0 nitrate in a sps tank: Good or Bad?

[kamikazereefer]

Potassium nitrate as recently shown to be safe to use in reef tanks. As for an algae bloom that is highly dependent on a number of other factors like excess PO4, flow, lighting, CO2 and O2 levels, grazers, export methods.

I have used it to boost my NO3 to 10ppm in a day with zero ill effects. I also keep PO4 very low (.01-.03) and have a large chaeto fuge and lots of grazers, large skimmer, Carbon dosing.........

Love it
You told me to try nitrate at 10 and phophate 0.03 i did achieve it and color are awsome
Growth is normal but color is better in my reef with nitrate and phosphate in it

But as other says it’s not cause our test say 0 that you have 0

If your sps are pale your tank coral will tell you they are starving

 

[Genicanthus-R-Us]

Good stuff kamikaze, I’m planning to put a school of fire fish and possibly live up to my name and get a genicanthus watanabei lol. Hopefully will help increase NO3.

 

[xCry0x]

I just started dosing nitrate - will see what it does.

My SPS colors have generally been muted. Grafted cap is pale pink/muted green, etc.

Only have 5 small fish in a 65g and it is a serious chore to feed enough daily to get any sort of pink reading on salifert nitrate test.

Alk: 8.5
CA: 430
MG: 1400
No3: 0 - trying to raise to a consistent 2-5
Po4: 10 ppb

I have been struggling with my SPS being really hit or miss on success - and my "success" isn't remotely close to the growth I see some people post. My 1 year growth seems to be what some people get in a few months.

Added a chiller a few months ago to help keep the temps stable. Interested to see what impact the n03 has, also pulled the GFO offline as part of this adding more nutrient experiment.

Tank has awful red turf algae so I have always focused on stripping nutrients, but that doesn't seem to make a different to the red turf =(.

 

[bif24701]

I just started dosing nitrate - will see what it does.

My SPS colors have generally been muted. Grafted cap is pale pink/muted green, etc.

Only have 5 small fish in a 65g and it is a serious chore to feed enough daily to get any sort of pink reading on salifert nitrate test.

Alk: 8.5
CA: 430
MG: 1400
No3: 0 - trying to raise to a consistent 2-5
Po4: 10 ppb

I have been struggling with my SPS being really hit or miss on success - and my "success" isn't remotely close to the growth I see some people post. My 1 year growth seems to be what some people get in a few months.

Added a chiller a few months ago to help keep the temps stable. Interested to see what impact the n03 has, also pulled the GFO offline as part of this adding more nutrient experiment.

Tank has awful red turf algae so I have always focused on stripping nutrients, but that doesn't seem to make a different to the red turf =(.

Pale colors are a very clear indication of starving corals.

There are other methods that work well to ride of nuisance algae. Try Vibrant Aquarium Reef cleaner or Flocu works really well not just for bryopsis. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-flux-fluconazole-treatment-reefhd.html

 

[xCry0x]

Pale colors are a very clear indication of starving corals.

There are other methods that work well to ride of nuisance algae. Try Vibrant Aquarium Reef cleaner or Flocu works really well not just for bryopsis. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-flux-fluconazole-treatment-reefhd.html

I tried Vibrant =)

Vibrant did an amazing job on my bubble algae that I never thought I would be rid of. I had to significantly overdose it - but over a course of about a month and a half I dosed the entire bottle and do not have a trace of bubble algae left.

The red turf.. never made a dent.

That red velvet is all over. Have scoured the internet on a solution - more or less thrown in the towel at this point.

 

[Genicanthus-R-Us]

I tried Vibrant =)

Vibrant did an amazing job on my bubble algae that I never thought I would be rid of. I had to significantly overdose it - but over a course of about a month and a half I dosed the entire bottle and do not have a trace of bubble algae left.

The red turf.. never made a dent.

That red velvet is all over. Have scoured the internet on a solution - more or less thrown in the towel at this point.

I used to have a problem with this, between a pincushion urchin and a few Mexican turbos, it was gone in less than a month.

 

[Coronus]

I have zero no3 in both systems for 7 years. Full color and growth at a rate of around 1/2- 1 inch a month. Zero po4 also. It’s undetected. I am sure it’s their but not on my test kits. I religiously do 20% water change every 2 weeks. I feed 2x a day in a 125 with 20 fish currently.
I run a tiny amount of GFO at 1/4 cup. Just to keep it balanced.
Zero is where I want to be.

 

[xCry0x]

I used to have a problem with this, between a pincushion urchin and a few Mexican turbos, it was gone in less than a month.

Yup - I had 2 turbos in my 65 and doubled down to 4.

I heard urchins are the best at really getting rid of it -- funny that the death of my original urchin may have been what caused it to explode =) I had a tuxedo in my nano for about 3-4 years, when I upgraded tanks it died over a week =(

Just bought another one a week ago but it didn't last 24 hours -- I had a bad feeling about the new one though. The LFS had a bunch of dead/dying urchins with spines falling out. I grabbed the healthiest looking one but it was shedding spines too.

Next time I go to one of the more -- reputable -- lfs in the area I plan to try to grab a healthier one.

 

[bif24701]

I tried Vibrant =)

Vibrant did an amazing job on my bubble algae that I never thought I would be rid of. I had to significantly overdose it - but over a course of about a month and a half I dosed the entire bottle and do not have a trace of bubble algae left.

The red turf.. never made a dent.

That red velvet is all over. Have scoured the internet on a solution - more or less thrown in the towel at this point.

Have you tried Fluc?

 

[bif24701]

Love it
You told me to try nitrate at 10 and phophate 0.03 i did achieve it and color are awsome
Growth is normal but color is better in my reef with nitrate and phosphate in it

But as other says it’s not cause our test say 0 that you have 0

If your sps are pale your tank coral will tell you they are starving

Glad to hear it. Really the best indications that something is going on is to just look at your tank and coral. I noticed that I’ve started getting some algae growth in a few spots. This tells me I have to much nutrients with out even testing. In fact my PO4 and NO3 levels may test exactly the same as before but I know by observing that something is feeding the algae and it may not even be PO4/NO3. So I do my standard stuff. I clean. Clean everything I can, skimmer, fuge, Glass, overflows. Then I change our my carbon/GFO mix. Since I’m not doing water changes a little GFO won’t hurt. I just mix BRS High Capacity GFO with my ROX in about 1:3 ratio. Also increased my carbon dosing a little. Most importantly I am not going to do anything drastic, for now. I want my Reef to handle its self. I added some new fish last weekend, Anthias/Purple Tang/file fish, and have fed more than usual. Thing will balance out in time and work. As long as I stay ahead of it.

 

[xCry0x]

Have you tried Fluc?

Feel bad for derailing this thread =)

No I haven't. I stumbled about threads about Fluc originally as a cure-all for I believe Bryopsis and heard it also worked for bubble algae -- then I found out about Vibrant and went that path instead.

I may give Fluc a try - I don't want to mess up too many things at once though. If someone has documented success with Fluc knocking out the red turf algae I would definitely be inclined to give it a shot. I spent a fair bit a time digging and didn't find anyone with conclusive results on red turf through anything besides turbos and urchins.

I was honestly surprised the vibrant treatment didn't do anything to abate it. I had an awful bubble algae infestation - it had spread everywhere and seemed similarly impossible to stop. I think I went a solid month without having to even clean my glass when dosing Vibrant -- I also lost a gonipora I had for a few years (assuming from the nutrient stripped water) and also started to lose an acan I have had since I started my first nano. Red turf gave it the middle finger and kept spreading.

It is funny - I have had two events occur after the death or removal of certain live stock.

I had a zoa eating nudibranch and monti eating flatworm epidemic after I traded in my six-line wrasse -- I believe I had those pests forever but the wrasse diligently killed them.

When I upgraded tanks my urchin died and next thing I know I have red turf everywhere. I think there may be a correlation there too =) I definitely never had anything like this in my nano and that tank was a mess - I never checked parameters, would neglect water changes for months.. lol.

 

[kamikazereefer]

Glad to hear it. Really the best indications that something is going on is to just look at your tank and coral. I noticed that I’ve started getting some algae growth in a few spots. This tells me I have to much nutrients with out even testing. In fact my PO4 and NO3 levels may test exactly the same as before but I know by observing that something is feeding the algae and it may not even be PO4/NO3. So I do my standard stuff. I clean. Clean everything I can, skimmer, fuge, Glass, overflows. Then I change our my carbon/GFO mix. Since I’m not doing water changes a little GFO won’t hurt. I just mix BRS High Capacity GFO with my ROX in about 1:3 ratio. Also increased my carbon dosing a little. Most importantly I am not going to do anything drastic, for now. I want my Reef to handle its self. I added some new fish last weekend, Anthias/Purple Tang/file fish, and have fed more than usual. Thing will balance out in time and work. As long as I stay ahead of it.

I agree with the way you think
I did not know you’re where not doing wc
I’m doing 15% every 2 week sucking up détritus and cleaning fuge

With you rox and gfo mix I heard the gfo can make the carbon release carbon dust by rubbing together Think it’s possible ??

 

[xCry0x]

With you rox and gfo mix I heard the gfo can make the carbon release carbon dust by rubbing together Think it’s possible ??

You can't tumble rox so if you mix both together the flow has to be lower.

It is important that if you put both in a single reactor that you mix it -- if you don't tumble gfo by itself it will clump into a rock. Mixing the two together breaks the gfo up.

I ran them mixed together for a long time but eventually just started throwing carbon in its own bag floating in my sump and exclusively ran the phosphate remover in the reactor so it could tumble and push more flow through it.

 

[bif24701]

I agree with the way you think
I did not know you’re where not doing wc
I’m doing 15% every 2 week sucking up détritus and cleaning fuge

With you rox and gfo mix I heard the gfo can make the carbon release carbon dust by rubbing together Think it’s possible ??

That could be possible but I don’t allow the ROX/GFO to move. Free space is taken up with sponges. No movement, no dust.

I only stopped WC recently.

I am trying something new.
I have added AF Components Strong to my two part to make up for elements used up. It’s like the Balling method. I’ve always want to try it. Since I have 5 gallon buckets of BRS 2 part I don’t want to waste and wanted something that would work with that.

 

[bif24701]

You can't tumble rox so if you mix both together the flow has to be lower.

It is important that if you put both in a single reactor that you mix it -- if you don't tumble gfo by itself it will clump into a rock. Mixing the two together breaks the gfo up.

I ran them mixed together for a long time but eventually just started throwing carbon in its own bag floating in my sump and exclusively ran the phosphate remover in the reactor so it could tumble and push more flow through it.

I place sponges in the reactor to take up all the free space. There is no room for the ROX/GFO to tumble. When it’s mixed 3:1 (carbon:GFO). The GFO is separated by the carbon thus it will not clump up.

I use the first chamber as a prefilter, packed with some sponge and filterfloss. This prevents premature clogging of the carbon.

My pump (MJ1200) runs full flow, with the carbon and GFO held in place. More water can pass through the filter daily.

 

[Scott.h]

I would rather see 10 plus then zero no matter the coral. The only way I'd except zero is in a fish only environment. For those that run zero they would benefit more visually by keeping it detectable, as well as p04. I dose both and keep it 2-4 purposely. I've had it as high as 70 years ago. I've also experienced problems dosing potassium nitrate jumping from zero to 4 or so instantly. I use a dosing pump now for it.

 

[Hans-Werner]

I run the tanks with pellets and without skimming. I have 0 NO3 (<< 0.05 ppm NO3, no coloration with Tropic Marin NO3 Pro test). Corals have good growth, good coloration and good polyp extension.
I have 0 NO3 but this does not mean I have 0 N-compounds. From the pellets all N is in particulate form which means corals feed on particles flushed out of the pellet reactor. This is sufficient and gives the coral animal the control over the nutrients. The zooxanthellae densisty and the nutrition of the zooxanthellae is regulated by the coral animal.

I run the tanks with 0 NO3 for around 15 years now with stages with some NO3 due to coral feeding in some tanks. I prefer 0 NO3 with pellet filtration. Pellet filtration binds the ammonia excreted by the fish to biomass and inhibits nitrification through competition in this way. For me it is the best way of feeding corals.

 

[kamikazereefer]

can you send me a picture of your reactor ??

I place sponges in the reactor to take up all the free space. There is no room for the ROX/GFO to tumble. When it’s mixed 3:1 (carbon:GFO). The GFO is separated by the carbon thus it will not clump up.

I use the first chamber as a prefilter, packed with some sponge and filterfloss. This prevents premature clogging of the carbon.

My pump (MJ1200) runs full flow, with the carbon and GFO held in place. More water can pass through the filter daily.

n you n

 

[bif24701]

Sure

 

[bif24701]

can you send me a picture of your reactor ??

n you n

I am all out of filter floss so I made do with sponges.

I just buy a cheap roll of 100% Poly material from Walmart, 5$ lasts 7 months or more. I’ll cut a width about 3/4 as tall as the tractor chamber and roll it up and stuff it in the first chamber.