Bottoming out?

Adam H Sherman · May 21, 2020

I don’t thinks so but would like further opinion. According to Salifert my Nitrates are very low, rarely much higher than seen here. .04 to .09 is my normal Phosphate with a Hannah ULR tester, today is low with a .03.

My thoughts are turn skimmer off or remove AC. Feed more? I’ve only got two fish which I feed very small amounts of pellets daily (the clown is 23 years old, the Flame is 18 so I’m certainly not starving them). I spot feed Reef Roids to the Zoas and Symphyllia once a week, a chunk of Krill to Bubble, Plate and Elegance weekly as well.

Any thoughts as to the safe of these levels is appreciated, thanks. Adam

nereefpat · May 21, 2020

Beautiful tank. Don't change a thing!

Nathan Milender · May 21, 2020

Well, your fish are healthy, you have not listed any problems with the coral and your pictures look good. Why worry about it at all?

pdxmonkeyboy · May 21, 2020

Feed a little more.. while your tank is doing well, slightly higher levels will give you a little buffer. just my opinion.

Adam H Sherman · May 21, 2020

Nathan Milender said:
Well, your fish are healthy, you have not listed any problems with the coral and your pictures look good. Why worry about it at all?

Several weeks ago I had a fair amount of Red Cyano show up for no apparent reason, the levels were similar so I’m a little paranoid of any changes. Nitrates are generally a touch higher, Phosphates have essentially been 0 according to Salifert so two weeks ago I purchased the Hannah ULR to really know what levels are (the ranges are as noted with a high of .12).

I didn’t do anything to treat the Cyano, fortunately it’s going away on it’s own.

Adam H Sherman · May 21, 2020

pdxmonkeyboy said:
Feed a little more.. while your tank is doing well, slightly higher levels will give you a little buffer. just my opinion.

That was my thinking too. Thanks.

Nathan Milender · May 21, 2020

Adam H Sherman said:
Several weeks ago I had a fair amount of Red Cyano show up for no apparent reason, the levels were similar so I’m a little paranoid of any changes. Nitrates are generally a touch higher, Phosphates have essentially been 0 according to Salifert so two weeks ago I purchased the Hannah ULR to really know what levels are (the ranges are as noted with a high of .12).

How did your cyano resolve?

Adam H Sherman · May 21, 2020

Nathan Milender said:
How did your cyano resolve?

It’s almost gone on now, I trusted the tank to take care of it and got lucky (I did buy Chemi Clean as a backup which I didn’t use).

Nathan Milender · May 21, 2020

Sounds like an easy low level bloom. I am still not sure I would change anything. You can feed more, but if the only reason is to up a number I wouldn't bother. If you want something to grow faster or get better color try spot feeding it. I wouldn't worry too much about a quickly resolved cyano bloom.

Sallstrom · May 21, 2020

The reef tanks I run usually have the same nutrient numbers as your tank. When Cyanobacteria appears it’s often a sign of that the nutrients are a bit too low. It’s easy to add just a little nitrate or phosphate(depending on what’s low) daily and usually the that solves the Cyanobacteria problem.
So I use Cyanobacteria as a warning sign - it’s time to increase NO3 or PO4. Not much, just enough until the cyano goes away.
I do think it looks like the corals do well in your tank, so adding nutrients would be for keeping away cyano.

Adam H Sherman · May 21, 2020

Sallstrom said:
The reef tanks I run usually have the same nutrient numbers as your tank. When Cyanobacteria appears it’s often a sign of that the nutrients are a bit too low. It’s easy to add just a little nitrate or phosphate(depending on what’s low) daily and usually the that solves the Cyanobacteria problem.
So I use Cyanobacteria as a warning sign - it’s time to increase NO3 or PO4. Not much, just enough until the cyano goes away.
I do think it looks like the corals do well in your tank, so adding nutrients would be for keeping away cyano.

This is great info and appreciated, can you provide product suggestions for Nitrate and Phosphate?

Thanks,
Adam

Hydrored · May 21, 2020

Tank looks great, but, IMO that’s getting to the fringe of the nightmare called Dino’s

Adam H Sherman · May 21, 2020

Hydrored said:
Tank looks great, but, IMO that’s getting to the fringe of the nightmare called Dino’s

That’s my fear, never had them and never want them.

Sallstrom · May 22, 2020

Adam H Sherman said:
This is great info and appreciated, can you provide product suggestions for Nitrate and Phosphate?

Thanks,
Adam

We use KNO3 and KH2PO4 for planted freshwater tanks. We buy them from a local shop here in Sweden, but you can probably find them online somewhere. I recommend products sold as aquarium products(I would, for example, not try stump remover as nitrate additive). We've used KNO3 for ten years without seeing any problem with the extra potassium added. Usually we need to add more anyway.

Raising nutrient levels could be done in many ways. Feed more, skim less etc. I like the method of adding KNO3- and/or KH2PO4-solution daily to be able to control it and to raise the levels slowly over weeks. In the end you'll find a daily dose that keeps the levels stable at your setpoint. Dosing pumps are great for this, but we've also added manually every morning in some tanks with good results.