Nitrates

[Fish-Face]

OK, I tested my water last night & my nitrates are way up. My Nitrites, PH & all other levels are great. I did add some live sand from an established reef & a few pieces of LR & also sifted up my sand bed a bit moving stuff around to fit so the water got a bit cloudy for about an hour or so in the tank. I do use carbon in my canister (I do not have a sump) & I have LR & cheato in my protein skimmer. I do partial water changes every weekend (It is a 50 gallon tank & I do 3 - 5 gallons every weekend) I use filtered water... can anyone tell me what might have caused this & if it is normal for the nitrates to be so high while everything else remains normal???

 

[charlesr1958]

Disturbing your sandbed most likely released nitrogen rich pore water.

Chuck

 

[Fish-Face]

Will this go away before it affects any of my corals or inverts?

 

[Slate]

I would do a good size water change to drop the levels real quick. If it was just from stirring your sand bed the water change will be a quick permanent fix .

 

[Fish-Face]

Thanks for your help! I will do the water change & see what happens!