Help! Low nutrients and dino outbreak

[limejuice82]

Hello! Getting quite worried about my 20 gallon red sea max nano.

My nitrates have been super stable at 5ppm until maybe the past few weeks. They dropped to around 1ppm 3 weeks ago until today they appear to be 0! Phosphate is also 0 though I’m awaiting a more sensitive test.

I’m seeing dinoflagellates around my tank and they’re starting to appear on my corals.

I’m surprised as I have two clowns, a royal gramma, a randalls goby and a pictus blenny in there, AND I feed twice a day, so I’d of thought my nutrients would be fine.

I really don’t want to mess anything up as everything has been going so smoothly until now! Any advice?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

IMO a full tank picture will give us a hoof idea of whats happening in your tank.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Nitrates and phosphates are zero due to the dinos absorbing those nutrients. I would work on getting those numbers up.

What are you doing right now to tackle your dino issues?

 

[limejuice82]

Nitrates and phosphates are zero due to the dinos absorbing those nutrients. I would work on getting those numbers up.

What are you doing right now to tackle your dino issues?

Panicking
I’m trying to manually remove them but it’s hell LOL. I feel like they’re going everywhere!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Panicking
I’m trying to manually remove them but it’s hell LOL. I feel like they’re going everywhere!

Do you have photos of it?

What does your CUC look like?

UV sterilizer?

Microscope photos?

 

[limejuice82]

Full tank picture and suspected dinos on a rock shelf (ive since removed this as it had the bulk of it on).

My corals are so retracted compared to usual and I believe this is from the low nutrients :(

In terms of CUC I have 2 scarlet hermits (one died this morning he had a bad molt :(, 1 nassarius snail, 1 tiger conch, 2 banded trochus snails, 1 pom pom crab, 1 scarlet cleaner shrimp, 1 stomatella snail, 1 micro brittle star

Not running a UV steriliser

 

[CHSUB]

My corals are so retracted compared to usual and I believe this is from the low nutrients :(

Not likely! You corals are retracted because they are surrounded by toxic algae. You need a vigorous cleaning that includes: turkey basting, scrubbing, pump cleaning to insure flow, gravel vacuuming, manual removal and WC. Nutrients have nothing to do with your problems. This cleaning should be done weekly and if your response is, “I am doing that” then do IT Better!

 

[limejuice82]

My corals are so retracted compared to usual and I believe this is from the low nutrients :(

Not likely! You corals are retracted because they are surrounded by toxic algae. You need a vigorous cleaning that includes: turkey basting, scrubbing, pump cleaning to insure flow, gravel vacuuming, manual removal and WC. Nutrients have nothing to do with your problems. This cleaning should be done weekly and if your response is, “I am doing that” then do IT Better!

I’ve done all of that! I have a very strict weekly schedule involving all of this!

Even algae aside, the low nutrients remains a big worry for me.

 

[CHSUB]

I’ve done all of that! I have a very strict weekly schedule involving all of this!

Even algae aside, the low nutrients remains a big worry for me.

Do all that again! My nutrients are much, much lower than yours in the same sized tank. My nutrients always register “zero” with most hobby testing since day 1 of the tank. Here are 3 photos: nutrient levels, first few months and now! You be the judge if low nutrients are your enemy.

 

[limejuice82]

I’ve done all of that! I have a very strict weekly schedule involving all of this!

Even algae aside, the low nutrients remains a big worry for me.

Do all that again! My nutrients are much, much lower than yours in the same sized tank. My nutrients always register “zero” with most hobby testing since day 1 of the tank. Here are 3 photos: nutrient levels, first few months and now! You be the judge if low nutrients are your enemy.

Thank you! This is very reassuring to hear :)