Any long-term negative effects of running on high nitrate & phosphate?

[bakbay]

I haven't tested NO3 & PO4 in my 150g SPS-dominant tank for almost 6 months. I do keep tabs on Alk/Ca/Mg (8'ish/540/1320) and pH (8.2 - 8.5) via Fusion but testing N&P via Hanna is just a waste of time. Anyway, I was surprised (ok, shocked) to see that nitrate was over 75 (max on an ULR reagent) and phosphate was 0.60 - yikes! Everything is still ok and I didn't observe anything odd - no RTN/STN.

I've dozed PhosphateRx last night and will bring down phosphate to under 0.2 this week. As for nitrate - well, I suspect feeding a full sheet of nori ~5x/week + pellets & frozen contributed to high nitrate. I'm going to feed less nori (and likely frozen) to see if things settle down. I like to run nitrate between 20-30.

Curious if you guys are running a high nutrient system? If so -- any issues long term?

 

[Doctorgori]

good question, maybe wrong sub forum but following

 

[Tonycass12]

I run pretty close to that for phos and nitrates. Po4 over .5 usually and N0³ over 40. No issues with sps, you may get slightly duller colors but I don't mind it. Be careful with the phosphate reducers. Ive tried them in the past and both times my corals looked ready to start going RTN on me. If the corals look good don't worry about it. This system has been high nutrients since it was set up nearly a year ago and has been very stable.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

It's not so much the concentration that matters, rather the ratio. N-P ratio should be near 100-1 for a healthy ecosystem. Sanjay Joshi's tank runs over 100 N and 1.0 P, and it's one of America's best reefs.

 

[TeeJay87]

I’ve heard 50+ nitrates is too high. Nitrates can roughly be thought of as a proxy for how polluted the water is. I suspect high nitrates can cause sensitive fish, such as angels, to develop issues over time (HLLE, hole in head, etc).

 

[bakbay]

good question, maybe wrong sub forum but following

lol - sorry, was picking the forum on the phone and “filtration” popped up

 

[bakbay]

It's not so much the concentration that matters, rather the ratio. N-P ratio should be near 100-1 for a healthy ecosystem. Sanjay Joshi's tank runs over 100 N and 1.0 P, and it's one of America's best reefs.

Interesting. I’ve never paid attention to “ratios” and honestly it didn’t make sense to me - or I’m just plain dumb!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I’ve heard 50+ nitrates is too high. Nitrates can roughly be thought of as a proxy for how polluted the water is. I suspect high nitrates can cause sensitive fish, such as angels, to develop issues over time (HLLE, hole in head, etc).

Not really...

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Interesting. I’ve never paid attention to “ratios” and honestly it didn’t make sense to me - or I’m just plain dumb!

The "ratio" does not matter.

The one mentioned above was the atomic ratio of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus found in marine phytoplankton and throughout the deep oceans. Relationship of phosphate to nitrate uptake for photosynthesis varies in different regions of the ocean.

 

[bakbay]

I run pretty close to that for phos and nitrates. Po4 over .5 usually and N0³ over 40. No issues with sps, you may get slightly duller colors but I don't mind it. Be careful with the phosphate reducers. Ive tried them in the past and both times my corals looked ready to start going RTN on me. If the corals look good don't worry about it. This system has been high nutrients since it was set up nearly a year ago and has been very stable.

Nice tank!!!

Cool - glad I’m not alone. I’ve never gone this high tbh. I’ve done PhosphateRx (Lanthanum Cloride) for 4+ years w/o issues - divide the dosage up and slowly drop into filter socks.

 

[bakbay]

I’ve heard 50+ nitrates is too high. Nitrates can roughly be thought of as a proxy for how polluted the water is. I suspect high nitrates can cause sensitive fish, such as angels, to develop issues over time (HLLE, hole in head, etc).

Can you please point me to some studies / threads? Never heard about this actually, esp wrt N&P

 

[bakbay]

The "ratio" does not matter.

The one mentioned above was atomic ratio of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus found in marine phytoplankton and throughout the deep oceans. Relationship of phosphate to nitrate uptake for photosynthesis in various regions of the ocean.

Exactly — I’ve skimmed thru the “Redfield Ratio” posts and honestly didn’t believe all that claims, esp from IME on all my tanks over the years.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Exactly — I’ve skimmed thru the “Redfield Ratio” posts and honestly didn’t believe all that claims, esp from IME on all my tanks over the years.

Redfield simply doesn't apply to the hobby, at least not in a way that can be generalized to the majority of tanks.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

The "ratio" does not matter.

The one mentioned above was the atomic ratio of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus found in marine phytoplankton and throughout the deep oceans. Relationship of phosphate to nitrate uptake for photosynthesis in various regions of the ocean.

The Role of Nutrients in a Reef Tank | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

One aspect of this hobby that may help some to stay interested in it is that there is almost constant debate as to what is the best way to do anything in a reef tank. Whether it is halides versus LEDs…

reefbuilders.com

I have no clue where you got the idea I meant the Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus ratio... I never said any of that. I based my claim on an actual test.

 

[00W]

I’ve heard 50+ nitrates is too high. Nitrates can roughly be thought of as a proxy for how polluted the water is. I suspect high nitrates can cause sensitive fish, such as angels, to develop issues over time (HLLE, hole in head, etc).

Do not have any idea where you got this from.

 

[Spare time]

A ratio is completely meaningless

 

[Doctorgori]

I’ve never made any rhyme nor reason outta ratios or whatever,
I’ve posted. more than once that I can’t swear or observed that high. nitrates does anything…
added: I’ll keep a open mind

 

[Ernie Mccracken]

My view is that they will eventually be a problem. Many pests and every type of nuisance algae (that is definitely in your tank already) loves nutrients in the water column. Also, junk is going to build up in the sand, sump, rocks, equipment, etc. And then it's only a matter of time before something ugly that has quietly been multiplying reaches critical mass and is able to outcompete the coral at least temporarily.

I don't think there's much avoiding it, but the cleaner you keep everything, I think the longer you can push it out.

 

[bakbay]

Day 2 after PhosphateRx: 0.62 to 0.32. Will drive it down to 0.10 and stop. This should last me another 6mos!

Nitrate is still 75+ (and blinking).

 

[Tonycass12]

Day 2 after PhosphateRx: 0.62 to 0.32. Will drive it down to 0.10 and stop. This should last me another 6mos!

Nitrate is still 75+ (and blinking).

Careful fast drops like that were what stressed out my corals.