My primary question is how quickly does iron precipitate out of a reef tank? Is there any point in dosing a higher amount if most of it wont get a chance to be used? What would the suggested dose be if i dose daily? Is there a DIY mixing solution or product that is good for bulk mixing and storage to dose? Any dangers to watch out for?
My issue:
I have around 160 gallons of water with my tank + sump. I do automatic water changes every night. 1% a day. Tank is a little over a year old. H380 is my light source. I've consistently had 20-30 ppm nitrate regardless of how long the refugium has been on. My phosphate is hovering between .05 - .1. Even leaving it on 24/7 I never noticed a significant drop in measurable nutrients. The biggest movement on phosphate seems to be tied to how my skimmer is dialed in. If I skim too much it will bottom out, if I turn it off it will skyrocket.
My chaeto has never really had the growth other people have described here on reef2reef. To put this into perspective I've only harvested it once in the lifespan of the tank, and that was only a handful or two. There is still plenty of room for it to grow and expand. It has taken a very long time for it to fill up about 2/3's of the refugium space.
After some research I decided to try some Ferrion from brightwell. it's 5ml per 50 gallons, So I dosed 15ml. According to my PH readings, the chaeto went through significantly higher photosynthesis that night. My PH normally drops about .2 at night. This night it only dropped .05.
The next night it was back to "normal". I waited a week and dosed another 15ml and again heavy photosynthesis that night and back to normal a day after. It would seem that I do not have enough iron in my system naturally to support proper growth of my chaeto.
Looking at the chaeto in the morning its clear there was growth. Dosing has significantly helped. So my plan is to get a doser, but I want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for failure down the road.
Thank you!
My issue:
I have around 160 gallons of water with my tank + sump. I do automatic water changes every night. 1% a day. Tank is a little over a year old. H380 is my light source. I've consistently had 20-30 ppm nitrate regardless of how long the refugium has been on. My phosphate is hovering between .05 - .1. Even leaving it on 24/7 I never noticed a significant drop in measurable nutrients. The biggest movement on phosphate seems to be tied to how my skimmer is dialed in. If I skim too much it will bottom out, if I turn it off it will skyrocket.
My chaeto has never really had the growth other people have described here on reef2reef. To put this into perspective I've only harvested it once in the lifespan of the tank, and that was only a handful or two. There is still plenty of room for it to grow and expand. It has taken a very long time for it to fill up about 2/3's of the refugium space.
After some research I decided to try some Ferrion from brightwell. it's 5ml per 50 gallons, So I dosed 15ml. According to my PH readings, the chaeto went through significantly higher photosynthesis that night. My PH normally drops about .2 at night. This night it only dropped .05.
The next night it was back to "normal". I waited a week and dosed another 15ml and again heavy photosynthesis that night and back to normal a day after. It would seem that I do not have enough iron in my system naturally to support proper growth of my chaeto.
Looking at the chaeto in the morning its clear there was growth. Dosing has significantly helped. So my plan is to get a doser, but I want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for failure down the road.
Thank you!
