How fast can I raise Nitrate and Phosphate

[SkinnyPete]

Started a 22 gallon macro tank a couple months ago and my Nitrates and Phosphates are bottoming out. I’ve been daily dosing for 3 days enough to raise nitrate by 0.5 per day (as instructed on NeoNitro bottle) but they just continue to go down. I hit 1ppm Nitrate this morning. I’ve been dosing NeoPhos to raise by 0.01 each day but have gone from 0.02 to 0.00 in last 2 days.

I’m going on vacation for 5 days and I can have someone come in and dose every other day but ideally I’d like to raise it before I leave. Can I safely bump this up to something like 3-5 Nitrate and 0.05 phosphate over 24 hours or is that going to shock the system somehow? Would hate to bottom out while I’m gone.

 

[KrisReef]

Those numbers you are raising are fairly low, and likely safe to raise quickly.

The issue is how much can they dose for you while you are gone?

 

[Miami Reef]

I actually suggest adding 0.15 ppm PO₄. It leaves a buffer so the corals can gain the nutrients they need without it immediately bottoming out.

You can add 5 ppm NO₃.

 

[Subsea]

That will not shock your system. Those products are reef safe.

In my macro systems, I dose ammonia. While the ratio is not necessary, only that you don’t limit anyone nutrient, the ratio of N:P is 30:1 in most macro algae

 

[Ziggy17]

can you adjust the lighting a little so the uptake is slower while you’re gone?

 

[Miami Reef]

I think adding much more nutrients will offset the depletion rate.

 

[Miami Reef]

If this is a macro algae tank, I actually suggest raising the nutrients much higher.

There will be no issue if you dose 0.30 ppm PO₄ and 20 ppm NO₃

You will survey have enough nutrients by the time you come back.

 

[SkinnyPete]

Thanks everyone.

To answer some questions. I have no coral. I have 1 fish (Talbots damsel), CUC of snails and a peppermint shrimp and 1 tiny lonely sexy shrimp. I have 9 species of macro that were all tiny plugs a couple weeks ago but have growth very quickly and they’ve colored up really nice. So I’m only now starting to dose as numbers are just starting to drop.

I will be decreasing light schedule to slow growth while I’m gone and I’ve been dosing ChaetoGro the last week to hopefully give them a little boost of trace elements as well.

I think my guy can come every other day to feed my fish and do any dosing. I think that should be fine for 5 days.

Sounds like raising these levels up “quickly” over 24 hours isn’t a terrible idea. So I’m going to go ahead and do that.

Once I’m back I have to work on dialing in an actual daily dose to keep things consistent, but of course my numbers started crashing a couple days before I went on the only 5 day vacation I’ve taken in over a year.

 

[Subsea]

Started a 22 gallon macro tank a couple months ago and my Nitrates and Phosphates are bottoming out. I’ve been daily dosing for 3 days enough to raise nitrate by 0.5 per day (as instructed on NeoNitro bottle) but they just continue to go down. I hit 1ppm Nitrate this morning. I’ve been dosing NeoPhos to raise by 0.01 each day but have gone from 0.02 to 0.00 in last 2 days.

I’m going on vacation for 5 days and I can have someone come in and dose every other day but ideally I’d like to raise it before I leave. Can I safely bump this up to something like 3-5 Nitrate and 0.05 phosphate over 24 hours or is that going to shock the system somehow? Would hate to bottom out while I’m gone.

@SkinnyPete
Anything below 50 ppm of nitrate is acceptable. Just don’t get there all at once.

PS: On a mature 55G macro grow out tank with no fish, I dose 20 ml of ammonia every day.

 

[VintageReefer]

If you have no corals you really don’t need to worry about bottoming out either of them and I would keep it as low as possible