Phosphate Levels

[MoeStachio]

However it seems more dominant now

 

[Garf]

It comes out in ppm. It's the Phosphourous test that's in ppb (I'm pretty sure)

Thanks, I'm not upto date with Hanna test kits

 

[Garf]

FWIW, I compared phosphate levels in a number of foods here:

https://reefs.com/magazine/aquarium-chemistry-phosphate-and-math-yes-you-need-to-understand-both/

Nice;

 

[exnisstech]

Yeah I'm trying to go as natural and balanced as I can. But there seems to be a lot of different opinions on nutrient levels so as I'm no expert

Ya unfortunately that's a problem and I wish it were easier for people new to the hobby to get answers. But maybe there isn't an ideal number. I can only say i have 5 tanks running and after testing today my tank with the lowest N & P was NO3 3.9 and PO4 0.02. This tank runs low naturally and i have actually had to dose to keep N and P above zero at times. Later I switched to ammonium. The highest was NO3 33.5 and PO4 0.85 and both are running smooth with no nuisance algae in the displays nothing considered a nuisance except dirty glass lol.

This tank was the lowest and has been running for a bit over 2 years.

This was the one with N and P way higher than many people say they should be. It's running 15 months.

This is why I like to see where a tank settles in naturally after start up. If it settles in at what is considered high but is doing well I just roll with it and keep an eye on things. If nutrients are on the low end but the tank is doing well i do the same. Trying to control too much early on has led to aggravation and an unstable tank IME. Consistency is key.

 

[MoeStachio]

Yeah I'm trying to go as natural and balanced as I can. But there seems to be a lot of different opinions on nutrient levels so as I'm no expert

Ya unfortunately that's a problem and I wish it were easier for people new to the hobby to get answers. But maybe there isn't an ideal number. I can only say i have 5 tanks running and after testing today my tank with the lowest N & P was NO3 3.9 and PO4 0.02. This tank runs low naturally and i have actually had to dose to keep N and P above zero at times. Later I switched to ammonium. The highest was NO3 33.5 and PO4 0.85 and both are running smooth with no nuisance algae in the displays nothing considered a nuisance except dirty glass lol.

This tank was the lowest and has been running for a bit over 2 years.

This was the one with N and P way higher than many people say they should be. It's running 15 months.

This is why I like to see where a tank settles in naturally after start up. If it settles in at what is considered high but is doing well I just roll with it and keep an eye on things. If nutrients are on the low end but the tank is doing well i do the same. Trying to control too much early on has led to aggravation and an unstable tank IME. Consistency is key.

Gorgeous tanks, and wonderful insights.


Yeah I'm just trying to get this reading thing dialed in and stay ahead of any issues.

I added some more zoas today, as rumour has it more coral may help lower the nutrients.

Worst case they don't, and I have the corals lol

Also got a tip that adding in Iso pods may help lower it too.

Downside to an AIO is I can't really have a refugium, and I'm not sure I need a algae reactor

We'll see what the 2ga water change does tomorrow

I'm gonna go test the nitrates now

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Just my personal opinion, which also comes out in the article below, but I think people put too much emphasis on nitrate and phosphate levels having a big impact, when
perhaps in reality, the main issue is not being too low.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/randy’s-thoughts-on-nutrient-target-ranges.1087/

 

[MoeStachio]

Just my personal opinion, which also comes out in the article below, but I think people put too much emphasis on nitrate and phosphate levels having a big impact, when
perhaps in reality, the main issue is not being too low.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/randy’s-thoughts-on-nutrient-target-ranges.1087/

Thanks for sharing this!

I do agree that the number is just a statistic if the tank is healthy and doing well. I'm just trying to manage what I see as a huge spike

Interesting that soft corals and Acropora are inverse in N and P

Now is that more likely that say soft corals need more phosphate, thus leaving more nitrate? And vice versa for Acros?

Or is it that soft corals need more nitrate so they're more likely to be in areas with a higher availability? And of course vice versa for Acro?

Very cool read, even for a layman like me

 

[MoeStachio]

The current trends

I remeasured both NO3 and PO4 just now

 

[dvgyfresh]

Just my personal opinion, which also comes out in the article below, but I think people put too much emphasis on nitrate and phosphate levels having a big impact, when
perhaps in reality, the main issue is not being too low.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/randy’s-thoughts-on-nutrient-target-ranges.1087/

Agree wholeheartedly with this