Help needed!!!

[Woody570]

Hey guys I am a bit confused about what is going on in my tank. I have a 33 gal redsea max nano xl that has been running for over 3 months. I have 2 clownfish,astrea,nassarius,turbo snails,hermit crabs and a candy cane coral. My parameters have been very steady and than I started to get some type of algae not out of hand but enough to notice it. My nitrates were around 11 steady and phosphate around 0.06 . Last week the phosphate started to zero out and now the nitrates are falling at 4.8 right now. Can some one help me understand what is going and what to do? this is my first reef tank and Testing is done with hannah checkers. Hopefully somebody can give me a grasp of what is going on.

 

[jrmailo]

Hey guys I am a bit confused about what is going on in my tank. I have a 33 gal redsea max nano xl that has been running for over 3 months. I have 2 clownfish,astrea,nassarius,turbo snails,hermit crabs and a candy cane coral. My parameters have been very steady and than I started to get some type of algae not out of hand but enough to notice it. My nitrates were around 11 steady and phosphate around 0.06 . Last week the phosphate started to zero out and now the nitrates are falling at 4.8 right now. Can some one help me understand what is going and what to do? this is my first reef tank and Testing is done with hannah checkers. Hopefully somebody can give me a grasp of what is going on.

The algae is consuming up your nutrients.

The more mass of algae, the more nutrients they consume.

 

[Woody570]

The algae is consuming up your nutrients.

The more mass of algae, the more nutrients they consume.

Okay so besides removing the algae which I have started to do. Is there anything I should do or be concerned with the nutrients falling? Thank you for the help

 

[jrmailo]

Okay so besides removing the algae which I have started to do. Is there anything I should do or be concerned with the nutrients falling? Thank you for the help

Glad to help.

How old is your tank?

Do you keep any coral?

 

[theMeat]

Getting coralline to grow will help keep algae from getting a hold.
Don’t panic or overthink it. Right before you do water change blow off the rocks with a turkey baster, mix up the surface of the sand if you have any.
Post up some pics

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Your tank is still new and parameters will fluctuate.

 

[Woody570]

Glad to help.

How old is your tank?

Do you keep any coral?

The tank is just over 3 months old and have a candy cane coral.

 

[Woody570]

Getting coralline to grow will help keep algae from getting a hold.
Don’t panic or overthink it. Right before you do water change blow off the rocks with a turkey baster, mix up the surfy of the sand if you have any.
Post up some pics

I will get some pictures of it when I get home from work. I was just worried that the nitrates would zero out like the phosphate

 

[Merge_595]

Hey guys I am a bit confused about what is going on in my tank. I have a 33 gal redsea max nano xl that has been running for over 3 months. I have 2 clownfish,astrea,nassarius,turbo snails,hermit crabs and a candy cane coral. My parameters have been very steady and than I started to get some type of algae not out of hand but enough to notice it. My nitrates were around 11 steady and phosphate around 0.06 . Last week the phosphate started to zero out and now the nitrates are falling at 4.8 right now. Can some one help me understand what is going and what to do? this is my first reef tank and Testing is done with hannah checkers. Hopefully somebody can give me a grasp of what is going on.

You might get some serious green hair in a new tank running 11 Nitrates & 0.06 phosphates. I stay closer to 0 for the first 6 months

 

[Woody570]

You might get some serious green hair in a new tank running 11 Nitrates & 0.06 phosphates. I stay closer to 0 for the first 6 months

So far I have some on the sand and the cuc is cleaning the rocks really keeping ahead of it. That is where the numbers fell I guess iam doing a 10 gallon water change every week and the nitrates end up at about 8 after that then creep up to 11-12 area maybe iam.feeding too much idk just trying to learn all the little details.

 

[Merge_595]

So far I have some on the sand and the cuc is cleaning the rocks really keeping ahead of it. That is where the numbers fell I guess iam doing a 10 gallon water change every week and the nitrates end up at about 8 after that then creep up to 11-12 area maybe iam.feeding too much idk just trying to learn all the little details.

Holy Moly..10 gallon water change in a 33 gallon weekly is A LOT lol..all you need is 10% weekly or biweekly once the tank mature & runs smoothly..Do you have a skimmer? Clownfish don't need to be fed a lot. Feed less Phosphate 0.03-0.05 Nitrate 3-5 5 gallon water changes & you should balance out over the next few months