Dosing phosphate and nitrate?

[kyleshaw81503]

Ok so I need some advice. I have decided I need to dose phosphate and nitrate due to 0 nitrate and 0 phosphate.

I am using neophos and neonitro by brightwell.
my target range is going to be 5ppm nitrate and .03ppm phosphate.

my question is, is it ok for the fish and corals to go from 0ppm to the desired target range in one dosing?

should I slowly go up to the target range or just put in the full amount needed to get me to the target range?

 

[prodbot7]

I'm sure opinions will vary but for me that seems like a very small increase. I tend to keep higher nitrate and phosphate (25ppm+ NO3 and 0.124ppm+ PO4) so fluctuations may be less impactful in my system but just from fish/coral feeding and tank consumption I have had swings of 20ppm NO3 and 0.1ppm PO4 in a 24 hr period. That said, when in doubt, I'd say to default to take it slow, but what you are targeting seems very minimal to the point of maybe not being able to test in more precise measurements.

 

[bford17]

@kyleshaw81503 Im in the exact situation you are in. My tank is about 5-6 months old and a few weeks ago, I began noticing that my phosphate and nitrate were a hard zero. I bought some neo-phos and ne-nitro just as you did. The nitro seems to be working ok, but I am having a hard time with the phophate as it seems to still be 0. I will check this morning to see if there are any changes. I did notice that my algae has really accelerated these last few days and Im sure that is due to the imbalance (rising nitrate and phos still at zero). I think I will get some of that Bio-Fuel which is what the bottle says to use if your tank doesn't respond to the neo-phos. I am still trying to understand the whole carbon piece of this process as I know that has something to do with it. If there is someone that could explain that part to me like I am a 3rd grader that would be cool. how about you Kyle? Does yours seem to be working as it should?

 

[Saltyanimals]

I spent months trying to get detectable pho and nit. Eventually I got it to eventually show up and stay detectable. It is here where I eventually overdid it and got to a very high point. Now going backwards getting it back to my desired range. Moral of the story is to continue to get it up and then be careful that you also don’t overdo and have to get back down. Test and test often. Allow 24-48 hrs between dosing before testing to allow it to settle.