Original test was done with a salifert. api was just to double check results of salifert as I had it on hand.you shouldnt be dosing with unreliable test kits. get good test kits. api is probably the worst.
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Original test was done with a salifert. api was just to double check results of salifert as I had it on hand.you shouldnt be dosing with unreliable test kits. get good test kits. api is probably the worst.
I think they were as when i pulled them out a lot of detritus came out.Water changes after bio ball removal will tell you if that was the issue.
Yes, I have also read that they enjoy higher phosphates and nitrates which is why I am stumped. I have been dosing chaeto grow and iodine to replenish the trace elements the chaeto removes.I believe soft corals do not mind higher nitrates and phosphates.
Your limiting factor for your coral growth may be something else?
Have you considered that running higher carbon dosing may be growing bacteria that could be out competing your bacteria holobiont on your corals for growth?
Here is an article talking about dissolved organic carbon written by Salem Clemens on Reerbuilders.
Your chaeto looks to be growing very well such that it is outcompeting soft corals for certain trace elements that may help them grow. Iodine as well as certain others (sorry do not remember which others).
How much of that 70ml is vodka though? Vodka containers ~8x more carbon than vinegar. So dosing 10ml of vodka is equivalent of dosing 80ml of vinegar.I tested with api yesterday and it said 40ppm - 80ppm nitrates. I know its not reliable but it was the only thing I have on hand. I'm hesitant to inrease my carbon dosing more as 70mls daily already seems like an extremely high dose. At what point will they start to drop? Have you carbon dosed before? Where there any signs that the carbon dosing was working other than the drop of nitrates?
Live rock absolutely absorbs PO and releases it back! The rock in my 120 LPS dominant system is 32 years old and PO is constant at 1.0, regardless of what I do but my corals do very well and I have no nuisance algae at all. That, plus it's overstocked and overfed.I would take the bio balls out, and rinse them thoroughly to get all the detritus out of them, Then put them back.
I have a theory that some rock can absorb both phosphate and nitrate, then releases it back into the tank as nitrate and phosphate drop.
I would do some rather large water changes over the course of a couple days, with no feedings. This way you can monitor if the nitrate is being produced within the system or not. Measure before the water change, a couple hours after, and then a day after that.
And whatever you do, please don't listen to anyone that says, "you have to trim and throw out the cheato for it to export the nutrients". This is just flat out wrong. If the cheato absorbes nutrients, then the nutrients are no longer in the water column, and we only test for nutrients that are in the water column.
Yes, I have also read that they enjoy higher phosphates and nitrates which is why I am stumped. I have been dosing chaeto grow and iodine to replenish the trace elements the chaeto removes.
Agreed.zeovit in a BB tank with minimal rockwork didn't start working for me until I added some bottles of sand to sump & more marine pure.3/4 to 1 pound rock per gallon. Get your rock to this amount. Either sump and tank or tank only. Toss bio balls. Water changes and add sand to the tank, or sump where the bio balls are.
That type of bio-balls are much like dry rock that give your bacteria a place to replicate. I think the plastic bio-balls are the type that people refer to as nitrate factories, although wet/dry filters are still being used today.Bio balls can become a nitrate factory. Some say no they don't, you have a nitrate problem so I would remove that possibility. They are not needed in a reef tank. Your rock is your bio filter. Water changes will reduce your nitrates. I would do large water change weekly until they get to where you want them
Before I upgraded tanks I had a deep sandbed of over 3” but I could never keep it clean. It would always fill up with detritus and due to being a predator tank I can’t keep any clean up crew other than urchins. Even with vacuuming every water change it would always fill up with detritus. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep it clean and free of detritus easier?The nitrate destroyer should work, but if you want a simpler approach, I suggest adding 3" on sand to the bottom of that tank. I have found the modestly deep sand beds will generally limit nitrates to a few ppm. Having a bare bottomed predator tank is a recipe for high nitrates in my experience.