Is it OK to have 0 of Ammonia, nitrite, & nitrate?

[scope2reef]

Newbie here, appreciate your help.
Got a used 30g tank 1 week ago, with live rock, some corals, and a single fish. The previous owner had the tank for 1 year. I setup the tank in my house with 50% previous tank water and 50% new water.

The day I setup the tank, the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate were all 0. I used 2 different test kits - API and Salifert.
Temp 80-82
pH 8.2
Salinity 1.024-1.025

Now I week later, the parameters are still the same. Am I supposed to worry about the 0 nitrate?

The corals I have are - lot of xenia, some kenya tree, GSP, cabbage leather, few zoas, and 1 hammer. Fish is pajama cardinal. I tried to feed the fish yesterday for the first time with some flakes I got from the previous owner. He swallowed a couple of flakes but spit them out immediately. Overall, the fish and corals are healthy. Only issue is algae that came with the tank. 4 hermit crabs are there but not able to keep up with the algae.

Any advice? Just wait and see 1 more week about the 0 nitrate? I am OK with that, only worried about the fish not eating. Thanks for help.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Cardinals are picky eaters, maybe try some mysis shrimp. If the tank was established you may not have any ammonia if the move went well, and if you do, it might be so minor that the test kits you use will not pick it up. Don't worry about nitrites. You probably do have some nitrates but the algae is using it. One fish is not going to create much waste. I would remove as much algae by hand, maybe get a lawnmower blenny as your next fish, a tuxedo urchin can help to, or a turbo snail.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

just feed plenty. thatll help do you have a skimmer going? rollermat?

 

[scope2reef]

A nano skimmer is there in the tank, but I ran it only after yesterday for the first time. It creates foam but ends up as dirty water in the cup. It fills half the cup in 1 day. Is that normal?

In the back chambers of the tank there are bioballs and filter floss. I clean the floss every 2 days.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

A nano skimmer is there in the tank, but I ran it only after yesterday for the first time. It creates foam but ends up as dirty water in the cup. It fills half the cup in 1 day. Is that normal?

In the back chambers of the tank there are bioballs and filter floss. I clean the floss every 2 days.

For a Nano skimmer filling the cup halfway sounds about right if it is the first time you ran it. The foam (air bubbles) will naturally pop leaving the organic residue (liquid) in the cup. The bioballs will do for now, but once your rock becomes established you can slowly start removing them. Maybe replacing them with a ceramic media or turning that space into a refugium. Depending on how your tank is, floss may affect your salinity in such a small tank. As it gets dirty the water lowers in your return and your ATO (I assume you have one) fills more RODI. But that could be said with any mechanical media.

 

[TeamAquaSD]

Newbie here, appreciate your help.
Got a used 30g tank 1 week ago, with live rock, some corals, and a single fish. The previous owner had the tank for 1 year. I setup the tank in my house with 50% previous tank water and 50% new water.

The day I setup the tank, the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate were all 0. I used 2 different test kits - API and Salifert.
Temp 80-82
pH 8.2
Salinity 1.024-1.025

Now I week later, the parameters are still the same. Am I supposed to worry about the 0 nitrate?

The corals I have are - lot of xenia, some kenya tree, GSP, cabbage leather, few zoas, and 1 hammer. Fish is pajama cardinal. I tried to feed the fish yesterday for the first time with some flakes I got from the previous owner. He swallowed a couple of flakes but spit them out immediately. Overall, the fish and corals are healthy. Only issue is algae that came with the tank. 4 hermit crabs are there but not able to keep up with the algae.

Any advice? Just wait and see 1 more week about the 0 nitrate? I am OK with that, only worried about the fish not eating. Thanks for help.

Over time 0 nitrate can definitely cause some issues with the corals. Some form of nitrate needs to be present for them to consume.
If there are sources of nitrate and your corals are just consuming them as fast as they are being produced that is okay but being able to see it on the test kits (even the slightest amount) is better then just testing straight 0 for months on end

 

[scope2reef]

Cardinals are picky eaters, maybe try some mysis shrimp. If the tank was established you may not have any ammonia if the move went well, and if you do, it might be so minor that the test kits you use will not pick it up. Don't worry about nitrites. You probably do have some nitrates but the algae is using it. One fish is not going to create much waste. I would remove as much algae by hand, maybe get a lawnmower blenny as your next fish, a tuxedo urchin can help to, or a turbo snail.

Thank you very much for the tip. I got frozen mysis shrimp today and the PJ cardinal gobbled it up without any hesitation! Gosh! What a difference. He wouldn't even glance at the flake. But this shrimp, he was chasing my hand when I was feeding him. lol

 

[Solo McReefer]

If you have a lot of algae

That is what I would expect

The algae is consuming it before it gets to your testers

It's a false negative, you have TONS of nitrate and phosphate in the tank