Nitrates are introduced to the reef environment in different ways. One way is that many municipalities have had to resort to adding ammonia to the water supply in order to increase stand time for chlorine disinfection.

Nitrates are a direct result of the nitrification process of ammonia which in itself is a terrible chemical when exposed to marine life. Ammonia will break down in time.

The first step in this break down is nitrites. Nitrites are not nearly as toxic as ammonia but they are still toxic! Levels of nitrites present in the environment as low as 0.5 ppm will cause stress on marine life! Levels of nitrates from 10 ppm and up can become lethal if left untreated. The last phase of the ammonia breakdown is nitrates, the direct result of nitrates for fish is a much harder time acclimating to its envirnment. This stress causes fish to become ill and have a very difficult time recovering from injury and breeding is highly unlikely.

If you are having a hard time controlling algea in your tank high levels of nitrates are very likely to be present. Keeping nitrate levels lower than 10 ppm will prove to be an effective method for controlling algea breakouts.