Need help...
- Thread starter ReefOG311
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Pics would be more helpful. Your po4 is 0.30??? Or 0.03?
SeaDweller
2500 Club Member
Might be the issue if 0.30
I’m just not a believer that high po4 causes any damage to sps. There are a lot of beautiful tanks with what is considered sky high po4. Look at @jd-woodlands thread. His growth and colors are awesome and his po4 measured 0.45
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/w...onth-growth-update.605875/page-3#post-6130770
I’ve recently cranked up my food input to get po4 above 0.10 and my growth has exploded. And then every other thread in this forum have “stable ideal parameters” with struggling sps.
SeaDweller
2500 Club Member
I’ve had NO3 at 100+ and PO4 at 3.0 [emoji87][emoji85]. THAT definitely killed stuff. Lol
Yeah I’ve seen his thread, good stuff. Each tank is different, and some that run ULNS do great, some don’t.
I bet a lot of people who feed “a lot” really aren’t. I think I feed a lot, but in reality it may not even be enough. I’m gonna crank up the food some more too.
I’m really liking 0.10-0.20. I haven’t checked no3 in weeks but it usually stays around 2.5-5. I’ve never fed more than once a day though. I’ve just increased the amount.
SeaDweller
2500 Club Member
Ahh... I feed 2-3x/day. I don’t think you have many fish right?
Anyway, OP’s level may be good for some tanks, maybe the nutrients could be the problem for this tank? I’d be curious to see
OP
OP
ReefOG311
Active Member
Some algae on tips and some all over. My Monti caps are covered in brown dust it seems. With some visual polyps. U can see some of the original color along some small of areas of the cap.
If it helps, I have a light brown algae film that I wipe off the front glass daily.
Po4 is close to the lowest reading per Salifert. .03 I guess if I'm nothing it correctly this time.
If it helps, I have a light brown algae film that I wipe off the front glass daily.
Po4 is close to the lowest reading per Salifert. .03 I guess if I'm nothing it correctly this time.
I had that brown slime pop up from nopox as well. Trash the nopox, bring your alk down closer to 8.0 and stop worrying about po4 unless they get over 0.20, and even then I would not stress too much.
jd-woodlands
Active Member
My tank has really taken off once I simplified my routine, removed GFO and purigen, and got "dirty". Still run GAC though, fan of that, especially if you are running a mixed tank. You may just want to do nothing for awhile, do 10-30% weekly water changes, and just wait it out. Sometimes your acros will show signs of distress from an issue you had a week or two ago, and not today. You could bring your MAG levels way up to 1400 or so as well to help reduce algae growth and balance out your parameters.
For my tank... If I don't feed on the regular I have seen my phosphates come down quite quickly, so i'm fairly sure my tank is able to consume and out compete algae based on the amount of corals i have in my tank. I wouldn't wholesale recommend my routine to a lighter stocked tank. My ALK daily dosing for ~25gal of water is about ~55ML a day which is about 3.0 dKH consumption per day! So not a "normal" bio load.
The most easiest way i have of raising my phosphates is with the different coral foods out there, feeding just frozen for my fish doesn't increase my phosphate levels.
OP
OP
ReefOG311
Active Member
Ok thanks all. I will try to increase mag and lower alk. Stop using Nopox for now. I increased lighting to 75% blues. See how that does as well. I have an mesh top so many diffusing the light a bit
ckalupa
Well-Known Member
I don’t think one can discuss nitrate and phos levels in the absence of other factors like tank age for one. All the old names that run high N and phos are well aged tanks that tend to deal with them better. New tanks of under 1 year at Phos levels of .25-.4 will likely be an algae swamp. Insufficient light period also plays in to coloration. Sounds like the OP light schedule is lower than most. Feeding and skimming is also important when assessing issues. It’s far more complex than “keep n at “x” and p at .x when the mechanisms to do so are not apparent without other aid.
OP
OP
ReefOG311
Active Member
Good to know on mesh tops. I agree with will established tanks handling load better.
Are u saying that my peak light period is too short? I try to feed light once a day. Reduced frozen to 3 days/week. And skim pretty well.
Recommendations going forward?
Are u saying that my peak light period is too short? I try to feed light once a day. Reduced frozen to 3 days/week. And skim pretty well.
Recommendations going forward?
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
It is true that well established systems that are over a year old (mature) tend to do much better with higher N03 and P04. Inline with each other. Tanks under a year and with little coral bio-load do better with N03 at 5-10 ppm and P04 around .002.
Tanks started with "dry" rock will and do take longer to establish "balance" and should have some "live" rock added to them. This aides in bio diversity with microfauna and bacterial strains.
This is why it is recommended to add SPS corals at the year mark.
All of this is anecdotal and there are some hobbyists that have success much earlier than a year, but it's a guide, not law.
I can, with my system get away with N03 between 40-50 ppm and P04 around .10. I never use GFO and I don't carbon dose. I run a skimmer and run a refugium with chaetomorpha. My system is now 5 years old.
Tanks started with "dry" rock will and do take longer to establish "balance" and should have some "live" rock added to them. This aides in bio diversity with microfauna and bacterial strains.
This is why it is recommended to add SPS corals at the year mark.
All of this is anecdotal and there are some hobbyists that have success much earlier than a year, but it's a guide, not law.
I can, with my system get away with N03 between 40-50 ppm and P04 around .10. I never use GFO and I don't carbon dose. I run a skimmer and run a refugium with chaetomorpha. My system is now 5 years old.
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
Bottled bacteria has limited bacterial strains and aren't the bacterial strains from the ocean and lack diversity.
Adding copepods and amphipods to a system helps.
SeaDweller
2500 Club Member
I chase a stable alk
Does that count??
Similar threads
