Aquarium on "autopilot" , NO3 High, PO4 Depleted.

jcosta98 · Mar 22, 2024

Hi everyone,

So I left my aquarium on autopilot for 2 months, I've been busy so I let it go and neglected it a bit.

I kept mg/ca/kh stable, but my phosphate hit 0.00/0.04 ppm and my nitrates are at 40ppm.

How should I approach this situation where I only want to remove nitrate? I would be confortable on a value between 10-20ppm.
ATM i only have a few corals, but looking to get some more after I fix this issue.

Thank you in advance

doubleshot00 · Mar 22, 2024

I would get the Phos up before doing anything else. Once detectible do a couple small WCs a few days apart. Is this on a 10 gal tank?

jcosta98 · Mar 22, 2024

doubleshot00 said:
I would get the Phos up before doing anything else. Once detectible do a couple small WCs a few days apart. Is this on a 10 gal tank?

No , It's a 50 gallon , also I forgot to say that I've been carbon dosing also ( last 6 months ). It helped me keep phosphate stable at around 0.04 ppm. Maybe I should try lowering the carbon dosing a bit? or keep it as it is and dose phosphate (I have a bottle from ATI already) ?

I tried WC in the past, but I can never keep nitrate stable in this aquarium, they always rise. Also tried more mechanical filtration, but didn't seem like it did any meaningful change.

JNalley · Mar 22, 2024

40 isn't like crazy high or anything, it's not really something to panic over so to speak. Dose Phosphates, wait 12 hours, carbon dose, this will allow both nitrates and phosphates to lower. Wash/Rinse/Repeat until you're at your desired Nitrate level, then just keep a better eye on it for the next few months to make sure your dosing regimen/chemical filtration methods are keeping your numbers where you want them. If not, it may be time to change up strategies.

jcosta98 · Mar 22, 2024

JNalley said:
40 isn't like crazy high or anything, it's not really something to panic over so to speak. Dose Phosphates, wait 12 hours, carbon dose, this will allow both nitrates and phosphates to lower. Wash/Rinse/Repeat until you're at your desired Nitrate level, then just keep a better eye on it for the next few months to make sure your dosing regimen/chemical filtration methods are keeping your numbers where you want them. If not, it may be time to change up strategies.

Yes I agree it's nothing to be alarmed, and thank you for your input, I think I'll raise the carbon dosing , and with that I'll also dose phosphates daily to see if I can get the desired results. I'll also start feeding other kind of fish food, since I think it may be part of the problem too.

Thank you!

doubleshot00 · Mar 22, 2024

jcosta98 said:
No , It's a 50 gallon , also I forgot to say that I've been carbon dosing also ( last 6 months ). It helped me keep phosphate stable at around 0.04 ppm. Maybe I should try lowering the carbon dosing a bit? or keep it as it is and dose phosphate (I have a bottle from ATI already) ?

I tried WC in the past, but I can never keep nitrate stable in this aquarium, they always rise. Also tried more mechanical filtration, but didn't seem like it did any meaningful change.

Phos at .04 is probably zero. I would try to keep it a little higher around .1