SPS Nutrient Import and Export

[chipmunkofdoom2]

- System info - Experiment tank for sexual reproduction at MMA
1. Total system size: 291 gallons (sump 100 gallons, tank 191 gallons)
2. Total fish: 5 adults (2 tangs, 1 rabbitfish, 1 filefish, 1 CBB)
3. SPS Growth Rate: 2-4 (spring starts now, with higher temp and light intesity)
4. SPS Coloration: 2 ("natural light" - lower kelvin than usual reef tanks, following yearly variations)

- Nutrient Import
1. Total Fed Daily: This week: 1/2 spoon mysis, 1/2 spoon artemia, EasyBooster 16ml, EasySPS 16ml, 1 cube lobster eggs, 1 cube inver. food, 2 cubes copepods (feedings depending on nutrient levels).
2. Feedings Per Day: 1 for the fish, coral food spread over the day
3. Other nutrients added: 5-10 ml aminoacids/day, 7ml KNO3(80g/1000ml RO), Triton: Fe 3ml, Mn 6ml, Iodine 2ml

- Nutrient Export
1. Water Changes: No
2. Skimmer: Yes (Deltec)
3. Macroalgae or Refugium: Refugium (60 x 80 cm lit area, Caulerpa sp and Chaetomorpha sp, 3 Mitras LB Freshwater)
4. Algae Scrubber: No
5. GFO or other nutrient resins: No
6. Organic carbon dosing: 1 ml etanol 40%/day (This week, usually not needed)
7. Other nutrient export: No

Thank you! I noticed you mentioned you only dose organic carbon when necessary instead of continuously, am I understanding this correctly? I've been considering doing the same thing to lower nitrates just a little bit in my tank.

Also, I notice you mentioned your feeding was for this week. Does this mean you fed all the food you listed from Sunday to Thursday of this week? Thanks again!

 

[Sallstrom]

Thank you! I noticed you mentioned you only dose organic carbon when necessary instead of continuously, am I understanding this correctly? I've been considering doing the same thing to lower nitrates just a little bit in my tank.

Also, I notice you mentioned your feeding was for this week. Does this mean you fed all the food you listed from Sunday to Thursday of this week? Thanks again!

The organic carbon is for when I feel we need to speed up the nutrient export in this system. It was two months ago we dosed ethanol last, but this week I try to lower the phosphate a little bit. It's an experiment tank and I like to feed a lot but still run pretty low nutrient levels. So the refugium is quite large and powerful.

Sorry, if it was unclear :) That's is the feeding per day this week. I meassure PO4 and NO3 every day, so we change the feeding if the nutrients go up and raise it when they go down. This week the daily feeding is approximately what I wrote as "Total fed daily". That's our "diet"-recipe, when I want the PO4 to go down. We feed almost the dubble when it's the opposite.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. Any other replies would be very welcome. I and other hobbyists appreciate your time helping to build this reference.

Interesting anecdote somewhat related to nutrients and this thread. I don't test nitrates very often because I hate all the test kits available. I tested earlier this week and noticed the nitrates appeared to be at least 50ppm, if not more. I use a Salifert kit so it's hard to tell some times, but it was definitely really dark. I started dosing an organic carbon source (vinegar), and plan to dose until my nitrates are between 10 and 25. I'm moving very slowly and don't plan to dose any more than the base dose for my system size unless I absolutely have to (about 2.5 mL daily). Nothing appears to be on fire, and all the corals are happy and very colorful. I'm just trying to tweak the nitrates down just a tiny bit.

Thanks again for the discussion, looking forward to more responses!

 

[Laith]

- System info
1. Total system size - 1900 l (about 500g)
2. Total fish - 29 (2 clown, 2 damsels, 8 chromis, 4 anthias, 1 trigger, 1 foxface, 4 angels, 5 tangs, 2 mandarins)
3. SPS Growth Rate - 2-4 (depending on the species)
4. SPS Coloration - 4

- Nutrient Import
1. Total Fed Daily:
- 2x autofeeder (mix of spirulina pellets, Ocean Nutrition Formula 1 and Formula 2)
- 3 cubes of frozen once a day (rotating between mysis, Prime Reef and marine quintet)
- quite a bit of Nori, basically always available when I'm at home.

2. Feedings Per Day: 3x (2x autofeeder and 1x frozen) plus the Nori

3. Other nutrients added:
- Reef Chili every other day
- EasyBooster phyto on a doser (14ml per day)
- Fauna Marin AMIN (amino acids).
- Prodibio Biodigest and Bioptim every two weeks.
- I was dosing PO4 and NO3 to get them above zero but don't need that anymore for the moment.

- Nutrient Export
1. Water Changes - AWC, 1% per day.
2. Skimmer - Yes
3. Macroalgae or Refugium - not at the moment as nutrient levels ok for now.
4. Algae Scrubber - No
5. GFO or other nutrient resins - None, though I do run 1000ml of carbon changed every four weeks.
6. Organic carbon dosing - No
7. Other nutrient export - Rollermat system

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

- System info
1. Total system size - 1900 l (about 500g)
2. Total fish - 29 (2 clown, 2 damsels, 8 chromis, 4 anthias, 1 trigger, 1 foxface, 4 angels, 5 tangs, 2 mandarins)
3. SPS Growth Rate - 2-4 (depending on the species)
4. SPS Coloration - 4

- Nutrient Import
1. Total Fed Daily:
- 2x autofeeder (mix of spirulina pellets, Ocean Nutrition Formula 1 and Formula 2)
- 3 cubes of frozen once a day (rotating between mysis, Prime Reef and marine quintet)
- quite a bit of Nori, basically always available when I'm at home.

2. Feedings Per Day: 3x (2x autofeeder and 1x frozen) plus the Nori

3. Other nutrients added:
- Reef Chili every other day
- EasyBooster phyto on a doser (14ml per day)
- Fauna Marin AMIN (amino acids).
- Prodibio Biodigest and Bioptim every two weeks.
- I was dosing PO4 and NO3 to get them above zero but don't need that anymore for the moment.

- Nutrient Export
1. Water Changes - AWC, 1% per day.
2. Skimmer - Yes
3. Macroalgae or Refugium - not at the moment as nutrient levels ok for now.
4. Algae Scrubber - No
5. GFO or other nutrient resins - None, though I do run 1000ml of carbon changed every four weeks.
6. Organic carbon dosing - No
7. Other nutrient export - Rollermat system

Thanks, Laith!

 

[t5Nitro]

Bumping this thread. Enjoyable read.

Will post my tank info later today.

 

[Bpb]

System info
1. Total system size: roughly 90 gallons net water volume
2. Total fish: 9
3. SPS Growth Rate: 3.75
4. SPS Coloration: 4

- Nutrient Import
1. Total Fed Daily: 1-1.5 tablespoons of NLS pellets
2. Feedings Per Day: 1-2
3. Other nutrition: 50 mL Acro power weekly. Not dosed are once. Spread out over a few days.

- Nutrient Export
1. Water Changes: roughly 10% per week with Instant Ocean
2. Skimmer: Yes, but it often goes weeks without producing a drop of skimmate.
3. Macroalgae or Refugium: NO
4. Algae Scrubber: NO
5. GFO or other nutrient resins NO
6. Organic carbon dosing YES - vodka 4 mL per day
7. Other nutrient export: Lanthanum chloride on occasion of phosphate climbs over 0.1

Link to tank in badge. Just posted new pictures yesterday