Balancing nitrate and phosphate export

[Willbiker]

Hi all

I run GFO and a refugium for nutrient export. My skimmer pretty much failed for 1 week while I was away so my nitrate and phosphate increased above where I usually try keep them at (around 5 no3 and 0.03 po4). To bring them both down again I increased my refugium light duration and did water changes each day. Now my phosphate level is back down to the normal 0.03 but my nitrate is at 0. Id like to keep my nitrate at about 1 to 3ppm.

So this leads me to wonder...are refugiums more efficient at removing nitrate over phosphate? .

I could either reduce my fuge light duration and run more gfo. Or run a higher fuge light duration and dose nitrate.

How do you guys and girls balance your no3 and po4 export?

 

[Gtinnel]

I always thought that macro used them up at a certain ratio and different types of macro have different ratios, but I may be completely wrong. I don't have any filtration dedicated to removing either phosphate or nitrate, but I have to dose nitrate to keep it at a detectable level.

 

[Maximitsurugi]

Hi all

I run GFO and a refugium for nutrient export. My skimmer pretty much failed for 1 week while I was away so my nitrate and phosphate increased above where I usually try keep them at (around 5 no3 and 0.03 po4). To bring them both down again I increased my refugium light duration and did water changes each day. Now my phosphate level is back down to the normal 0.03 but my nitrate is at 0. Id like to keep my nitrate at about 1 to 3ppm.

So this leads me to wonder...are refugiums more efficient at removing nitrate over phosphate? .

I could either reduce my fuge light duration and run more gfo. Or run a higher fuge light duration and dose nitrate.

How do you guys and girls balance your no3 and po4 export?

You dose nitrate to balance it back. When the ratios are right again then you manage your export methods. I soaked all my rock in Lanthanum before I cycled and even a year later, my tank sucks po4 down to 0 on a Hanna ULR phosphorus checker. So, I dose.

NB. If you dose Nitrate, your phosphate will most likely fall some.