Im exhausted

[Gustozzzo]

Im not a newbie but not a pro , I ‘ve had tanks before none lasted more than a yr due to poor habits i used to have . This time around i’ve decided ti do everything by the book Ro/Di water , testing testing testing and more testing , patience and more patience.

I have a
G2 nano peninsula by RS
Salinity .1026
My alk is 10
Mag is 1320
Calcium 410
PH is 8.0
Ammonia 0
Nitrates 0
Nitrites 0
Phostates .5

Tested 07/21/26

Tank was setup 02/01/26
I’ve slowly been stocking it after cycling and have about 10 frags 2 clowns and a 6 line wrasse along with some snails a conch and tuxedo urchin .

I feed mysis and marine pellets 2x a day
I USE REEF ROIDS 2x a week AND RED SEA AB+ vitamins everyday .

My tank is just LPS and sps only .
After doing some reading and research now i come to find out that my nitrates and phosphate need to be btwn 5-15 ppm and phosphates i have no clue but they shouldn’t be at zero . That gets me upset lol . Maybe I’m just venting but sheesh this balance thing has me annoyed. All my life i’ve thought nitrates and phosphate had to be at zero . Now i have to find a way to raise them but not too much because it’ll create algae.

WEEKLY 20 % water changes are being done as i had a bit of a Algae issue but after adding a solid CUC and reducing lighting it’s all under control .

 

[Reef Jedi]

I like to keep nitrates between 5-20 and phosphates at .1. This seems to be a good balance for everything. I do think alk is a little high at 10. I personally have always had good luck keeping it at 8. Sometimes taking a step back and letting things settle help. Maybe skip the next water change and see where your nitrates are then? If they don’t rise I would dose to bring them up. You don’t want to let either bottom out and cause a Dino outbreak.

 

[Telemarcer]

20% weekly might be your problem. Tanks need to get a little dirty IMO to create a stable ecosystem. Nitrobacter need food to do their job

 

[chunkylovah]

I think your at a stage where your finding your equilibrium and it can be frustrating. Like getting your feeding schedule locked in and the products used, stocking stabilizing, dosing matching uptake. It's a part of the process. But once you get all that locked in and your tank matures, it really is cruise control. Then you can just keep an eye on the coral that tell you what's up. I have a golden rod acro that slowly turns pale when phosphates go over 0.15 - ish, a toadstool that won't extend when salinity falls or rises to far, and my zoas get sad when nitrates are to low. All that to say, I don't have to test all that often anymore, except every now and then to help myself sleep at night.

That said, your phosphates are pretty high for the average aquarium. Reef roids never worked well for me. It was a phosphate bomb and my coral never showed any sign of improvement with use. The fact its that high and you do 20% water changes weekly says a lot in my opinion. Maybe also time for some GFO if your not using it already.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

How is your tank doing today?

 

[CHSUB]

After doing some reading and research now i come to find out that my nitrates and phosphate need to be btwn 5-15 ppm and phosphates i have no clue but they shouldn’t be at zero

Unfortunately the reading and research you did provide you with false and misleading information. You don’t need hobby tested measurable nutrients.
Here are my no3 and po4 in the first year and the tank now at 2.5 years.
Keep the tank clean, not dose nutrients, feed the fish sparingly, and continue doing what you are doing!