Nitrates in shop brought Ro water

Astraltheclown · 10/17/2016, 04:25 AM

I have been battling a 40 ppm nitrate problem in my tank for some time now.the level don't go down even after 50% water changes so I tested my shop brought salted Ro and found levels of 10 ppm before adding to tank.is this normal and is it going to be the reason my levels won't fall

scar79 · 10/17/2016, 07:20 AM

No, that is not normal. NSW should not contain phosphate or nitrate and you certainly shouldn't be paying for excess nutrients by the gallon!

10ppm won't lead to sustained 40ppm, so you definitely have an underlying issue. There are plenty of threads on the issue with a whole variety of solutions.

Does your display have plenty of internal flow and do you have a good oversized skimmer? IME, dead spots in the display or an undersized filtration system will lead to a long, fruitless battle unless those issues are addressed.

Astraltheclown · 10/17/2016, 11:41 AM

My flow is good plenty of live rock but I am not running a skimmer I should probably invest

bertoni · 10/17/2016, 07:21 PM

I agree that there's an underlying issue. I'd also find another water source. 10 ppm isn't very good, in my opinion, although it might be tolerable in a very difficult situation.

In addition to the points already given, coarse substrates and artificial bio-filtration media, including sponges and bio-balls can lead to higher nitrate levels. Maybe the feeding level is too high for the tank's filtration.

10/17/2016, 04:25 AM	#1
Astraltheclown Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 4	Nitrates in shop brought Ro water I have been battling a 40 ppm nitrate problem in my tank for some time now.the level don't go down even after 50% water changes so I tested my shop brought salted Ro and found levels of 10 ppm before adding to tank.is this normal and is it going to be the reason my levels won't fall

10/17/2016, 07:21 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I agree that there's an underlying issue. I'd also find another water source. 10 ppm isn't very good, in my opinion, although it might be tolerable in a very difficult situation. In addition to the points already given, coarse substrates and artificial bio-filtration media, including sponges and bio-balls can lead to higher nitrate levels. Maybe the feeding level is too high for the tank's filtration. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

10/17/2016, 07:20 AM	#2
scar79 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Southwestern CT Posts: 534	No, that is not normal. NSW should not contain phosphate or nitrate and you certainly shouldn't be paying for excess nutrients by the gallon! 10ppm won't lead to sustained 40ppm, so you definitely have an underlying issue. There are plenty of threads on the issue with a whole variety of solutions. Does your display have plenty of internal flow and do you have a good oversized skimmer? IME, dead spots in the display or an undersized filtration system will lead to a long, fruitless battle unless those issues are addressed.

10/17/2016, 11:41 AM	#3
Astraltheclown Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 4	My flow is good plenty of live rock but I am not running a skimmer I should probably invest