Bio load and nutrients

[soreefed]

Hey all,

I have a 20g aio mixed reef and I’m struggling with nutrients bottoming out.

I started dosing nitrates and phos when I started seeing Dino’s. Caught that early and it hasn’t been a problem, but every time I stop dosing nutrients they bottom out.

I have 3 fish. Purple fire fish, clown, and possum wrasse. I have lots of snails and crabs as well. Good amount of coral and hitch hiker filter feeders everywhere.

I do a 5gallon water change weekly. I’m thinking about adding another fish to increase the bio load and up the feeding. As well as reducing water changes to 5g bi monthly.

Is increasing the bio load in this tank a reasonable solution to my problem?

 

[Troylee]

Well considering your tank holds maybe 14ish gallons and changing out 5 weekly would most def keep your nutrients down.. you have a few options… more fish, more feeding, less water changes maybe change 1-2 gallons or keep dosing..

 

[soreefed]

Well considering your tank holds maybe 14ish gallons and changing out 5 weekly would most def keep your nutrients down.. you have a few options… more fish, more feeding, less water changes maybe change 1-2 gallons or keep dosing..

Thanks for the reply. I stopped doing water changes for around 3-4 weeks and it definitely helped, but the water quality didn’t seem good and I noticed my fish having some bacterial issues. I’ve also upped my feeding significantly for the last two months with really no affect. I also use reef roids once a week.

So far the only thing that has kept up the levels is dosing. I don’t mind dosing but I’d rather have it stabilize naturally than always having to dose. That’s why I was considering adding an additional fish.


I’ll probably add another fish and take water changes down to 5 gallons twice a month. Keep dosing until things stabilize!

 

[Troylee]

Thanks for the reply. I stopped doing water changes for around 3-4 weeks and it definitely helped, but the water quality didn’t seem good and I noticed my fish having some bacterial issues. I’ve also upped my feeding significantly for the last two months with really no affect. I also use reef roids once a week.

So far the only thing that has kept up the levels is dosing. I don’t mind dosing but I’d rather have it stabilize naturally than always having to dose. That’s why I was considering adding an additional fish.


I’ll probably add another fish and take water changes down to 5 gallons twice a month. Keep dosing until things stabilize!

It’s better than dosing in my opinion… just make sure it’s peaceful and don’t get territorial in such a small area.

 

[soreefed]

It’s better than dosing in my opinion… just make sure it’s peaceful and don’t get territorial in such a small area.

Yeah my main concern is aggression issues. I have a single clown I was thinking of trying to pair but it’s pretty territorial. Right now my tank is peaceful and everything gets along well.

 

[Troylee]

Yeah my main concern is aggression issues. I have a single clown I was thinking of trying to pair but it’s pretty territorial. Right now my tank is peaceful and everything gets along well.

Add a smaller one or larger and it should be fine..

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Can you just feed more the the existing fish and other organisms?

 

[Dom]

Hey all,

I have a 20g aio mixed reef and I’m struggling with nutrients bottoming out.

I started dosing nitrates and phos when I started seeing Dino’s. Caught that early and it hasn’t been a problem, but every time I stop dosing nutrients they bottom out.

I have 3 fish. Purple fire fish, clown, and possum wrasse. I have lots of snails and crabs as well. Good amount of coral and hitch hiker filter feeders everywhere.

I do a 5gallon water change weekly. I’m thinking about adding another fish to increase the bio load and up the feeding. As well as reducing water changes to 5g bi monthly.

Is increasing the bio load in this tank a reasonable solution to my problem?

That tank looks very nice!

You could reduce the number of water changes which will cause your nutrients to come up. Also, if you are running a protein skimmer, you could reduce the number of hours it is running.

You have a very small bio load, which is probably why you don't detect nutrients when testing.

 

[soreefed]

Can you just feed more the the existing fish and other organisms?

I have basically doubled my feeding over time with no results. I was thinking another fish would add more fish poop rather than just having the uneaten food decay.

 

[etcee]

I had the same issue. 20g waterbox with a pair of clowns, neon goby, and cleaner shrimp. I had to dose po4 for a little bit to get my levels up. I started feeding 3 times a day a mix of frozen and pellets all three meals which has helped. I do a 2g water change every week and levels have been stable. I can't add more fish, I tried, clownfish kill anything else I add. 5g a week in a 20with your fish load is a lot IMO.

 

[Dan_P]

Hey all,

I have a 20g aio mixed reef and I’m struggling with nutrients bottoming out.

I started dosing nitrates and phos when I started seeing Dino’s. Caught that early and it hasn’t been a problem, but every time I stop dosing nutrients they bottom out.

I have 3 fish. Purple fire fish, clown, and possum wrasse. I have lots of snails and crabs as well. Good amount of coral and hitch hiker filter feeders everywhere.

I do a 5gallon water change weekly. I’m thinking about adding another fish to increase the bio load and up the feeding. As well as reducing water changes to 5g bi monthly.

Is increasing the bio load in this tank a reasonable solution to my problem?

If you want more nitrate in the water just add it. It does not make sense to me to add garbage to an aquarium to indirectly generate nitrate. If feeding your fish well during the day does not produce so much waste that you have add numerous reactors to keep nutrients in check, congratulations. You have not succumbed to the current trend of overstocking your aquarium.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have basically doubled my feeding over time with no results. I was thinking another fish would add more fish poop rather than just having the uneaten food decay.

Either way, the nutrients will rise, but if you want another fish, that's a fine plan if it fits in with other fish and the tank size.

I also agree that dosing sodium nitrate is cheap and easy. Dosing ammonia is not as easy, but is also cheap.