Algae on acro colony

[Rmckoy]

I woke up this morning and noticed there is a little what appears to be algae in a small part of acro colony .
Tested everything but still not making sense .

alk 8.2 salifert
Cal 425 salifert
Sg 1.024
Phosphorus 28 Ppb Hanna
Converted to ppm phosphate .086 ppm

I tried many nitrate kits and keep getting 0
API , salifert and Red Sea

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I don't see any algae? But it does look like maybe some of the acro is bleaching a bit (the pink part)?

 

[Rmckoy]

I don't see any algae? But it does look like maybe some of the acro is bleaching a bit (the pink part)?

Yes .
I was thinking it was the start of algae growing .

 

[Rmckoy]

Looking at the tank and the algae growth on the back glass . I would expect nitrates .
actually ... if I had to guess , it would be around 15-20ppm

Does having Higher phosphates and zero nitrates make sense ?

could this be chemi media along with carbon ?
mover sized skimmer ?

 

[joseserrano]

Did you grow or buy this colony?

 

[Rmckoy]

Did you grow or buy this colony?

It’s grown a little but bought it just a little smaller than it is .

 

[joseserrano]

It doesn’t look that healthy. Taking ok such a huge colony is quite an undertaking. Colonies that size may not do well even when moved within the system it grew in. That being said. Your phosphate and nitrate ratios are off

 

[Rmckoy]

It doesn’t look that healthy. Taking ok such a huge colony is quite an undertaking. Colonies that size may not do well even when moved within the system it grew in. That being said. Your phosphate and nitrate ratios are off

This is the reason for posting .
How do I correct the phosphate / nitrate ratio ?

 

[Adamantium]

This is the reason for posting .
How do I correct the phosphate / nitrate ratio ?

Assuming your nitrates are actually zero, which seems to be the case, I’d start dosing small amounts of NO3, or up your feeding schedule.

 

[ThePurple12]

You can buy a product called Spectracide Stump Remover from Home Depot to add nitrate. There's a calculator here, you use the Potassium Nitrate option: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm

I see you're in Canada, so not sure if it's available there. If not, you can probably find potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate online.

 

[Rmckoy]

What could cause this imbalance ?

 

[ThePurple12]

@Randy Holmes-Farley ?

 

[joseserrano]

What you would want to do is bring down the phosphate, not up then nitrate

 

[ThePurple12]

What you would want to do is bring down the phosphate, not up then nitrate

Lowering pohosphate to 0 wouldn't help at all, if nitrates are already at 0. That would just make things worse IMO

 

[Rmckoy]

What you would want to do is bring down the phosphate, not up then nitrate

Bringing down the phosphates without having. Nitrates ?
wouldn’t that be the start of dinos ?
I need nitrates higher around 10-40ppm?

 

[Rmckoy]

Lowering pohosphate to 0 wouldn't help at all, if nitrates are already at 0. That would just make things worse IMO

I agree .
lowering one to match the other doesn’t sound like a good idea at all .

Thinking of the old way of testing . Both nutrient levels were recommended ideally close to zero as possible .
I have never had lower nutrients

 

[joseserrano]

Why do you think you need nitrate at those #s?

 

[Rmckoy]

Why do you think you need nitrate at those #s?

Nitrates are zero ....

 

[joseserrano]

That wasn’t a real answer to the question. Check this video out

 

[ThePurple12]

That's one way to do it!