Can’t keep nutrients up

[p1u5h13r4m24]

I’ve always struggled with low nutrients in all of my tanks. My tank is 2 -1/2 years old fully stocked with fish and tons of corals. I don’t run a filter sock or fleece roller. I do have a sponge filter that I don’t clean and I do run a protein skimmer. I feed lrs frozen about a cube size a day. I’ve tried to dose nitrate and phos corals seem to hate it. It lowers my ph and I have lots of sps. I also tried to over feed and I get the same results. I just ordered ammonia to see if dosing that may work different and I also don’t have many snails or crabs I’m thinking maybe the uneaten food is turning into doc and lowering ph rather than being consumed and turning into nitrate properly. I just ordered a larger cuc. Any ideas would be great. Thank you!!
Also wanted to add I use a c02 scrubber as well as kalkwasser to maintain ph and even with these I’m struggling with low ph levels when over feeding or dosing nutrients

 

[Troylee]

More fish, more food! And if ph is low run your skimmer line outside or get a ph scrubber. How big is your tank? I feed 4 cubes a day, pellets twice, flakes once and 2 sheets of nori.. I have 25 fish and 7 are decent size tangs and I just now don’t need to dose no3 or po4

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

120g system with I thin 5 fish an 2 tangs my clownfish are Jerks, they tend to bully anything I put in there. The yellow tang was a biota baby and I thought they were going to kill it

 

[Troylee]

There’s a lot of ways to get them up but I prefer more fish and more food.. I can’t fathom wasting money on products to dose when I can have more fish do the job! Haha

 

[ReefGeezer]

More fish, then more food, then, if all else fails, ammonia. Do you think it would be possible to not worry about pH as long as alkalinity is good. Besides pH, how does the tank react when you turn off the skimmer?

I feed 3-4 cubes per day, plus flake and nori every couple days in my 90. I still battle low nitrates so I add an ammonia solution. I recently switched from ammonium chloride to ammonium carbonate.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

s I’m thinking maybe the uneaten food is turning into doc and lowering ph rather than being consumed and turning into nitrate properly.

Just an FYI, any sort of decomposition or consumption of fish foods turns most of the organic carbon into carbon dioxide.

Dosing ammonia or nitrate, as well as phosphate is a fine plan when nutrients are low.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

i guess I can try not to worry about it. I’m just used to my tank consuming so much all when ph is high. When ph is low from dosing nitrate or over feeding I also think there’s an increase in alk so I have less alk consumption from low ph plus the additional alk and I just get real worried my sps aren’t happy.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

Just an FYI, any sort of decomposition or consumption of fish foods turns most of the organic carbon into carbon dioxide.

Dosing ammonia or nitrate, as well as phosphate is a fine plan when nutrients are low.

Do you think ammonia or nitrate would be better for not lowering ph, or it wouldn’t matter?

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

why the switch?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Do you think ammonia or nitrate would be better for not lowering ph, or it wouldn’t matter?

I do not think dosing either ammonia or nitrate at appropriate levels will have a significant pH impact.

 

[exnisstech]

Do you think it would be possible to not worry about pH as long as alkalinity is good

Agreed. I know people obsess over it but I never even check pH. I pretended it's something I have no control over and roll with whatever it is. Only time I've checked it was when things were looking bad and I was trying to figure out why and it wasn't pH.