What do I do!

[Scooter90254]

It’s going very well actually finally have measurable Phosphate today.

I think the bigger UV unit did the trick.

I have good polyp extension for the first time in a long time.

Now I need to concentrate on keeping the Dino’s away.

What number should I target for Nitrate and Phosphate now that I’m dosing?

 

[Crustaceon]

Target 5ppm nitrates and .03ppm phosphates. Anything under 2ppm nitrates and undetectable phosphates tends to cause issues in my system.

 

[Crashjack]

I would go 10 ppm nitrate and .1 ppm phosphate minimum. Worked for me twice, though I ended up exceeding those levels the second go-round, and those are the recommended values from the monster dinos thread. Also realize:

1. You are measuring residual nitrate/phosphate... that which exceeds the amount your tank is utilizing. You could measure trace amounts because your corals are healthy and growing and utilizing all they can with little to none left over. It could also mean your dinos are sucking up most the nutrients maybe with a little help from cyano, GHA, etc., and there isn't enough left for your corals to utilize. With dinos, it is most likely the latter. By increasing to higher levels, you know that whatever dinos, etc. are utilizing, there are plenty of nutrients left over for your corals, coralline algae, and so forth.
2. Your hobby test kits aren't that accurate. I'm pretty sure .02 ppm on that Hanna checker is within the margin of error so it could easily be goose eggs in reality.

 

[Neoalchemist]

I would go 10 ppm nitrate and .1 ppm phosphate minimum. Worked for me twice, though I ended up exceeding those levels the second go-round, and those are the recommended values from the monster dinos thread. Also realize:

1. You are measuring residual nitrate/phosphate... that which exceeds the amount your tank is utilizing. You could measure trace amounts because your corals are healthy and growing and utilizing all they can with little to none left over. It could also mean your dinos are sucking up most the nutrients maybe with a little help from cyano, GHA, etc., and there isn't enough left for your corals to utilize. With dinos, it is most likely the latter. By increasing to higher levels, you know that whatever dinos, etc. are utilizing, there are plenty of nutrients left over for your corals, coralline algae, and so forth.
2. Your hobby test kits aren't that accurate. I'm pretty sure .02 ppm on that Hanna checker is within the margin of error so it could easily be goose eggs in reality.

Great answer, and 10N and .1P are the numbers I went with for a long time until I got good crop of algea and other life(other than dinos) on all the surfaces.

 

[Neoalchemist]

It’s going very well actually finally have measurable Phosphate today.

I think the bigger UV unit did the trick.

I have good polyp extension for the first time in a long time.

Now I need to concentrate on keeping the Dino’s away.

What number should I target for Nitrate and Phosphate now that I’m dosing?

Prepare yourself. I dont want to be a downer, but they might come back or different species make take hold until you get the nutrients up long enough to grow a crop of life to replace it. One of the quickest ways to do that would be silicate dosing.

 

[Crustaceon]

I generally don’t test for phosphates as much as I used to. As long as my glass is getting algae growth every few days, my chaeto is growing and I’m not getting GHA, it’s probably right where it should be.

 

[Scooter90254]

Prepare yourself. I dont want to be a downer, but they might come back or different species make take hold until you get the nutrients up long enough to grow a crop of life to replace it. One of the quickest ways to do that would be silicate dosing.

You’re being a downer. Haha

Sounds like silicate dosing is the logical next step but I’m only going to do that if I start seeing Dino’s again. Right now it’s looking very good.

 

[Crashjack]

You’re being a downer. Haha

Sounds like silicate dosing is the logical next step but I’m only going to do that if I start seeing Dino’s again. Right now it’s looking very good.

The key is to keep your nutrients up even if you are seeing a lot of GHA, cyano, etc. By keeping up, I mean getting to the point where you can maintain 10+ nitrate and .1+ phosphate for several weeks without any dosing. The reason I had to battle dinos twice was because I was too aggressive in getting nutrients back down due to the GHA plague I got the first go-round. Though dinos weren't quite as bad the second time, it took longer to get rid of them. I learned that the best way to get nutrients back down (down from 10+ nitrate and .1+ phosphate) is to just manually remove the GHA, cyano, etc. with water changes and give it months, not weeks, for nutrients to settle down and your GHA, cyano, or whatever to go away.

 

[Scooter90254]

Update:

Safe to say at this point my I am Dino free.

.01P
15N

No GHA yet but now I have an epic crop of green Cyano. Better then Dino’s but becoming a problem.

Should I start doing Water changes?

When do you think it’s safe to remove the UV sterilizer?

 

[Neoalchemist]

Update:

Safe to say at this point my I am Dino free.

.01P
15N

No GHA yet but now I have an epic crop of green Cyano. Better then Dino’s but becoming a problem.

Should I start doing Water changes?

When do you think it’s safe to remove the UV sterilizer?

I waited a couple of months dino free then saw a resurgence in dinos (Like 4 kinds at once) and realized the uv bulb had become disconnected. Then beat the resurgence back with silicate dosing then after another month moved uv to the sump and continue to be dino free. I will keep uv in the sump at least until nutrients no longer need extra attention.
I never really stopped doing water changes I used them to export dinos. But most others have resurgence problems with water changes.

 

[Neoalchemist]

It’s going very well actually finally have measurable Phosphate today.

I think the bigger UV unit did the trick.

I have good polyp extension for the first time in a long time.

Now I need to concentrate on keeping the Dino’s away.

What number should I target for Nitrate and Phosphate now that I’m dosing?

Most in the dino thread shoot for no3 at 10 and po4 at .1

 

[Scooter90254]

Everything is looking really good. Did a couple of water changes and nutrients are starting to stabilize. Corals are looking great.

Thanks everyone for the help. Literally in 30 days the tank turned around from a 6 month plus battle.

 

[Neoalchemist]

Everything is looking really good. Did a couple of water changes and nutrients are starting to stabilize. Corals are looking great.

Thanks everyone for the help. Literally in 30 days the tank turned around from a 6 month plus battle.

How's the fight going? Any updates?