2007-07-20 17:14:01 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
For fish, 20 is not a problem
For corals, Keep it as close to 0 as possable.
A good live sand bed of 2-4 inches with some sand sifting snails to keep it stirred up and a good amount of live rock, 1lbs per gal. and a good cleaner crew of about 1 snail to each 2 gal. and 1 small hermit crab per each 2gal. and 1 or 2 cleaner shrimp depending on the size of your tank.
A protein skimmer is a must if you are keeping Corals.
My REEF tank has been running like this for over a year now and the Nitrate level is so low that my test kit reads 0 ALL OF THE TIME.
2007-07-21 01:04:17 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
People are NOT reading your question... For a FO system 20 ppm is ok. For a system containing Corals you need to maintain your nitrates less than 1 ppm. To achieve this your going to need to get some sort of macro algae into your system to help utilize the excess nitrates within your water column. You will also need to maintain a good water changing schedule to maintain Calcium and other trace minerals necessary for good coral growth.
I am including a link from PetEducation.Com that shows the different parameters for different styles of FW and SW tanks. I am also including some links to sites that will help you understand other needs of your corals.
2007-07-22 02:57:26 · answer #2 · answered by markymarvin 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The preferred nitrate in any tank is zero, or as close to that as possible.
If you see your nitrates climbing above 10 then it's time to think about ways to lower the nitrates. This includes water changes, but isn't limited to that. In a sw tank you could use macro algaes, live sand, live rock, a refugium or even a nitrate filter.
2007-07-21 10:16:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
It is best to keep it under 10. 0 is a really good number. If it is a fairly new tank you need to just keep an eye on it because until your ecosystem gets set up and all that it will go up but after it is settles it should fix right back up for you!!!
2007-07-21 00:20:21 · answer #4 · answered by rebel_girl917 1 · 0⤊ 4⤋
under 20 is good, 0 is hard to acheive, what size tank and what kind of equipment do you have?/
2007-07-21 13:03:28 · answer #5 · answered by michael_j_p_42503 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the lower the better but yeah >20 is a good goal
along with 0 nitrite and 0 ammonia
2007-07-21 00:19:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
keep it at 0 if possible but if not the lower the better.
2007-07-21 05:09:14 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
As low as possible, but that's not always practical. I would try to keep it below 20ppm, though.
2007-07-21 00:17:58 · answer #8 · answered by copperhead 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋