weird ?

[jadakiss]

hi guys ever since i removed my skimmer my temp has been stable but i noticed my nitrate does not drop. now i tested my nitrate and on my api kit it was between 5 and 10 ppm. my test kit is a little old but ive still used it. now when i use to have my skimmer i would have 0 ppm. today i did a 10g water change, now the water has been in a tubber ware for 3weeks cuz i need more salt and i added it last night. and when i tested my tank i got the same reading???? my tds shows 0 on rodi. is it because i have no skimmer and rhe organics is playin a part. i still runnin phoban reactor with media and carbon passive.

 

[KathyC]

Not 100% sure of your question - Were you expecting a 10g water change to alter (lower) the nitrate reading?

What size is the tank again?

 

[jadakiss]

55g with a 10g sump.

 

[jadakiss]

everytime i do a 10g water change it drops to 0 my nitrate reaches 10ppm the most. does it have to do with me havin no skimmer

 

[KathyC]

Since reading a nitrate test gives you more of a range than an exact number, I wouldn't expect to see much of a difference in the reading after a 10g water change.
The lack of a skimmer on the tank surely also has an affect as you have nothing removing the organics from the tank.

You might want to try running more carbon - and changing it frequently - or adding a skimmer back on there.

Carbon actually does a remarkable job in removing undesirable things from a tank - if you change it regularly

 

[jadakiss]

thank u.