help still not sure what to do next. info overload.

so my tank is 5 months old and pretty stable, at about 4 months my nitrates settled to about 20 ppm , i started to use filterd water, and removed the dumb bio-wheel , which brought the nitrates down to 10ppm, and also switched from IO salt to reef crystals. after about 1 month my nitrates are at 10 ppm. water change every 2 weeks. my tank is very clear althou i do have some hair algae not too much, proly from the first 4 months of unfiltered water. my fish are very active and have vibrant colors, clear eyes, never had a death in my tank.Also getting first small specs of coraline algae on glass and base rock. i would really like to add a coral something easy. but first i need to get my nitrates to zero correct?i have not tested anything other than my p.h. at8.3 and my nitrates @ 10ppm( ammonia and nitrite have been at zero since cylcing). ididnt feel clacium,phos, tests were need till later when corals come. what would be my best option of getting my nitrates to zero ?i feed every other day and my skimmer is working very nicely. i was
thinking about a HOT fuge.would any of these types be used with cheato for nitrate reduction. it would also give my scooter pods.my tank specs are listed below
its not very big thats why im hoping a HOT style would work. please help im going into info overload DAMN GOOGLE!

 

If your looking at starting corals then you also need to test for Mg, Ca, and ALK.

 

I wouldn't worry about 10ppm of nitrates. Start with some easier corals. Otty is right you need to get ALK, CA, MG in line prior to adding coral

J

 

My first guess would be that you do not have enough LR. You should have at least 45 to 50LBs of LR in your tank. I do not run a sump or skimmer for that matter and my nitrates teeter between 0 and 5 (5 is when I know it's time for a water change). But I also have 85LBS of LR for a 75G tank. Something I would look into IMO.

 

some corals are not affected by NO3, can you test your Ca, dKH, Mg, Sr, O2

 

Agreed. You wont see a problem with No3 at that level. Not even in most sps.

You can start with some softies or even LPS and work your way up from there.

 

thanks everyone. that takes alot off my mind. im in the process of getting some reef test kits, my LFS was out of them yesterday. should get a kit this weekend. think ill add like 10 more lbs of live rock befor i jump in to corals. can anyone recomend some corals to start with so i can research them whil my new live rock settles in. something that prefers more subdued lighting. as i will proly be getting some t-5, or PC's. thanks again.

 

leathers, xenias, mushrooms, frogspawns, torches, and depending on the pc's or t-5's possibly a clam. I know some people will say no, but I have had 2 clams for at least 15 months now growing nicely with pc's . My watts per gallon are just under 6 also.

 

thanks, anyone know of a good book on corals, ive read 3 on saltwater in general but they were a lil older. also i was thinking abouta starfish of some kind, what kind of bioload do the put on the tank, would they be useful for anything in my tank setup. or would it not be recomended if i want to go reef? not really a big concern just looking for more diversity.

 

Barnes and noble have some good books on corals if you ask them to order them its cheaper if you get online and get coupons if you need some let me know I get them every other day for some reason.