low nitrates high phosphates

[myles4miles]

nitrates are 5-10ppm and phosphates are 0.44. Nitrates were tested with API phosphates were tested with Hanna
have been running chemi pure bag for 3 weeks
Just bought red sea no po -x algae management
Should I use the red sea stuff, or should I not since my nitrates are normal?

 

[Greenycrew]

what type of skimmer are you running. N po x is basically carbon dosing and will increase bacterial load and thus if you have an inadequate skimmer may not function as you anticipate. Also what are you feeding. May be better with frozen food with higher nitrate to phosphate ratio. Your chemi pure is likely already saturated with phosphate. Could also run gfo versus phosban. They are bandaids but some people run them regularly.

 

[myles4miles]

what type of skimmer are you running. N po x is basically carbon dosing and will increase bacterial load and thus if you have an inadequate skimmer may not function as you anticipate. Also what are you feeding. May be better with frozen food with higher nitrate to phosphate ratio. Your chemi pure is likely already saturated with phosphate. Could also run gfo versus phosban. They are bandaids but some people run them regularly.

im running a tunze comline reefpack 250, comline doc skimmer 9004 skimmer rated for 40-60gallons i have 50 water volume ina 60tank. i feed frozen mysis shrimp, half a cube in the morning, half at night., I defrost it in the sink through a net and feed it when its defrosted. feed a snowflake eel 3 krill once every other day.

 

[Greenycrew]

im running a tunze comline reefpack 250, comline doc skimmer 9004 skimmer rated for 40-60gallons i have 50 water volume ina 60tank. i feed frozen mysis shrimp, half a cube in the morning, half at night., I defrost it in the sink through a net and feed it when its defrosted. feed a snowflake eel 3 krill once every other day.

That seems fairly reasonable. Are you using ro water for top off?

 

[myles4miles]

That seems fairly reasonable. Are you using ro water for top off?

for my 10-gallon tan,k I have a top off, but for the 60gallon we're talking about I have a full lid for the eel and evap is super super slow i measure like every other day with a refractometer and it goes down like 1ppt a week so i top off accordingly on my own.
so should i start dosing the no po x algae management, i just got it and haven't started dosing.

 

[Greenycrew]

No po x isn’t a one time solution and will require continued dosing indefinitely. I would rather use gfo in a tank that small.

 

[myles4miles]

No po x isn’t a one time solution and will require continued dosing indefinitely. I would rather use gfo in a tank that small.

for the 60gallon?

 

[Greenycrew]

Yup even for the 60 gallon. I have never enjoyed carbon dosing for phosphates and it can get you into trouble…

 

[myles4miles]

Yup even for the 60 gallon. I have never enjoyed carbon dosing for phosphates and it can get you into trouble…

how long does the gfo media take i have a chemi pure media in, and it didn't do anything.

 

[Gjedde]

I had 0 nitrates and 2.5 phosphates. That’s right. Not .25…. 2 POINT 5. I used gfo in the return of my sump once i reduced phos to .3 using lanthium chloride. Careful with the stuff though, ive heard of it possibly taking out tangs. I dosed it directly into my return socks and everything thing seems fine. Took a month and nitrates are .05 and phosphates are .17. Im happy with that.

 

[Greenycrew]

how long does the gfo media take i have a chemi pure media in, and it didn't do anything.

Your chemi pure is likely saturated already. Buy some gfo from bulk reef supply. Change small amount every few days until you are at around 0.05 and then change about monthly. Works better in reactor but media bags often suffice.

 

[myles4miles]

Yup even for the 60 gallon. I have never enjoyed carbon dosing for phosphates and it can get you into trouble…

also should i just use a bit of the no po x till i get my gfo

I had 0 nitrates and 2.5 phosphates. That’s right. Not .25…. 2 POINT 5. I used gfo in the return of my sump once i reduced phos to .3 using lanthium chloride. Careful with the stuff though, ive heard of it possibly taking out tangs. I dosed it directly into my return socks and everything thing seems fine. Took a month and nitrates are .05 and phosphates are .17. Im happy with that.

then is using gfo for .44 phosphates overkill?

 

[myles4miles]

Your chemi pure is likely saturated already. Buy some gfo from bulk reef supply. Change small amount every few days until you are at around 0.05 and then change about monthly. Works better in reactor but media bags often suffice.

sounds good ill get some gfo

 

[HomeSlizzice]

So my biggest questions if you have this imbalance are: Do you have any bio media, do you use any mechanical filtration, and do you monitor/dose trace elements with ICP testing?

Having lower NO3 and really high phosphates I would bet you would benefit from ammonium bicarbonate & urea dosing to increase available nitrogen for corals and bacteria. Get an ICP done to see your traces; whenever my Zinc, Nickel, Iron, and other essential traces get low I notice my nutrients are harder to balance and lean towards lower NO3 and higher PO4.

I also believe bio media tends to cause more harm and challenges than any benefits. The best tanks, and farmers I know all do not use any bio media. Either nothing at all, or just rock.

 

[myles4miles]

So my biggest questions if you have this imbalance are: Do you have any bio media, do you use any mechanical filtration, and do you monitor/dose trace elements with ICP testing?

Having lower NO3 and really high phosphates I would bet you would benefit from ammonium bicarbonate & urea dosing to increase available nitrogen for corals and bacteria. Get an ICP done to see your traces; whenever my Zinc, Nickel, Iron, and other essential traces get low I notice my nutrients are harder to balance and lean towards lower NO3 and higher PO4.

I also believe bio media tends to cause more harm and challenges than any benefits. The best tanks, and farmers I know all do not use any bio media. Either nothing at all, or just rock.

i have a tunze filter with a chemi pure bag in it right now( had it for 3 weeks) before i used floss and a sock in the filter. and 50lb of live rock. ( don't really know what you mean by bio media).
And no, I haven't got an icp test done, but I should.

 

[Gjedde]

also should i just use a bit of the no po x till i get my gfo

then is using gfo for .44 phosphates overkill?

I dont think so, but test often if you run gfo. Ive been testing every other day to really play it safe.

 

[HomeSlizzice]

i have a tunze filter with a chemi pure bag in it right now( had it for 3 weeks) before i used floss and a sock in the filter. and 50lb of live rock. ( don't really know what you mean by bio media).
And no, I haven't got an icp test done, but I should.

Cool, so does the tunze filter have anything other than the chemipure in it? Also, what version of Chemi-pure (classic, elite, or blue?).

50lbs of liverock is good. What I mean by Biomedia is things like ceramic media rings, brightwell or marine pure bio bricks, siporax, seachem matrix, etc. I am not a fan of bio media, and if anything they can cause multiple problems in a tank. So since you don't have any, that's good.