Skimmers: Equal Effect on NO3/PO4?

[dangles]

I'm new to skimmers. Do they reduce NO3/PO4 relatively "equally"? Or do they do better at one than the other?

My phosphate is pretty high but my nitrate hangs around 5. My concern is that if I add a skimmer, I'll fix my PO4 problem but end up stripping my NO3 to zero. Please just tell me what I want to hear.... it effects PO4 more than NO3

GFO is out of the question for me. I tried that a while back (both "baggies" and a reactor) and it just results in swings I don't want. Not to mention the added ongoing cost of GFO and the work of replacing the media in the reactor.

 

[Miami Reef]

It actually doesn’t directly remove either. It can remove some organics, preventing some N & P from accumulating, but much of the nutrients excreted from fish are in their soluble and unskimmable state.

The benefits of skimmers go beyond nutrient control. You can outcompete any filtration system from bottom out nutrients by dosing enough N or P.

 

[exnisstech]

I wish i could tell you but I only have one tank with a skimmer and my NO3 is 35.3 and PO4 is 0.69 lol
I've use rowaphos in a 100 micron filter sock and it works well but I only add it when the Hanna ULR flashes 0.9 Tank looks good so I just kinda roll with it.

 

[Techie_]

Crazy timing. I just added a skimmer to my system and bottomed out my Phosphate (skimmer does not directly remove NO3 or PO4, just the organics that will break down into them) causing a dino outbreak. This tank is only 2 months old at this point so it was bound to happen. Currently dosing PO4 and only running my skimmer at night.

Guess when I added my skimmer... (only started tracking some of this on 8/8, thats why its missing.)

 

[CHSUB]

Crazy timing. I just added a skimmer to my system and bottomed out my Phosphate (skimmer does not directly remove NO3 or PO4, just the organics that will break down into them) causing a dino outbreak. This tank is only 2 months old at this point so it was bound to happen. Currently dosing PO4 and only running my skimmer at night.

Guess when I added my skimmer... (only started tracking some of this on 8/8, thats why its missing.)

So your po4 was at 0 for 4 day and this cause what? Dinoflagellate to bloom suddenly?

 

[Techie_]

So your po4 was at 0 for 4 day and this cause what? Dinoflagellate to bloom suddenly?

Most young, low nutrient environments are a classic trigger for a dinoflagellate bloom. In new, low-biodiversity systems, zeroed-out nutrients remove competitors, and many dino species jump in fast.

PO4 being at 0 doesn't cause this alone, falling below critical thresholds will give them the environment they need to thrive and out compete.

 

[CHSUB]

Most young

environments are a classic trigger for a dinoflagellate bloom

I will agree here, however dinoflagellate require similar nutrients levels to survive as just about every other algae and I would suggest bacteria are more capable of survival in low nutrient environments.