WhatCouldGoWrong71
Well-Known Member
5 weeks ago I went away for two weeks and had my MIL watch our house, kids and tanks for one of those weeks. Against everything we said, she touched everything, sigh. I had to hire the LFS one day to come to my house as I had alarms I never heard of before going off. In my small SPS tank he discovered she knocked my auto fish feeder into the tank. This was on day 3 and I loaded all my autos up to the brim. I didn't test for NO3 for about week after I got home (work trip, and the week back was work hell, plus, we had 2 days of fixing all the broken coral... another story down the road). I was showing >20 NO3. This tank had never been over 8 since I set it up June '23, with coral starting to go in Sept. I tested a couple times that week with my Hanna this time and it was 25 for NO3 and .10 for O4. So, I cut my daily feedings down 50%. Today I am at 17.4 for NO3 and .09 for PO4.
I do 2% daily AWC. I do not have a scrubber or a refugium going. I also don't use NoPox. I (knock on wood) don't currently have an algae issue. And as you can see my coral still look great, continue to encrust and grow with good PE. So my questions are:
1) Elevated NO3 can eventually stunt growth and brown corals. Should I use NoPox in low amounts to bring this down?
2) 17 really isn't that high, it's just double what I am use to. Should I take advantage of the higher NO3 and up my lights some? I am at 85% with colors at 100% (no red, white or warm) (G6 Bl) with T5s.
3) I have a scrubber, but don't really want to go to the hassle of setting it up, I am actually breaking this tank down and consolidating my 3 tanks into one large tank in July. However, I went through a 6 month fight with GHA in my larger tank and I don't feel like doing that again. But, I would entertain it for preventative reasons.
My DKH is at 9, so if I went up 5-8% on the lights, I could also slightly raise my DKH over the next month or so. If 17 isn't really high (I have never had a tank go anywhere near this high for NO3) and it is suggested to take advantage of it, they I would also resume my old feeding schedule. Any want to poke holes at me for my questions?
I do 2% daily AWC. I do not have a scrubber or a refugium going. I also don't use NoPox. I (knock on wood) don't currently have an algae issue. And as you can see my coral still look great, continue to encrust and grow with good PE. So my questions are:
1) Elevated NO3 can eventually stunt growth and brown corals. Should I use NoPox in low amounts to bring this down?
2) 17 really isn't that high, it's just double what I am use to. Should I take advantage of the higher NO3 and up my lights some? I am at 85% with colors at 100% (no red, white or warm) (G6 Bl) with T5s.
3) I have a scrubber, but don't really want to go to the hassle of setting it up, I am actually breaking this tank down and consolidating my 3 tanks into one large tank in July. However, I went through a 6 month fight with GHA in my larger tank and I don't feel like doing that again. But, I would entertain it for preventative reasons.
My DKH is at 9, so if I went up 5-8% on the lights, I could also slightly raise my DKH over the next month or so. If 17 isn't really high (I have never had a tank go anywhere near this high for NO3) and it is suggested to take advantage of it, they I would also resume my old feeding schedule. Any want to poke holes at me for my questions?
