- Joined
- Sep 15, 2017
- Messages
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Hello,
I was reading the links below trying to find a solution for my tank:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-tank-when-to-add-marine-pure-block.354780/page-2
http://www.reefedition.com/nitrate-in-the-reef-aquarium/
https://web.archive.org/web/2004072...482/Kaneohe Bay algae N-P Larned Mar Biol.pdf
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/refugiums-really-do-work-but-can-they-work-too-well.298305/page-4
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/rhf/index.php
So I set up my tank for the Triton method but still didn’t send water for analysis because I live in Brazil and I’m waiting the local distributor to have test kits.
However I followed the method by using the correct sump with a modification: before the last chamber there’s a space with Marine Pure balls and some bioballs.
For the first 5 month I decided not to have any algae in the refugium and not add any additive as this was how my old tank was been managed.
Once all the corals and fishes was doing fine I decided to take the next step and added chaetomorph and 1 month after started dosing triton core7. 20 days after, problems started:
- LPS and soft not so inflated as before
- acroporas turning pale
- mileepora, specifically, not extending polyps
Fast forward 3 month and I still wasn’t able to figure out the issue. GHA took place on sand bed..
While nitrates are undetectable, phosphates are not lower than 0.3, even after I add GFO. Some times it reached 0.6!
KH, Ca, Mg are at NSW levels.
There’s two events that came to my attention: first, chaeto had a fast grow and suddenly start dying off. Once I started dosing triton core7, they started to grow again.
Second, while chaeto was growing nice and there’s not dead spot in the tank, there’s a strange bad smell coming from the tank which I presume is H2S.
So last Saturday I removed 80% of the chaeto. Checked inside the “ball” and it’s was all healthy.
On Sunday I tested phosphate and it was 0.09 which is at least 3 times lower and up to 6 times lower.
Smell was off after replacing GAC.
Sorry for all this writing, but it is needed to get to the question: was chaeto combined with Marine Pure balls removing too much nitrates at the point where organics were accumulating and producing H2S?
At this point I’m considering removing the refugium or marine pure balls.
But seeing the nitrates/ phosphates consuming by macro algae (I didn’t find data on chaeto specifically though) in the link above, I’m more prone to remove the refugium as the nitrate consumption is way over phosphates and the tank seems to be nitrate limited.
Thanks !
I was reading the links below trying to find a solution for my tank:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-tank-when-to-add-marine-pure-block.354780/page-2
http://www.reefedition.com/nitrate-in-the-reef-aquarium/
https://web.archive.org/web/2004072...482/Kaneohe Bay algae N-P Larned Mar Biol.pdf
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/refugiums-really-do-work-but-can-they-work-too-well.298305/page-4
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/rhf/index.php
So I set up my tank for the Triton method but still didn’t send water for analysis because I live in Brazil and I’m waiting the local distributor to have test kits.
However I followed the method by using the correct sump with a modification: before the last chamber there’s a space with Marine Pure balls and some bioballs.
For the first 5 month I decided not to have any algae in the refugium and not add any additive as this was how my old tank was been managed.
Once all the corals and fishes was doing fine I decided to take the next step and added chaetomorph and 1 month after started dosing triton core7. 20 days after, problems started:
- LPS and soft not so inflated as before
- acroporas turning pale
- mileepora, specifically, not extending polyps
Fast forward 3 month and I still wasn’t able to figure out the issue. GHA took place on sand bed..
While nitrates are undetectable, phosphates are not lower than 0.3, even after I add GFO. Some times it reached 0.6!
KH, Ca, Mg are at NSW levels.
There’s two events that came to my attention: first, chaeto had a fast grow and suddenly start dying off. Once I started dosing triton core7, they started to grow again.
Second, while chaeto was growing nice and there’s not dead spot in the tank, there’s a strange bad smell coming from the tank which I presume is H2S.
So last Saturday I removed 80% of the chaeto. Checked inside the “ball” and it’s was all healthy.
On Sunday I tested phosphate and it was 0.09 which is at least 3 times lower and up to 6 times lower.
Smell was off after replacing GAC.
Sorry for all this writing, but it is needed to get to the question: was chaeto combined with Marine Pure balls removing too much nitrates at the point where organics were accumulating and producing H2S?
At this point I’m considering removing the refugium or marine pure balls.
But seeing the nitrates/ phosphates consuming by macro algae (I didn’t find data on chaeto specifically though) in the link above, I’m more prone to remove the refugium as the nitrate consumption is way over phosphates and the tank seems to be nitrate limited.
Thanks !