Low Nitrate Higher Phosphate Hair Algae

[NewGuy8899]

I have a 20g high that is running the following:

Tidal 35 HOB with carbon
R24 Current LED


Phosphate .077ppm
Alk 8.6
Calcium 360
Mag 1230
Ph 8
Nitrate .1ppm (Hanna gave .1, api test gave 0ppm)
Salinity 1.025


Fish
Two Ocellaris Clownfish
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby
Melanurus Wrasse
4 hermit crabs
2 turbo snails

Coral
Forest Fire Montipora digitata
Purple Stylo
Bubble Tip Anemone
Green Star Polyp
Pink Star Polyp
Rasta Zoanthid
Jason Fox Jack O Lantern
Bam Bam Orange Zoanthid
Petroglyph Zoanthid
Sunny D Zoanthid
Porcillopora
Pulsating Xenia
Bright Green palythoa
Cotton candy torch
Purple tip frogspawn

Tank has been up for about 6 weeks.

The corals do not seem to like it specifically my frog, torch, and nem.

I did a 4 gallon water change 3 days ago and then after that I added ab+ and some target feed reef roids the day after the water change. I also fed my nem frozen baby brine yesterday.

i seem to have hair algae that is bothering some of my coral. Is the algae feeding off my nitrates?

Pictures were after lights out for 30 minutes. The blue light picture was before lights out and the frog and torch seemed to be smaller than normal.

 

[Spare time]

The tank looks new.

Nitrate is almost never the limiting factor for algae in our tanks. Phosphate usually is, but your phosphate isn't high. It is likely just that the tank is new and there aren't many microbes and other little things competing. Hair algae is very common in new tanks.

 

[NewGuy8899]

The tank looks new.

Nitrate is almost never the limiting factor for algae in our tanks. Phosphate usually is, but your phosphate isn't high. It is likely just that the tank is new and there aren't many microbes and other little things competing. Hair algae is very common in new tanks.

Thanks, I just updated the post but the tank has been up for about 6 weeks. On 8/7 my nitrates were 8.3 PPM and today 8/12 they’re pretty low. Should I dose ab+ for food for corals?

 

[Spare time]

Thanks, I just updated the post but the tank has been up for about 6 weeks. On 8/7 my nitrates were 8.3 PPM and today 8/12 they’re pretty low. Should I dose ab+ for food for corals?

Yes, I would do that daily.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Nitrates nada, Phos within proper limits, I'd ditch the carbon....why bother with it? It's only stripping nutrients more imo...

 

[Greg P]

Even though your tank is newish, I'd dose some nitrogen to get up to maybe 2 to 5 ppm
Our tanks need a balanced amount of nutrients
With the amount of coral you have, dosing NO3 should help to consume the PO4 so as to out compete the hair algae.
Keep an eye on your PO4 so it doesn't bottom out. It can change within less than a day while dosing NO3
You may need to overfeed or dose phosphates to keep them up. Eventually the algae will lose out

Start targeting PO4 0.03 to 0.01 and NO3 2 to 5
Then keep an eye on things and adjust as needed.