What should nitrate levels be in a reef tank? #52se #brstv

The answer to when nitrate levels become too high in a reef tank. Nitrate levels are tied to your desired phosphate levels and food choices. The good news is saltwater aquariums will stabilize around the input and don't right the tank won't require the chronic use of removal media or active management.

[AJ-bins]

110% Redfield ratio does not apply to home aquaria or closed systems. The stability of one tanks parameters is usually not repeatable

[seanferris]

My phosphate is always 0 to 1 and nitrate stays at 20.

[knox]

My biggest hurdle is the phosphate. It's always at 0.3 and more.

[spskeeper]

I thought the balance should be 100 to 1 so 0.05 phosphate should see a nitrate reading of 5, a phosphate reading of 0.1 would see a nitrate reading of 10, and so on, outside of this ratio I tend to see sps issues and cyano start to appear.
This has been working for me so I think I will stick to it.

[dramad]

My p04 when my husbandry is on point hovers around 0.02-.10, once I hit .10 I do water changes and floss change, detritus removal. My n03 usually lands between 8 and 20. I don't think I've ever had nitrate below 8 with out bottoming them out completely and then having Dino issues. My challenge is lowering n03 without lowering p04

[danielburr]

Don't get hung up on ratios. Stick to just keeping them off zero.