Nutrient Levels are a mess!!

[richserpe]

Hello all:

I'm in a real confusing situation. I just had my water tested by ATI and my levels were all out of whack. My overall water score was 50%. Here are the nutrient levels that were returned:
Nutrients



NO3

Nitrate
1.36 mg/l

Ideal value: 2.00 mg/l
BELOW NORMAL

Attention
P

Phosphorus
526.4 µg/l

Ideal value: 13.44 µg/l
CRITICALLY HIGH

Critical
PO4

Phosphate
1.61 mg/l

Ideal value: 0.04 mg/l
CRITICALLY HIGH

Critical

Here's the weird part: EVERYTHING in the tank (Red Sea Reefer 300 G2 MAX) is thriving. The LPS is fat and happy, the SPS are nicely colored and the fish and inverts are lively and constantly hungry. There is also a healthy population of copepods swimming around. By rights, everything should be dead or dying. I included a video I shot a couple of days ago to let you see what it looks like in there.The question is: should I be chasing ideal numbers according to what they "should" be or do I leave well enough alone and let the tank continue on its merry way? The tank has never looked better. Please help me out here. TIA. BTW ignore Artie the black storm clown fish....he feels like he needs to stick his big snout in every picture.

 

[20gallonreefer000]

Hello all:

I'm in a real confusing situation. I just had my water tested by ATI and my levels were all out of whack. My overall water score was 50%. Here are the nutrient levels that were returned:
Nutrients



NO3

Nitrate
1.36 mg/l

Ideal value: 2.00 mg/l
BELOW NORMAL

Attention
P

Phosphorus
526.4 µg/l

Ideal value: 13.44 µg/l
CRITICALLY HIGH

Critical
PO4

Phosphate
1.61 mg/l

Ideal value: 0.04 mg/l
CRITICALLY HIGH

Critical

Here's the weird part: EVERYTHING in the tank (Red Sea Reefer 300 G2 MAX) is thriving. The LPS is fat and happy, the SPS are nicely colored and the fish and inverts are lively and constantly hungry. There is also a healthy population of copepods swimming around. By rights, everything should be dead or dying. I included a video I shot a couple of days ago to let you see what it looks like in there.The question is: should I be chasing ideal numbers according to what they "should" be or do I leave well enough alone and let the tank continue on its merry way? The tank has never looked better. Please help me out here. TIA. BTW ignore Artie the black storm clown fish....he feels like he needs to stick his big snout in every picture.

The low nitrates aren't a problem unless they bottom out. Try to keep them detectable and you should be fine, although raising them a bit isn't a bad idea. Phosphates are also not an issue unless you get an undesirable algae and it takes off. I personally have had my phosphates around 1ppm for a while and sometimes run into issues with macro algaes growing rampant. Your tangs and other CUC probably deal with anything before it can become a problem. I have also personally found mature reef tanks with a robust CUC can run a lot higher phosphates with little to no issues.

 

[jaycethebird]

Hello all:

I'm in a real confusing situation. I just had my water tested by ATI and my levels were all out of whack. My overall water score was 50%. Here are the nutrient levels that were returned:
Nutrients



NO3

Nitrate
1.36 mg/l

Ideal value: 2.00 mg/l
BELOW NORMAL

Attention
P

Phosphorus
526.4 µg/l

Ideal value: 13.44 µg/l
CRITICALLY HIGH

Critical
PO4

Phosphate
1.61 mg/l

Ideal value: 0.04 mg/l
CRITICALLY HIGH

Critical

Here's the weird part: EVERYTHING in the tank (Red Sea Reefer 300 G2 MAX) is thriving. The LPS is fat and happy, the SPS are nicely colored and the fish and inverts are lively and constantly hungry. There is also a healthy population of copepods swimming around. By rights, everything should be dead or dying. I included a video I shot a couple of days ago to let you see what it looks like in there.The question is: should I be chasing ideal numbers according to what they "should" be or do I leave well enough alone and let the tank continue on its merry way? The tank has never looked better. Please help me out here. TIA. BTW ignore Artie the black storm clown fish....he feels like he needs to stick his big snout in every picture.

I wouldn't worry about it too much as another poster has already stated so long as your fish continue to thrive. If it was something that could kill extremely quick such as ammonia or nitrate then id be worried but since it is Phosphate then i wouldnt chase the ideal due to risk of shocking my fish.

 

[rishma]

I would leave well enough alone. If the goal is healthy, growing animals and a tank that makes you happy….then it seems like you are achieving the goal. Video shows a beautiful tank.

Just so you know, I focus a lot on chemistry. It’s a fun part of the hobby for me. I tinker with it all the time. But I also recognize that sometimes I’m doing it because I enjoy it, not necessarily because I have a problem to solve. So my feedback is not from someone who is dismissive about targeting specific ranges.

More specifically, we see quite a few successful tanks with very high phospate. If someone was starting out, I would not suggest they target your phosphate level. At the same time, I wouldn’t suggest you need to take action.

The low nitrate is not a big concern, but it is one I’d watch. I’ve personally observed that low is ok but zero sometimes causes issues (though not always which is interesting in its self).

Nice tank!!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I discuss issues around high and low nutrient levels here, but folks should realize that the target levels given by icp companies do not necessarily reflect the very high levels often experienced by very nice reef tanks.

How are you exporting nutrients now? If something like macroalgae or ats, I’d consider dosing N since it may be limiting phosphate export.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Randy’s Thoughts on Nutrient Target Ranges

Thoughts on Nutrient Target Ranges by Randy Holmes-Farley Almost nothing in the world of reef aquarium chemistry causes as much discussion as selecting and maintaining ranges for nitrate and phosphate. Some aquarists want low targets, some want...

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