Low Phosphate/Nitrate help needed

TehBrainz

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Hello,

I have a 75g with a 20g sump that's been operating for a total of ~2.5 years in total, but just at 1 year of having corals and a proper light set-up. Since April/May I have been on the slow battle to beat a major outbreak of GHA (proper lighting and realization that I was slightly overfeeding). Between WC's, addition of an algae scrubber, and manual removal, I've been slowly beating it back and starting to see nice thinning and light at the end of the tunnel. Up until this point I've had fluctuating phosphates and nitrates around 10ppm knowing that the algae was making some of this hard to track.

Well, today, I tested 0's across 3 different test kits for nitrates (Hanna LR, Salifert, and API) and my phosphates measured 0.126 ppm. My tank is not algae free yet, but should I look into dosing nitrates or just keep the battle going and not worry about what I'm seeing on these tests as long as everything looks ok?

I've got a small number of softies and LPS that are doing exceedingly well as far as color and with new polyps.

Parameters:
Salinity: 1.0255
Temp: 79
PH: 7.8
Mag: 1400
Alk: 8.1
Calc: 480
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0 (3 different tests)
Phosphate: 0.126

Livestock:
2 Clowns
1 Watchman Goby/Pistol Shrimp pair
2 Lyretail Anthias
1 Blue Damsel
1 Lawnmower
1 Pincushion
1 Coral Banded Shrimp
Various snails/hermits

Corals:
Duncan
Blasto
Zoanthid
Palythoa
Hammer


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

-B
 

Dan_P

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Hello,

I have a 75g with a 20g sump that's been operating for a total of ~2.5 years in total, but just at 1 year of having corals and a proper light set-up. Since April/May I have been on the slow battle to beat a major outbreak of GHA (proper lighting and realization that I was slightly overfeeding). Between WC's, addition of an algae scrubber, and manual removal, I've been slowly beating it back and starting to see nice thinning and light at the end of the tunnel. Up until this point I've had fluctuating phosphates and nitrates around 10ppm knowing that the algae was making some of this hard to track.

Well, today, I tested 0's across 3 different test kits for nitrates (Hanna LR, Salifert, and API) and my phosphates measured 0.126 ppm. My tank is not algae free yet, but should I look into dosing nitrates or just keep the battle going and not worry about what I'm seeing on these tests as long as everything looks ok?

I've got a small number of softies and LPS that are doing exceedingly well as far as color and with new polyps.

Parameters:
Salinity: 1.0255
Temp: 79
PH: 7.8
Mag: 1400
Alk: 8.1
Calc: 480
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0 (3 different tests)
Phosphate: 0.126

Livestock:
2 Clowns
1 Watchman Goby/Pistol Shrimp pair
2 Lyretail Anthias
1 Blue Damsel
1 Lawnmower
1 Pincushion
1 Coral Banded Shrimp
Various snails/hermits

Corals:
Duncan
Blasto
Zoanthid
Palythoa
Hammer


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

-B
Consider the possibility that your coral look good because of previous conditions, not the latest. Keep good notes AND photos of your coral to help you spot the first sign of any decline that may start today. Hopefully, they continue to do well though!
 
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TehBrainz

TehBrainz

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Are there any signs of cyanobacteria or dino´s?

Sincerely Lasse
No sign of cyano, however, I just got back from camping this weekend (4 days) and I'm seeing signs of dino's. Brownish algae looking material with bubbles...
 

Lasse

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No sign of cyano, however, I just got back from camping this weekend (4 days) and I'm seeing signs of dino's. Brownish algae looking material with bubbles...

I have been working towards the algae the entire time. Numbers in the post are just a result of my weekly testing
I do not like 0 in NO3 because it (IMO) often open up for cyano/dino problems. You have had a algae outbreak and a rise of NO3 could (not would) benefit the algae that you have struggled with - but I think that the other scenario is worst (cyano/dino) and if I was in your situation - I would try to rise the NO3 to around 2 - 5 ppm. But there is a lot of opinions about this in the reefing community - probably because the outcome can be different in different tanks.

Sincerely Lasse
 

MA Reefer

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Hello,

I have a 75g with a 20g sump that's been operating for a total of ~2.5 years in total, but just at 1 year of having corals and a proper light set-up. Since April/May I have been on the slow battle to beat a major outbreak of GHA (proper lighting and realization that I was slightly overfeeding). Between WC's, addition of an algae scrubber, and manual removal, I've been slowly beating it back and starting to see nice thinning and light at the end of the tunnel. Up until this point I've had fluctuating phosphates and nitrates around 10ppm knowing that the algae was making some of this hard to track.

Well, today, I tested 0's across 3 different test kits for nitrates (Hanna LR, Salifert, and API) and my phosphates measured 0.126 ppm. My tank is not algae free yet, but should I look into dosing nitrates or just keep the battle going and not worry about what I'm seeing on these tests as long as everything looks ok?

I've got a small number of softies and LPS that are doing exceedingly well as far as color and with new polyps.

Parameters:
Salinity: 1.0255
Temp: 79
PH: 7.8
Mag: 1400
Alk: 8.1
Calc: 480
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0 (3 different tests)
Phosphate: 0.126

Livestock:
2 Clowns
1 Watchman Goby/Pistol Shrimp pair
2 Lyretail Anthias
1 Blue Damsel
1 Lawnmower
1 Pincushion
1 Coral Banded Shrimp
Various snails/hermits

Corals:
Duncan
Blasto
Zoanthid
Palythoa
Hammer


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

-B
Im in the same boat. I noticed it takes a long time (month or so) to really put a dent in GHA outbreaks.

Anecdotally i noticed a phos of <0.05 is required to keep it at bay.

Your corals are pretty hardy....
A 72 hrs blackout will knock it down and ur skimmer will go crazy.

If u tried that, and added GFO or AlO in a bag or reactor you can probably move it along quicker if u want to be aggressive.

I have a BTA and my first didnt take kindly to the blackout and eventually died a couple months later. So thats off the table for me.
 

IslandLifeReef

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I would confirm if what you are seeing is dino’s. If it is, turn your algae scrubber down and try to increase NO3. If turning down the algae scrubber doesn’t raise NO3, then I would dose. Dino’s are much worse than GHA IMO.
 
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