Can’t control Phosphates ....need help !

[Jackooze]

Sup guys I am really hoping someone can educate me and point me in the right direction because I am going crazy. I am beginner when it comes to keeping sps coral. I don’t understand why I cannot keep my phosphates at the recommended level .03 or my nitrates 5-10ppm. I am trying to understand the relation between Alk N03 & p03. I am not sure what’s better running a ULNS or having nutrients. Thanks in advance and appreciate any input.

Why are my phosphates constantly rising with refugium and gfo running ?
Can dosing Acropower cause high phosphates ?
Should I even be dosing amino acids with my nutrient level ?
How do I maintain a balanced level of nitrate and phosphate ?
Should I stop dosing Acropower and try to dose potassium or sodium nitrate ?
Will high intensity of lights stop sps from growth if nitrates are 0-2 ppm ?
Should I increase my lighting period for my refugium ?


Tank is 3 years old.
Feeding : 4 Rods mini cubes a day, weekly Reef Roids
Equipment
2 x XR15’s gen3 90% intensity
Reefer 250 (65G)
Bubble Magus 110ss skimmer
BRS Reactor - 1/2 cup GFO HC
Refugium - 9hrs opposite lights.

Cal -440. Salifert
Alk - 8.3 Hanna
Mag - 1350. Salifert
Nitrate - stable 0-2ppm. Nyos
P03 - 5/7 .098 Hanna ULR
Phosphates range - .021 - .138
RODI water tested 0ppm
Dosing- Acropower 2ml daily because if I don’t my sps begin to lose color.

 

[FishyDP]

If I had to choose between an ULNS or a higher nutrient systen, I would choose an ULNS..lower chance of nasty stuff like hair algae, and likely lower no3/po4. You could look into carbon dosing..not for everyone but it worked for me (vodka). The challenge is not relying on carbon dosing long term. It can really strip your system of nutrients, if used too long/too much, ime.

 

[sghera64]

I don’t understand why I cannot keep my phosphates at the recommended level .03 or my nitrates 5-10ppm. I am trying to understand the relation between Alk N03 & p03.

Cal -440. Salifert
Alk - 8.3 Hanna
Mag - 1350. Salifert
Nitrate - stable 0-2ppm. Nyos
P03 - 5/7 .098 Hanna ULR
Phosphates range - .021 - .138
RODI water tested 0ppm
Dosing- Acropower 2ml daily because if I don’t my sps begin to lose color.

When my nitrates get below 1.5 ppm NO3, my phosphate levels begin to creep up. You may need to dose some NO3 (KNO3 or Ca(NO3)2, or NaNO3).

This is because things that utilize P also need access to N (and C too for that matter).

If I had to guess where to start, I’d say you need to elevate the nitrate first. If doing that does not help, then you might start dosing a carbon source (I’d start with vinegar).

I find the NYOS kit hard to read at the levels you are reporting. So, I switched to the Red Sea Pro. It’s good down to 0.25 ppm NO3.

 

[sghera64]

I tried ULNS. Won’t go there again. I got cyano, diatoms and other bad stuff happening. Corals did not like it much either. Oh, and I still had hair algae in spots. So, ULNS is not a ‘fix’ for that.

The problem with ULNS is it makes it hard to keep that balance between N and P so that good bacteria and fauna keep the bad bugs (cyano, diatom) away.

 

[Jackooze]

If I had to choose between an ULNS or a higher nutrient systen, I would choose an ULNS..lower chance of nasty stuff like hair algae, and likely lower no3/po4. You could look into carbon dosing..not for everyone but it worked for me (vodka). The challenge is not relying on carbon dosing long term. It can really strip your system of nutrients, if used too long/too much, ime.

Thanks for feedback. If I run an ULNS then dosing carbon would lower my nitrates to 0 but that wouldn't help with phosphates. Also doesn't a ULNS require dosing amino acids or reef energy?

 

[Jackooze]

When my nitrates get below 1.5 ppm NO3, my phosphate levels begin to creep up. You may need to dose some NO3 (KNO3 or Ca(NO3)2, or NaNO3).

This is because things that utilize P also need access to N (and C too for that matter).

If I had to guess where to start, I’d say you need to elevate the nitrate first. If doing that does not help, then you might start dosing a carbon source (I’d start with vinegar).

I find the NYOS kit hard to read at the levels you are reporting. So, I switched to the Red Sea Pro. It’s good down to 0.25 ppm NO3.

Thanks for the feedback. So I should dose nitrate to lower phosphates ?
I also test nitrates with salifert which if I get 1ppm from Nyos then I get 2.5 from salifert.
Is it possible Acropower can be causing higher phosphates ?

 

[sghera64]

Thanks for the feedback. So I should dose nitrate to lower phosphates ?
I also test nitrates with salifert which if I get 1ppm from Nyos then I get 2.5 from salifert.
Is it possible Acropower can be causing higher phosphates ?

Yes, I’m suggesting you dose nitrate (chemicals) to lower phosphate. Acropower would theoretically be adding N, P and C in a somewhat balanced proportion. So when you add it, you are adding N, but also adding P too. You want to increase N more than P to get to a better balance.

 

[Jackooze]

Yes, I’m suggesting you dose nitrate (chemicals) to lower phosphate. Acropower would theoretically be adding N, P and C in a somewhat balanced proportion. So when you add it, you are adding N, but also adding P too. You want to increase N more than P to get to a better balance.

Thanks for the info! Do you have any recommendations which nitrate to dose?

 

[Jackooze]

Can high intensity of lights stop sps from growing if nitrates are 0-2 ppm ?

 

[sghera64]

Thanks for the info! Do you have any recommendations which nitrate to dose?

I use Ca(NO3)2. I believe Amazon sells it in the hydroponics section (for growing tomatoes). Others use stump killer (KNO3), from hardware store. You can buy reagent grade KNO3 and NaNO3 on-line in the US (both used in making gun power by the way).


Whatever you choose, know that in addition to adding nitrate, you are adding the counter ion too. NaNO3 will drive up salinity over time if you are using a lot and not doing water changes. I like Ca(NO3)2 because I know my corals consume Ca and I can add some baking soda to add more Alk to balance things out if I need to.

 

[sghera64]

Can high intensity of lights stop sps from growing if nitrates are 0-2 ppm ?

At some point (maybe above 500 PAR), Dana Riddle has shown that corals begin to go into a protection mode (slow down their growing). More importantly, it has been show that reducing nitrates (or phosphates) to very minimal levels can ****** coral tissue production.

If you have high light intensity (for SPS), and low P and N levels (e.g. ULNS), you need to keep your Alk under, say 10 dKH or 3.8 meq/L. What happens in ULNS with high Alk. Is that the tissue grown can’t keep up with the skeletal growth and we see “burn tip” phenomena.