Need a natural way to raise nutrients in my tank

[Dlealrious]

So i am struggling to keep nutrients in my tank. I currently dose KN03 just to get a reading on my test kit. I have a low bio load 7 fish in 600lt total water volume. P04 is either 0 to 8 ppb when i test. I used to over feed tank with home made food but had an explosion of vermedtit snails so stopped that and bought a range of pellets and flakes.
Anyone have a natural way ie amonia source to raise nutrients. Was thining the liquid from brime shrimp hatchings maybe (read some where this is high in ammonia)

 

[vegamedic]

have you considered adding more fish? that seems like the most "natural" way to me (vice adding straight ammonia to the system)

 

[Dlealrious]

I forgot to write that, im not really a fish person. I was thinking of this but my kole tang is an ****. Also places for more fish to sleep. He even bullies fish at night for a while

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You could certainly put ammonia (or nitrate) dosing on a dosing pump to be more "natural" in the sense of a slow steady dose of ammonia entering the tank.

Or you can add organics such as amino acids that will act as a nitrogen source.

 

[xCry0x]

What kind of filtration do you run?

Skimmer?
GFO?
Chaeto/ATS?

I had the same issue -- I had always tried to keep nutrients low and had been overdoing the GFO. I took the GFO offline a few weeks ago and my phosphate has held at around 0.03 ppm.

Initially I was having issues with getting my nitrate to detectable levels. I could get it to turn salifert test a bit pink and be in the 1-2ppm range the morning after a reef roids feeding, but within 24 hours it would be back to 0.

I started dosing nitrate at about 2ppm/day and after a few days cut it down to 1ppm and then cut it out completely. Not sure if it was a latent result of removing GFO a week before, but my nitrate has gone up to the 5 ish range and sat there for the past 4 days. Haven't been dosing or feeding any differently.

Funny enough, my 2 part dosing needs also seem to have cut in half -- which I can understand is from potential reduction in coralline growth due to higher nitrates. However.. my coralline is growing significantly more than it has over the past 6 months. Getting growth on my glass that I haven't seen in the past year. So I fully think my heavy GFO usage in an attempt to keep nutrients low was fully screwing everything up in my tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Higher phosphate may reduce both abiotic precipitation and coral calcification rates. GFO adds iron which may locally induce precipitation of calcium carbonate on and downstream of the GFO.

Any or all of these effects might explain the lower demand.

 

[Dlealrious]

Fuge only, reduced light to 6 hours now. I dont know if i go less if it will cause issues with cheato dying? No skiimmer either. I am the same with roids, if I use it 1 night i will get a reading the next day on Po4. I currently dose aminos too. I find i get the green/brown film on glass after 2 days since dosing amino which means there is nutrients im my system i guess.
On a positive note since i started using pellets and flakes i definitely see less webs from snails about, hopefully they are slowly dying.
Will try ammonia source to see how ot goes. Slow and steady though

 

[Frogger]

Been adding KNO3 for a year. I add it in my auto top off water. I add about about 30ml's per day to my 75 gallon reef (mixed with RO water as recommended) I cannot get a reading on my nitrates with the Red Sea Pro Test kit. If I add too much nitrates to try to get a reading it crashes my phosphates. I find just adding the nitrates is enough to allow my corals to color up nicely. If I stop adding my colors fade away. I have to sometimes add KPO4 to keep my phosphates above 0.