nitrates phosphates

[jose hernandez]

so im still having isssues bringing up nitrates and phosphates in my system i was dosing neo nitro from brightwell as a friend of mines recommended ive been dosing for 2 days and still nothing im using reed roids as well to try and bring up phosphates as well as feeding heavy i turned off the skimmer removed the carbon bag i have alot algae on the rocks but not on the glass tank has been up and running 3 months now

 

[Larry L]

i have alot algae on the rocks

It's possible (likely?) that the algae on the rocks is taking up the nitrates and phosphates as fast as you are doing them. So you may not actually have low values that require dosing. Probably need to get the algae under control before you can get an accurate idea of where your nitrates and phosphates are at.

 

[snowhite]

Tried backing off on lighting to get the algae under control?

 

[jose hernandez]

Wouldn’t my uv help with the algae

 

[jose hernandez]

What would be good to get rid of the algae on the rock?

 

[SPR1968]

Just add more fish to the system and feed them.

If you have algae on the rocks and your feeding heavily it could well be using the phosphate as a food source and giving false readings.

A picture of the tank might help so we can see how many fish you have and size of the tank and also a set of water parameters

A UV-C only affects what goes through it so algae on rocks won’t be affected

 

[SPR1968]

DP

 

[Dan_P]

so im still having isssues bringing up nitrates and phosphates in my system i was dosing neo nitro from brightwell as a friend of mines recommended ive been dosing for 2 days and still nothing im using reed roids as well to try and bring up phosphates as well as feeding heavy i turned off the skimmer removed the carbon bag i have alot algae on the rocks but not on the glass tank has been up and running 3 months now

What type of algae?
What is in the aquarium, including clean up crew?

 

[jose hernandez]

5 snails 1 yellow tang 1 unicorn tang 1 square anthias 4 disbar anthias brown algae on rocks and sand 2 sps pieces one zoa mini colony that all I have

 

[Dan_P]

5 snails 1 yellow tang 1 unicorn tang 1 square anthias 4 disbar anthias brown algae on rocks and sand 2 sps pieces one zoa mini colony that all I have

Some thoughts. I assume the brown algae is macro algae. With good lighting, algae can consume quite a bit of nitrogen. Algae will consume ammonia before it is oxidized to nitrate. So yes, the low nitrate level could be from growing algae.

In the case of phosphate, there are two big consumers, the algae and aragonite. Until the aragonite is saturated with phosphate, it will continue to “soak up“ the phosphate.

Continue dosing but also measure the PO4 and NO3 levels often to prevent overdosing. Keep an eye on algae and coral growth. They are good indicators of how well you are maintaining the aquarium.

 

[jose hernandez]

My sps pieces look like crap but zoa colony ok

 

[jose hernandez]

I’ve already dozed around 200 ml in the past few days And still nothing

 

[SliceGolfer]

Did you use live rock from the ocean or dry rock? Your tank is 3 months old. This is normal. I personally would not have added SPS yet because of the instability of a new, maturing reef tank. You’re going to see nutrient fluctuations, Alk and Ca fluctuations, and the development of micro fauna (which helps with the algae and instabilities). Let nature take its course and manage the development phases naturally with fish, clean up crew, grazers, pods, etc.

 

[Jenuvio]

What would be good to get rid of the algae on the rock?

A natural approach in my opinion would be to add a yellow tang and give it time. Stop dosing nitrates.
This will introduce a very effective algae eater without having to buy unnecessary fish, it also will keep your nitrates constant.
Aim for stability than chasing numbers.

 

[jose hernandez]

ok so got home bought a new nitrate test kit salifert reading 10 but phospahtes are still 0 is this normal being i have all that algae on the rocks and sandbed?

 

[jose hernandez]

when i set this up i used dry marco rock about 140lbs i cycled it using fritz turbo start live bacteria along with 8 bags of live sand lights were off during the cycle

 

[Jenuvio]

ok so got home bought a new nitrate test kit salifert reading 10 but phospahtes are still 0 is this normal being i have all that algae on the rocks and sandbed?

Your algae is consuming all your nitrate & phosphate.
Remember also, when phosphate is at 0, your nitrates won't go down. * science *

Manually remove the algae is possible.

 

[jose hernandez]

Just took a toothbrush and brushed whatever algae I could stirred the sand bed a bit and did a partial water change what should I do next?

 

[Jenuvio]

Just took a toothbrush and brushed whatever algae I could stirred the sand bed a bit and did a partial water change what should I do next?

Turn on your skimmer and let your tank stabilize, no carbon bag. Patience grasshopper.

Test this weekend again.

 

[jose hernandez]

will do thns will keep u posted