- Joined
- Jul 27, 2018
- Messages
- 632
- Reaction score
- 320
I've been battling some cyano and turf algae pretty much since I've been in the hobby 2 1/2 years ago now. About 18 months ago I thought I found the end all solution...that being the Zeovit system. Ever seen then I've been running the full system (Zeo Stones, Carbon, Zeobac, Zeostart, ZeoFood, SpongePower, AcroGlow, Coral Vitalizer, Zeozym, A-Balance, and K-Balance).
My thought was, great, its gonna cost but I'm gonna have the most colorful algae free system in time. Well 18 months later, my corals looks about the same (some growth, but disappointment in colors), and still battling cyano and turf algae.
I believe the culprit to my struggles is an in-balance of nutrients. Currently my PO4 is at .01, and my Nitrates are sitting at 20ppm (both confirmed with Hanna Checkers). I have spent the last 6 months trying to reduce my Nitrate to be balance with PO4 with no go. I've even tried limiting fish feed to just once every other day, and removed all substrate to have a clean bottom, but still Nitrates stay between 15-20ppm.
Saying that, I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to dose PO4 directly to raise that to a more balance level between PO4 and Nitrate, with the hope the additional PO4 will bring my Nitrates down to a sustainable level.
But also scared, because last thing I want to to create even more algae issues.
Thoughts?
My thought was, great, its gonna cost but I'm gonna have the most colorful algae free system in time. Well 18 months later, my corals looks about the same (some growth, but disappointment in colors), and still battling cyano and turf algae.
I believe the culprit to my struggles is an in-balance of nutrients. Currently my PO4 is at .01, and my Nitrates are sitting at 20ppm (both confirmed with Hanna Checkers). I have spent the last 6 months trying to reduce my Nitrate to be balance with PO4 with no go. I've even tried limiting fish feed to just once every other day, and removed all substrate to have a clean bottom, but still Nitrates stay between 15-20ppm.
Saying that, I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to dose PO4 directly to raise that to a more balance level between PO4 and Nitrate, with the hope the additional PO4 will bring my Nitrates down to a sustainable level.
But also scared, because last thing I want to to create even more algae issues.
Thoughts?