Increased feeding increased calcium and alkalinity uptake. Tank running too lean?

[Sley1]

I'm glad people are getting some info out of this thread.

Corals have shown they can use both organic and inorganic Nitrogen sources. For a healthy tank Triton suggests 1 part organic nitrogen to 2 parts inorganic nitrogen. So if we have 2ppm NO3 in our tanks we should show 3ppm potential NO3 with an N-DOC test. My last N-DOC showed an extreme opposite which I'm now trying to correct.

My tank is just very good at exporting NO3 and PO4 but not so good at converting organic Nitrogen into inorganic Nitrogen. An issue I think my tank may have is Phosphate stress. Nitrifying bacteria need PO4 to do their job and grow. I've been keeping my PO4 so low that I think I may be disrupting the nitrogen cycle.

Are you having issues with your tank? I hate to keep pushing N-DOC tests on everyone (Triton needs to put me on their payroll), but it will show you if you have an imbalance and whether you should feed more or just dose inorganics directly. Below is an interesting paper of what the N-DOC purports to do for aquarists.

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/159b2...c45/Triton_Tech_Paper_TRITON_Ratios_final.pdf

Wow! Interesting paper, thanks for providing that resource.
So other than raising your phosphates to help the denitrifying bacteria do their job, is there any other way to increase the conversion of organic nitrogen to inorganic nitrogen? Is there possibly a better strain of bacteria that could be added or do we just need to feed less? Does Triton offer any products that will help keep these ratios within range?

 

[Chris Villalobos]

Wow! Interesting paper, thanks for providing that resource.
So other than raising your phosphates to help the denitrifying bacteria do their job, is there any other way to increase the conversion of organic nitrogen to inorganic nitrogen? Is there possibly a better strain of bacteria that could be added or do we just need to feed less? Does Triton offer any products that will help keep these ratios within range?

I'm still trying to answer that one myself. Dr. Tim recommends his product, Waste Away, which is supposed to help. A Triton spokesperson said on their facebook page to keep nitrogen balanced by using N-DOC test and that is supposed to help. Adding more coral biomass will compete for organics. Amino Acid Coral food is basically Dissolved Organic Nitrogen. I have yet to see my organic nitrogen drop. I'm hopeful this next N-DOC test shows progress. And maybe I'll learn more about how Carbon and Phosphorus play their roles.