The Results are in

[RobNJ]

Finally did a full run of tests on the system today. Here are the results

pH 8.2
Nitrate >10 mg/l
Nitrite 0
Amonia 0
Calcium 420 ppm
Alkalinity 175 ppm

So the tank has been up for a few months, everything seems very healthy, do i need to add anything to my water?

Thanks in advance,
Rob

[Boomer]

That all looks good but the nitrate is a little high. Do you have a Mg test kit ? And what is the salinity and how did you measure it ?

[RobNJ]

my SG is 1.024, right now I use a Hydrometer, I know I need a refractormeter :)

How can I lower my nitrates, I really dont have anything in my tank trapping them. I do 12% water change per week.

My friend recommended to me this product by Sea-Lab, its these blocks which desolve over time to buffer the tank and add trace elements, do you think I should try them?

[bertoni]

The Sea-Lab blocks are uncontrolled dosing of a mix of ingredients. I wouldn't use them. This product comes up from time to time, so a search will bring up more information, if you're interested.

For nitrate, the two most popular approaches seem to be better skimming or growing and harvesting a macroalga. This article goes into a lot of detail:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

[RobNJ]

my sump really isnt big enough to add macro, are there any types of macro which can grow in the display tankw hich look nice?

[clsanchez77]

I am setting mine up with Halimeda in the display. Tank is not marture yet so the pictures would do a lot of good as they wont show the potential. Advantage is it is not Calerpa, Disadvantage is they demand calcium and alkalinity (bit then so does coralline).

Also, I may be wrong on this, but if you keep your Calcium & Alkalinity up and Phosphates near 0, coralline will also bind Nitrates, but again, this is from memory, I can't cite it to any specific study.

Chris

[RobNJ]

I would love to put macro in my sump except my sump is only a 10 gallon tank and it has my skimmer, return pump, phophate reactor, and heaters in it, just no room...

I guess I could run some type of Nitrate removing media?

[Boomer]

There really is no such thing as nitrate removing material. It just acts like LR, adding more LR does the same thing.

[Hobster]

Do you have a sand bed or bare bottom? You could perhaps add one of the CPR hang on refugiums to grow some Macro which can help.

Here is a link to Randys article if you have not already read it. Towards the middle, end are some solutions.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

[RobNJ]

I have about a 3-4 inch sand bed

[Hobster]

Might just take a little while before enough bacteria builds up in the DSB. Until then try to export more then you import (feeding, skimming, running carbon etc)

[RobNJ]

Yep I will try. The tank has only had water in it since 5/8/06. i have had no fatalities, and the corals are looking wonderful. I attribute this to letting the tank fully cycle with plenty of LR, not cheaping out on equipment, and doing consistant water changes.

I am going to consider a hang on refuge, I wonder if you could fit a little seahorse in one of those.

Should I be doing any buffering or calcium dosing, also i have some stuff called purple up from a friend, I havent used it yet, has anyone? in 2 months my corralline coverage is fantastic.

Only thing I add right now is Vita-Chem vitamins for the fishes

[RobNJ]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7692916#post7692916 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RobNJ
Finally did a full run of tests on the system today. Here are the results

pH 8.2
Nitrate >10 mg/l
Nitrite 0
Amonia 0
Calcium 420 ppm
Alkalinity 175 ppm

So the tank has been up for a few months, everything seems very healthy, do i need to add anything to my water?

Thanks in advance,
Rob

My Nitrate is < 10 mg/L

Sorry had my math signs backwards

[Hobster]

So your nitrates are "less" than 10?? that is of course better than more:)

Randy does not recomend purple up. You can skip the Vitamins also , Maybe use it to soak the food in, As to dosing , only dose what you test for and determine what is needed. It depends on what corals you have and how much is used. Check in the list of Randys articles(above) for what method would work best for you.

[bertoni]

As long as the alkalinity and calcium remain acceptable, what you're doing is fine. This article discusses calcium-alkalinity supplementation, if the levels start to drop:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm