HELP! MY SPS ARE PALING AND I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO

[mcarroll]

What are your current and past PO4 test results like?

Assuming zero or near-zero, then you can dose PO4 just like you have been for NO3. Target around 0.10 ppm PO4, at least to begin with.

Seachem and Brightwell make products and I'm sure there's a DIY potassium phosphate formula out there as well. (I only DIY the nitrate solution so far.)

Some algae growth should be expected – it's natural.

Plain green hair algae is about the best option since fish and snails both eat it with gusto an it seems to do a good job excluding other algae, or at least keeping them from blooming.

Be prepared to add snails as needed. One or two heavy lifters and a crew of smaller support snails is how I'd add them. For example, maybe 1 Turbo and 6 black Cerith snails. I'd add more Cerith as-needed after that, but I would wait at least a week or two to judge whether more are needed.

 

[125mph]

What are your current and past PO4 test results like?

Assuming zero or near-zero, then you can dose PO4 just like you have been for NO3. Target around 0.10 ppm PO4, at least to begin with.

Seachem and Brightwell make products and I'm sure there's a DIY potassium phosphate formula out there as well. (I only DIY the nitrate solution so far.)

Some algae growth should be expected – it's natural.

Plain green hair algae is about the best option since fish and snails both eat it with gusto an it seems to do a good job excluding other algae, or at least keeping them from blooming.

Be prepared to add snails as needed. One or two heavy lifters and a crew of smaller support snails is how I'd add them. For example, maybe 1 Turbo and 6 black Cerith snails. I'd add more Cerith as-needed after that, but I would wait at least a week or two to judge whether more are needed.

Gotcha.. My PO4 is either near 0 or undetectable.. I just checked NO3 and its about 7ppm... I noticed the tips of my birdsnest are completely raw.. I just trimmed the tips last week but already they're raw again.. Is that an indication of anything? My Alk is about 7ppm right now.

One thing I did notice since increasing my NO3, my bubble tip nem has gotte crazy bubbles on his tips.. Before, he was just a little bubbly and more stringy...but now he is very bubbly.. I think thats a good sign?..

 

[Mattrg02]

I have noticed that my rr Pink Floyd frag tip is looking rough and ratty. My nitrates have spiked, somehow, and staying over 4ppm on my Red Sea pro kit rather than falling like they do. Alkalinity has been in the 7.5 to 8dkh range.

 

[rtparty]

I havent. Are those considered more reliable and consistent? I have used all the other ones: red sea, hanna, salfin, api.. they all give similar results.

They will show if you have some other elements completely out of whack that could be causing problems

 

[mcarroll]

My PO4 is either near 0 or undetectable.. I just checked NO3 and its about 7ppm...

You hypothetically could dose PO4 up to o.4 ppm and only have just enough P to match 7ppm of nitrates.

I would acquire some phosphate fertilizer and begin by dosing up to 0.10 ppm of PO4.

My nitrates have spiked, somehow, and staying over 4ppm on my Red Sea pro kit rather than falling like they do.

4 ppm is hardly worth worrying about on its own, but if it usually gets used up and now it's hanging around it seems like you might have a limiting nutrient.

Do you have any PO4 present according to water tests? Do you use GFO or carbon-source dosing like vodka or vinegar?

 

[Mattrg02]

You hypothetically could dose PO4 up to o.4 ppm and only have just enough P to match 7ppm of nitrates.

I would acquire some phosphate fertilizer and begin by dosing up to 0.10 ppm of PO4.



4 ppm is hardly worth worrying about on its own, but if it usually gets used up and now it's hanging around it seems like you might have a limiting nutrient.

Do you have any PO4 present according to water tests? Do you use GFO or carbon-source dosing like vodka or vinegar?

The nitrate test maxes out at 4ppm. I need to dilute and see what it really is at.

No phosphate reading on my Hanna, but plenty of brown algae on the glass. I don't dose any carbon or use any phosphate binding stuff.

 

[Ashish Patel]

My tank has low nutrients (nitrates 0.02 and phosphates 0.03), only chemical filter i have is a bag of carbon. I feel my tank is high nutrients regardless of the low nitrate and phosphate reading. I dosed nitrates when my tank was 5 months old and I should have just reduced my light intensity and given my tank time to mature. I brought the nitrate from 0.02 to 3PPM in 3 days (which I thought was slow), and caused major problems (algae, bleaching, RTN).. If your going to dose do it slowly otherwise you'll have excess nutrients for nuisance algae and the already paling weaker corals will STN or bleach. A lot of people have success dosing nitrates and this thread has excellent information but IMO its not for everyone. I believe its good for fish-less system or low bio load systems. Evaluate your own tank first and use nitrate dosing as a last resort, I guarantee in time you'll have a hard time reducing your nitrates once you tank is old.

 

[Mattrg02]

You hypothetically could dose PO4 up to o.4 ppm and only have just enough P to match 7ppm of nitrates.

I would acquire some phosphate fertilizer and begin by dosing up to 0.10 ppm of PO4.



4 ppm is hardly worth worrying about on its own, but if it usually gets used up and now it's hanging around it seems like you might have a limiting nutrient.

Do you have any PO4 present according to water tests? Do you use GFO or carbon-source dosing like vodka or vinegar?

Would phosphates, or lack there of, be what I'm limited by? I was regularly dosing neophos up till a few weeks ago when I had a diatoms outbreak in my established tank.

 

[mcarroll]

Would phosphates, or lack there of, be what I'm limited by? I was regularly dosing neophos up till a few weeks ago when I had a diatoms outbreak in my established tank.

Sounds like it!

Are you sure what you had was diatoms?

Checking through your post history now....
https://www.reef2reef.com/search/2620996/

 

[mcarroll]

It looks like your system has been totally starved for PO4 since 2015! You probably have a decent feeding routine so everything that's living is getting by mostly by using "fresh PO4" from feedings.

Definitely dose PO4, whether from Brightwell or Seachem, etc.

Aim to keep NO3 and PO4 both elevated.....I'd target 0.10 ppm with your doses. Test after dosing once or twice to assure your tester works AND that your doses are correct.

 

[Mattrg02]

Sounds like it!

Are you sure what you had was diatoms?

Checking through your post history now....
https://www.reef2reef.com/search/2620996/

Can't be certain without a microscope, but it's a filmy brown nasty creature. Peroxide kills it. It only recently started up when I started up the phosphates. I had previously just dosed nitrates. I'll start the phosphates back up again. Any best time to dose? Nighttime maybe?

 

[mcarroll]

First dose it manually at a time when it's convenient to you so you can be there to test first, not be rushed, etc.

Once you work out your necessary dose, then dose it just like alk.

If you have a dosing pump head available, use it – spread the dose out over the day.

 

[125mph]

I just checked Po4 again.. with hanna low range tester... still dead 0.. i guess i will try dosing some po4..

Seachem Flourish Phosphate?

 

[bif24701]

2-3 ppm is still pretty low.....don't be afraid to hit 5-10 ppm. Some things may respond better.

Also, how about PO4/phosphates? Undetectable is a problem in a case like yours. If your PO4 is undetectable, you may need to dose a little of that too.

Agreed to all these points.

To me it seems like you have good bright lighting and when you do the corals need that much more available nutrients.

 

[bif24701]

I just checked Po4 again.. with hanna low range tester... still dead 0.. i guess i will try dosing some po4..

Seachem Flourish Phosphate?

Yes that works, I use that when needed also.

Right now my chaeto refugium and the rest of my filtration has drove down my PO4 to undetectable via Hanna ULR. I dose PNO3 regularly to maintain 4-8ppm, without it my corals would not do well. Right now I'm not worried about the low PO4. I feed daily and well so corals will get what they need and consume it each day. It they start going pale I can certainly add some Seachem Flourish Phosphorus.

 

[125mph]

Okay I finally got my Seaschem P04 bottle.. I dosed a cap full and my system is now 0.07 according to hanna.. That's actually the first time I ever got a reading from the test kit lol. It always used to show 0.

How much P04 should I aim for? Do I need to go slow? Should I go 0.1 or even more?

 

[mcarroll]

I dosed a cap full and my system is now 0.07 according to hanna.. That's actually the first time I ever got a reading from the test kit lol. It always used to show 0.

PAR!!

TAY!!

Woot.

Take it to 0.10 ppm asap....no danger in that direction if you are under siege from dino's. All the danger is from crashed/zero nutrient levels.

 

[Mattrg02]

Okay I finally got my Seaschem P04 bottle.. I dosed a cap full and my system is now 0.07 according to hanna.. That's actually the first time I ever got a reading from the test kit lol. It always used to show 0.

How much P04 should I aim for? Do I need to go slow? Should I go 0.1 or even more?

You need to measure twice a day, you'll be surprised how fast it drops to zero. I'm having to dose this several times a day. Also check nitrates, they deplete much faster when you get your phosphates stable.

 

[125mph]

Okay guys, I've been dosing and keeping the levels as stable as I can. It seems like my paly and duncans are improving.. I brought a new birdsnest last week to test out.. Its doing much better than all my other attempts.. However, today I noticed the tips on the birdsnest are dying. They have some algea on the tips. The rest of the birdsnest still looks fine... What does algae on tips usually indicate?

My alk is about 7.02, N03 is now about 5ppm and PO3 is 0.10.

Here's the birdsnest with the tips that has algae on them. You can see the algae hair floating on the tips. In a week I think the tips will be bleached.

 

[Mattrg02]

Sorry to say that I've lost most my acroporas. Seems to be some sort of a trend here. Dosing nitrates, getting phosphates detectable again, keeping alkalinity lower, acropora improved, then rtn or stn months later. (No swings)