Eh my tank is almost 2.5 years old and its a 29g nano, not a large tank and not a ton of rock...oh and its bare bottom, no sand. I have a small amount of sand in the sump for diversity but not a lot. So I do not think that explains it, if I dose I can keep it up but if I stop it goes to 0. I so have a bunch of ceramic rings in the sump and like I said some halimedia macro but just no idea whats soaking up the po4 and I think that may be part of my long standing issue.
Coral uses po4 too.
Still not surprised that you are limited on PO4. Rock stores a ton of PO4, so if a tank is limited, it takes awhile to fill up again. Same thing has happened to me and was shocked on how much I needed to dose to get my system on track.
No I get I've been dosing them for quite sometime, not so much nitrate any longer but even Nitrate I have to watch as it will come down over time, but po4 seems to go quicker. It's gotten much better but still if I let go for awhile it will trend back down, I also have some gha so I know I have it in the tank the gha seems to do just fine, lol. But its one rock and one patch, not enough to count for the reduction, but my tank is pretty odd.
Over the years I have accumulated an Aqua UV 25, LifeGard 25, and Aqua UV 40. I prefer the Aqua UV brand. The GKM have a really bad reputation. They don't last, etc. I really think it comes down to the bulb quality.
I went with a 20w Danner unit, the only one I could afford from Aqua Ultraviolet was the 15w version and was concerned it wouldnt be large enough, here is the unit - https://dannermfg.com/collections/uv-clarifiers/products/submersible-ultraviolet-clarifiers I went back and forth between this model and the Aqua Ultraviolet 15w version they are both about the same price. I am going to keep an eye on my PO4 just not sure why I have the issue with it but watching more closely now.
For best results, UV should be in the display. Pump and all. Can always move to the sump at a later date when the Dino have been beaten!
Yeah no I've been doing this unfortunately for some time and I know all the rules, the 25w GKM has been in the main tank the whole time. What I was referring to is I have purchased yet another UV unit and now I need to figure out and size a pump to feed it, my DT is 29G nano with a 20g long sump, maybe 35-40g total. I have a Sicce Syncra Nano that best case is rated for 110 gph but I know I will not get that but if I go by the slower is better of 1-3x turnover per hour for my DT that would me 30-90gph unless I need to base it on total water volume then I would need a bigger pump. I am just trying to figure out what pump to match up to the 20 UV unit that I have coming in today...
I had LCA. I added pods to an already established pod population, phyto daily, increased NO3 and PO4, alternated daily between MB7 and MB Clean. Once I started to see the Dino's reduce I added waterglass to promote a Diatom outbreak and this did the trick for me. Dino's and Diatoms are completely gone. I have continued to add phyto every other day because it seems my tank really likes it and I am adding MB7 once a week now. Tank has been free of Dino's and Diatoms for almost 4 weeks now.
How long did that process take?
Once I started the complete regiment they where gone in about 6 weeks. 4 weeks prior to the complete regiment I was only dosing MB7 and phyto and added more pods to the tank and the Dino population slowed down but were still spreading. Only when I increased my nutrients and adding MB Clean alternating with the MB7 did I start seeing a reduction. Then I added waterglass the last few weeks and BOOM they were gone.
What did you do to increase no3 and po4? Im dosing neonitro and ohos but just got some sodium phosphate.
Dosed Trisodium Phosphate and Sodium Nitrate I had on hand from Loudwolf. Used James' Planted Tank Website for dose calculations and increased nutrients over a 10 day period which required testing every day. Used Hanna Nitrate and ULR Phosphate checker and did a rough double check on NO3 with API Nitrate checker.
