How to Best Mature my Nano Tank and Reduce Phosphate

Little c big D · Jan 18, 2022

livinlifeinBKK said:
Yes, there is very little green algae growth but I thought that was because most algae fed off nitrates...I know that although .25 phos is high and can interfere with coral growth but do you think it will inhibit coralline growth if that number is correct? BTW, the nitrate test should definitely be accurate since I used two separate tests, one of which was Aquaforest Pro Test

Nitrates are more accurate than that style po4. Maybe you could send water off for an ICP test? And .25 isn't crazy high. But it may not even be the right number. I truly think it's off

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

Little c big D said:
Nitrates are more accurate than that style po4. Maybe you could send water off for an ICP test? And .25 isn't crazy high. But it may not even be the right number. I truly think it's off

Ok, so I'll continue to feed the tank and get my nitrates up a little higher and keep an eye on the phosphate as well to see if it rises as well...I've never dealt with dinos before but from my understanding, they should slowly disappear as nutrient levels rise, correct?

Ippyroy · Jan 18, 2022

Dinos have to be IDd correctly to get rid of. A microscope is key in this. There are a couple of great FaceBook groups that will help ID and help you fight them.

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

Ippyroy said:
Dinos have to be IDd correctly to get rid of. A microscope is key in this. There are a couple of great FaceBook groups that will help ID and help you fight them.

What's your opinion on my test reading of .25? Are you skeptical?

Ippyroy · Jan 18, 2022

livinlifeinBKK said:
Ok, so I'll continue to feed the tank and get my nitrates up a little higher and keep an eye on the phosphate as well to see if it rises as well...I've never dealt with dinos before but from my understanding, they should slowly disappear as nutrient levels rise, correct?

There are 2 main types. One lives in the sand and one goes into the water column. The one in the sand is basically fought by encouraging algae to grow. Dosing silicates is a great way to do it. The one in the water column is fought with a UV light. Get a positive ID first.

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

Ippyroy said:
There are 2 main types. One lives in the sand and one goes into the water column. The one in the sand is basically fought by encouraging algae to grow. Dosing silicates is a great way to do it. The one in the water column is fought with a UV light. Get a positive ID first.

Although I'll have to try to ID them, I can tell you with certainty that they're in the water column...they settle on my rocks in the flow of my powerhead and I have to use a toothbrush to get them off

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

livinlifeinBKK said:
I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but the rock was wild live rock so maybe it leached phosphate after being in my tank?

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

Little c big D said:
Do you have access to a Hanna checker? Or possibly a LFS that uses them?. Po4 tests are wildly inaccurate with the salifert style tests. You could have 0 phosphate. Or more. But a Dino outbreak makes me question that phosphate number

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

livinlifeinBKK said:
Although I'll have to try to ID them, I can tell you with certainty that they're in the water column...they settle on my rocks in the flow of my powerhead and I have to use a toothbrush to get them off

Is there an alternative way you know about besides using a UV?

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

Little c big D said:
Nitrates are more accurate than that style po4. Maybe you could send water off for an ICP test? And .25 isn't crazy high. But it may not even be the right number. I truly think it's off

Hey, I think it might be diatoms instead of dinos...would that make more sense?

Little c big D · Jan 18, 2022

livinlifeinBKK said:
Hey, I think it might be diatoms instead of dinos...would that make more sense?

Is it snotty with little bubbles?

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

no, it's like dust that i can brush off and it stays suspended in the water for a minute

Little c big D said:
Is it snotty with little bubbles?

no, it's like brown dust and when i brush it off it comes off like dust and stays suspended for a few minutes

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

JacksReef2Reef said:
How often are you doing water changes? Do you have any snails or crabs? You could also upgrade your filter or get more or better filtration media. I would stop dosing and do more water changes to get the tank stable

Sorry I missed your comment earlier...water changes about every week and a half and no thing but a star and a couple hitchhiker crabs...with the filter the only reason I have it is to put carbon or other media somewhere but I might get a bigger one...why stop dosing? I'm aiming to increase my bacterial diversity and population size for the health of the future fish or corals (I'm in a velvet fallow period right now)

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

livinlifeinBKK said:
no, it's like dust that i can brush off and it stays suspended in the water for a minute

no, it's like brown dust and when i brush it off it comes off like dust and stays suspended for a few minutes

Does that sound like diatoms?

livinlifeinBKK · Jan 18, 2022

Ippyroy said:
There are 2 main types. One lives in the sand and one goes into the water column. The one in the sand is basically fought by encouraging algae to grow. Dosing silicates is a great way to do it. The one in the water column is fought with a UV light. Get a positive ID first.

Hey, I think now that it's diatoms that I'm dealing with because I read that they look like brown dust settled on the rocks and sand sometimes which is exactly what mine looks like. When I brush it with a toothbrush, it comes off the rocks like dust as well...