Nitrate levels for a 2 yr old mixed reef tank

[Gator_Reefer]

So Im well aware of the advice on not chasing numbers, etc…. In general I don’t, however I have a 2 yr old 30 gal mixed reef tank and have started to see my montis pale out, hammer corals retract, and early signs of Dinos.

When I tested my nutrients, they were undetectable on a Hanna ULR Phosphate checker and a Red Sea Nitrate kit.

I have increased feeding significantly and dosing 5-10 mls of Nitrate every other day.

After a week or so, I am now currently at NO3 1.5 ppm and PO4 0.05 ppm.

Euphyllias seem to have responded positively but still not fully extended.

My question is for a mixed reef, is there any consensus on a “happy medium”nitrate level for both sps and lps?

I have an all in one tank and my only filtration is filter floss and a small Tunze skimmer.

 

[Nano sapiens]

Having run a small mixed reef for a long time, I've found that having some measurable NO3 consistently present is more important than a specific number (within a range of around 1-10 ppm in my particular system).

However, I start to see some 'unhappiness' at around 15 - 20 ppm (zoas slightly retracting/curling, a bit less SPS type coral fluorescence which might be due to an increase in zooxanthellae and slower growth). No noticeable changes with LPS or Shrooms at these higher levels, though.

Having said that, each system is different and some run happily at 30+ ppm NO3.

Montipora are generally good indicators of PO4 deficiency, but I see that you have enough. Is it consistently 0.05 ppm?

 

[Gator_Reefer]

Having run a small mixed reef for a long time, I've found that having some measurable NO3 consistently present is more important than a specific number (within a range of around 1-10 ppm in my particular system).

However, I start to see some 'unhappiness' at around 15 - 20 ppm (zoas slightly retracting/curling, a bit less SPS type coral fluorescence which might be due to an increase in zooxanthellae and slower growth). No noticeable changes with LPS or Shrooms at these higher levels, though.

Having said that, each system is different and some run happily at 30+ ppm NO3.

Montipora are generally good indicators of PO4 deficiency, but I see that you have enough. Is it consistently 0.05 ppm?

Thanks. No, the PO4 had gone down to 0.02 ppm, it just now (yesterday night) started reading 0.05 ppm. Im going to keep an eye out on it to see if it holds.

My goal is to increase feedings until I find some sort of sustainable level. My question was how far should I go (2ppm, 5ppm, or higher). Understand what you are saying though as far as just being in a range like between 1 - 10 ppm.

I run a CO2 scrubber on my system due to high CO2 issues in my house causing low pH. I assume I could take off the skimmaye cup to help with reducing nutrient export and still have the same effect with the scrubber and pH, correct?

 

[Stoney]

I dont know if consensus is the right word...more like endless debates that usually devolve into personal attacks haha. I dont know which side to listen to so I target 2.5ppm dosing NaNO3. Seemed like a good middle ground and I can really dial it in with the salifert low range. Higher than 5ppm and the colors get too similar.

I get solid growth/color out of almost everything: acros, montis, zoas, shrooms, gonis, euphyllia, chalices, etc. I have issues with specific corals though. Space invader pectinia grows pretty slow, green color in the orange/green grafted monti comes and goes, and my Walt Disney is yellow/green. No idea if those have anything to do with NO3, just trying to be complete. Also keep PO4 at 0.08-0.1 and alk at 8.3

 

[brandon429]

Your overall par and intensity should be lowered, it’s not always the params. Better to make less sunburn till you choose a tune and make sure to handle invasions manually vs trying to starve them out, if dinos are still challenging


this is all the price of live rock being made from white dry rock not long ago. Using maricultured rock or cured tank rocks in the original setup bypasses lots of these headaches, but isn’t how some reefs are started so this above is right on track for dry rock bring ups. Instead of dosing the water, dose tiny amount of feed early in the am before lights on

to really bring out feeding tentacles

then spot feed corals directly and run lower lights, perfect anti bleaching physical approach.