What Are ACTUAL Acceptable Nitrate Levels?

[JSkeleton]

So I've been watching a lot of videos/reading a lot of articles and a lot of people say 20-40ppm for Nitrates is when you need to be doing a water change. Other people say just do them weekly, bi-weekly, etc. etc.. Other people say Nitrates should never be above 5ppm. So what is it REALLY?

 

[Rmckoy]

As a freshly cycled system nitrates should be a lot higher .
but as it matures typically … 5-10ppm is acceptable . But depends what livestock you’re keeping .
generally . Lps prefer a little higher and 20-30 could be acceptable .
After years . You will have the same problem as a lot of us with old systems .
I have a very hard time maintaining mine above 5

the secret isn’t chasing numbers or values but maintaining stability .
Corals and fish will adapt to what ever number it is within consideration .
as long as they’re not crazy excessively high

 

[gbroadbridge]

It really depends on the tank.

A stable mature tank will have no problems with higher nitrates.

I'd suggest between 5-20 for most tanks.

 

[Auquanut]

^^Yes. What they said.^^

 

[wmb0003]

Depends on what you are keeping. Fish only you can get pretty high. Zoas and LPS can be moderate. SPS coral would be the lowest. But a lot of people suggests different ranges. Mine have been as high as 60 and as low as 1-2ppm.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Depends on what you are keeping. Fish only you can get pretty high. Zoas and LPS can be moderate. SPS coral would be the lowest. But a lot of people suggests different ranges. Mine have been as high as 60 and as low as 1-2ppm.

I have to add nitrates.

When I go under 2ppm I start to add lots more food.
Dinos. Been there, never want to go there again.

 

[131696]

Whatever is accepted Stability is key

 

[JSkeleton]

As a freshly cycled system nitrates should be a lot higher .
but as it matures typically … 5-10ppm is acceptable . But depends what livestock you’re keeping .
generally . Lps prefer a little higher and 20-30 could be acceptable .
After years . You will have the same problem as a lot of us with old systems .
I have a very hard time maintaining mine above 5

the secret isn’t chasing numbers or values but maintaining stability .
Corals and fish will adapt to what ever number it is within consideration .
as long as they’re not crazy excessively high

Hmm okay! To start I'd be Fish only (probably with some snails and a skunk shrimp). Might add corals down the road if I do okay with saltwater fish first haha

 

[JSkeleton]

It really depends on the tank.

A stable mature tank will have no problems with higher nitrates.

I'd suggest between 5-20 for most tanks.

Hmm okay. It seems the general idea is that with some Corals you want it a bit lower? Other Corals you want a bit higher? Fish only with some snails and shrimp to start for me though. I guess part of my reason for asking is if Nitrates are low enough one week if I wasn't feeling the greatest if in that scenario I could just skip and do bi-weekly or if I see that my Nitrates don't get too high doing bi-weekly so I don't have to weekly.

 

[JSkeleton]

Depends on what you are keeping. Fish only you can get pretty high. Zoas and LPS can be moderate. SPS coral would be the lowest. But a lot of people suggests different ranges. Mine have been as high as 60 and as low as 1-2ppm.

Clowns are a definite, probably some snails and a Skunk cleaner shrimp. Besides that I'm considering a Royal Gramma down the line, maybe some other hardy fish (possibly a Cardinal or some other hardy types).

I seen a guy (albeit he was keeping African Cichlids) who said he'd only change it when it got to like 80ppm and suggested 40-80ppm (but that does seem like on the high end, then again perhaps it's difference for what he's keeping).

 

[Rmckoy]

Hmm okay! To start I'd be Fish only (probably with some snails and a skunk shrimp). Might add corals down the road if I do okay with saltwater fish first haha

I’d start with finishing the nitrogen cycle .
do your few large water changes to bring nitrates down .
maintain stability by preforming regular water changes .
depending on food , bio load , amount of fish and percentage of water changes along with frequency will dictate what your nitrate levels will be .

as mentioned above . Stability is far more important

 

[Rmckoy]

Clowns are a definite, probably some snails and a Skunk cleaner shrimp. Besides that I'm considering a Royal Gramma down the line, maybe some other hardy fish (possibly a Cardinal or some other hardy types).

I seen a guy (albeit he was keeping African Cichlids) who said he'd only change it when it got to like 80ppm and suggested 40-80ppm (but that does seem like on the high end, then again perhaps it's difference for what he's keeping).

Freshwater African is a complete different ball game .
They can be far more forgiving but ….. again it’s your tank , your investment .
You come to the right place for salty advice .

 

[wmb0003]

Clowns are a definite, probably some snails and a Skunk cleaner shrimp. Besides that I'm considering a Royal Gramma down the line, maybe some other hardy fish (possibly a Cardinal or some other hardy types).

I seen a guy (albeit he was keeping African Cichlids) who said he'd only change it when it got to like 80ppm and suggested 40-80ppm (but that does seem like on the high end, then again perhaps it's difference for what he's keeping).

Nitrate is not fatal to fish. The side effects of high nitrate is usually nuisance algae. The most natural way to deal with high nitrates is dilution through water changes but there are other options; just had to figure out what works for your system.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Idk I've never tested. Or phosphates. Lol
D

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

At least not on my new current tank. Think last time I checked nitrates was like 5+ yrs ago.
D

 

[mcgallagherc]

My tank is 5 months old and professionally set up. Last param check was nitrate-2-5, PO4-umdetectable, calcium-400, alk-8.9

1 clown, firefish, midas blenny, benghai Cardinal, LNB, watchman goby, arrow crab, cleaner shrimp, BTA which recently split, torch, zoa colony, blasto, couple mushrooms, meat coral.

Having trouble getting PO4 and nitrate up. Torch not fully extending and meat coral starting to show skeleton(moved to a very low light spot tonight)

I unplugged skimmer a week ago to try and elavate some nutrients but not much look? Time to start dosing? I do add 2 part for calcium a few times a week.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Ty for saying undetected and not 0. Lol
D

 

[mcgallagherc]

Ty for saying undetected and not 0. Lol
D

Using salifert kits, to the naked eye I can't say if any coloration there. I don't know what it actually is lol

 

[ggNoRe]

My tank currently has nitrates of 30 and phosphates maxed out on my hanna of over .9 for over a month and my sps seem to be doing fine.

 

[mcgallagherc]

This is look of torch and cynarina as of tonight. I was advised lighting potentially problem with meat coral so I moved him(recently got new lights). Torch advised that low nutrients in tank could be issue. Also, the little bumps on end of some polyps?