water tests levels a little too perfect??

BanZI29 · Nov 23, 2020

So, a few folks know about my ammonia spike panic and almost killing everything in my tank with "fixers" ( noob problems)
so now after a big water change and just leaving it alone except for dosing a bit of calcium and fixing my filtration, All the corals look happy, very open and big.

my levels as of last night are as follows
25 gal innovative marine AIO
ammonia: 0
nitrite; 0
nitrate: 0
Phosphate: not detectable ( getting Hanna Phosohorus ULT soon)
Calicium: 440
Ph 8.0 - 8.2 consistently
dKh: 9.0 consistently
mag. no test
temp 79-81°

So, I know that there should be some level of Phos for the corals BUT should there be some level of nitrate?
Filtration is:
left camber: filter floss --> purigen--> matrix rocks --> left inner chamber Chaeto fuge
right chamber: filter floss-->Chemipure blue 5.5 bag-->matrix rocks--> right inner chamber Charcoal bag (med size)

Too much filtration still or OK?

Webslinger · Nov 23, 2020

Depends on what's in your tank. Some lps/Softies like dirtier water. don't go chasing numbers. Stability is key

Flippers4pups · Nov 23, 2020

You should have some N03 and P04. Recommend around 5-10 N03 and trace .02 P04 for corals.

BanZI29 · Nov 23, 2020

Flippers4pups said:
You should have some N03 and P04. Recommend around 5-10 N03 and trace .02 P04 for corals.

Thats what I thought but I done have any. how do I add NO3 and PO4 without screwing up the rest of the levels?
add bacteria like Microbactr7 or ??

2Wheelsonly · Nov 23, 2020

I assume since you’re asking these questions your tank is new and you have little to no livestock?

BanZI29 · Nov 23, 2020

2Wheelsonly said:
I assume since you’re asking these questions your tank is new and you have little to no livestock?

Cycling is done and I do have LPS and softies and have been in there for about 2 months. the tank cycled from last week of july to about mid sept.

Webslinger · Nov 23, 2020

BanZI29 said:
Cycling is done and I do have LPS and softies and have been in there for about 2 months. the tank cycled from last week of july to about mid sept.

Feed more

2Wheelsonly · Nov 23, 2020

BanZI29 said:
Cycling is done and I do have LPS and softies and have been in there for about 2 months. the tank cycled from last week of july to about mid sept.

why so much filtration? Seems a bit crazy to run all that extra crap like purigen, matrix, chemipure...

not trying to be rude but did you watch some tank 101 video on BRS that says you need to do this? The reason I ask is that for some reason a lot of beginner videos (and some guilty LFS) seem to think carbon/gfo are required items for a reef tank and people starting out buy them because they think they need them.

There is a time and place for everything but why not see what your tank can naturally handle before you start loading up with chemicals and random filtration crap.

until we have invented proper ways of gaining visibility into bacteria cultures and their effect on corals (even scientists are mainly guessing at this point) then there is absolutely no such thing as perfect water because it’s never black and white.

All you need to do to confirm this is search countless “what’s wrong with my corals” threads where people post perfectly “ideal” params. If only it was that easy to chase numbers and have the perfect reef. Imagine how cheap sps sticks would be!

BanZI29 · Nov 23, 2020

The filtration was suggested by advice I have gotten here and from my LFS. I actually had more in there but took some of it out. I did watch some the BRS vids but alot of their vids have a "i wanna sell this so I'm gonna say I use it" vibe to it so I didn't alot of what they said to heart.
I have also been told by my LFS to dose nite-out II everyday for the foreseeable future for water and tank maintainance. I have also backed off of that to about every other day. I will continue weekly water changes for now, about 5 gal per week for a 25gal tank.

Pkunk35 · Nov 23, 2020

Hi so I’ll try to answer the question, yes, Nitrate is needed. But the thing is test kits can’t always give you the accurate picture so if you have happy puffy corals I’m not sure if it’s of concern to the coral right now
What could be of concern is that there is a giant thread here that talks about 0 nitrate and 0 phos in new tanks using dry rock to start may lead to dinoflagellates colonizing and overtaking the open niche left by lack of algaes (due to very low phos or nitrate)

honestly I also think it’s a fine balancing act being that close to 0. I was too for a bit when my chaeto took off and basically I saw some corals shrink up a bit and starve.

some stuff to look up: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether.293318/

And when it comes to balancing N and P:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/redfield-ratio-significant-factor-in-reef-tanks.215833/

I would heed the advice on reliance too early on chemical filtration as it can seem to unbalance some things if not watched as it did for me when something changed (chaeto growing).

Things sound good tho! So above is for thought and I would change anything only incrementally so you know what changed and can change back etc...

sorry little long! Hope it helps!

2Wheelsonly · Nov 23, 2020

BanZI29 said:
The filtration was suggested by advice I have gotten here and from my LFS. I actually had more in there but took some of it out. I did watch some the BRS vids but alot of their vids have a "i wanna sell this so I'm gonna say I use it" vibe to it so I didn't alot of what they said to heart.
I have also been told by my LFS to dose nite-out II everyday for the foreseeable future for water and tank maintainance. I have also backed off of that to about every other day. I will continue weekly water changes for now, about 5 gal per week for a 25gal tank.

You didn't even have to mention this for me to realize this was the case. I bite my tongue and cover my ears when I go to my LFS because it's a clown show of bad advice. There are always people that just relay crap they heard from someone else; you will eventually develop a skill of filtering out the garbage vs the real info. I usually like to filter out advice by checking out tanks of the people offering advice. There are tons of experts here that have amazing knowledge and success in the hobby, then there are people that somehow have a voice/platform because they are good "internet talkers" but have a pile of rocks, fancy equipment that's been upgraded 25 times and 1 coral in the tank. I usually just scroll right past those.

Those BRS videos are great but what people don't realize is that they serve a very specific need. Everything has a purpose and things that work for some may not work for others. This hobby is not an exact science as I have even see scientists that work for aquariums have the same problems we do with their home tanks. If this stuff was an exact science then rare/unique corals would not be expensive and the demand for them would not be there.

Now, with all that being said...you just need to water change if you have a 25gal tank. No need for any of that filtration stuff and if you did it wouldn't be for a few years as your tank matures. Small volume tanks are hard but the one major advantage you have is that large nutrient export can be fairly easy. You're going to have all sorts of variance in nutrient params as the tank is in the early stages of life. Just change the water and move slowly into your livestock goal. As things settle down you will have a good idea of your tank's natural baseline and can then make more informed decisions.

I'd just stick to weekly water changes, keep the skimmer and standard filter sock but ditch all the rest until my tests started to stabilize and I worked myself into a routine. Part of the early stages is a test of yourself and what you're willing to do and handle from a tank husbandry perspective.

You might save some money in the process too! Chemipure is some pricey stuff!