumption rates?
Are you talking about Jerthunters comment about purposefully feeding more to increase nitrates?