Cant keep nitrates. Sps not super happy

[VanDalsenReef]

I just can't seem to keep nitrates in my system above 2. Phosphates I can easily get to 0.06-0.08 but nitrates I just can't keep. Is there something I'm missing?

 

[Lavey29]

Heavy input heavy output, feed, feed, feed. When mine bottomed out I double dosed neophos for several weeks to get them back up.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Heavy input like what? Feeding more? Heavy output such as?

 

[VanDalsenReef]

so the system is feed 6 times a day with the neptune feeder. Plus frozen food, and I have a ton of fish. heavy in is almost impossible. Im dosing nitrates but I guess i can dose more

 

[brahm]

Why do you think that nitrates (or a lack thereof) are the cause of your sps issues? Did you have a thriving SPS tank and was the only thing that changed since your SPS went from great to horrible was nitrates? Be great to have more info about your system, including frequency of testing, type of tests used, husbandry, photos of the tank, and the corals in question, where you got them from if you checked for pests. Unless that is you ruled everything else out and you 100% certain it's nitrates being at 0 (which I've run SPS tanks at with no issues..) but when you say you feed heavy what do you mean, what is a ton of a fish how much gets fed with the Neptune auto feeder? Are we talking 5-6 cubes of frozen food a day or a couple of pinches flakes spread out 6 times?

I personally tried dosing nitrates when I got back into things figured hey all the cool kids are doing, did not bod well for me, upped my feeding instead and went to back to shooting to meet my nitrates at < 5 (not that I can tell the difference between any of the ranges 10 or below on the salifert test)

 

[VanDalsenReef]

theyre still alive just not as good looking as before, my nitrates used to sit around 10 and now are sitting below 2.
Its a 90 gallon display (10 years old going on 11 in february)
40 gallon sump with a refugium
lighting : 2 orphek compacts, 4 or120 blue/uv, 2 kessil a360
filtration euroreef 110 skimmer? Size may be wrong its the 6 inch version
sock changed every three days
water change when i feel like it (maybe 2x a month)
no pests that i can guarantee. dealt way too long with AEFW and red bugs.
stocking (here comes the tang police blah blah) I have no fighting and every fish has thier own area to sleep and to "get away"
pair of clowns
pair of blue throat triggers
yellow tang
kole tang
clown tang
peppermint hog
mystery wrasse
5 chromis
blue dot watchman
bangaii cardinal
orange line cardinal
pair of leopard wrasse
cleaner wrasse
mandarin
smallest setting on autofeeder so maybe 15 to 20 pellets every feeding so every fish gets atleast one pellet
homemade frozen food (feed about a dollar coin size or about the same amount as 3 to 4 cubes of pe mysis (done and weight and such to calculate the amount because i was bored one day) That is atleast once a day
I also dose phyto and a large array of coral foods once or twice a week

 

[VanDalsenReef]

testing is done with hanna (nitrate HR or LR, ALK, PO4) and salifert (ca, mg) at least once a week, lately has been 2 or three times to try and figure out how I much I can increase my nitrates

 

[VanDalsenReef]

 

[VanDalsenReef]

Just a lot of pale colors

 

[jassermd]

I gotta know... how do you get them that low with a tank that stocked? I'll trade you some nitrates...
I'm employing nearly every trick in the trade to keep them at bay around 15-20.

 

[VanDalsenReef]

I gotta know... how do you get them that low with a tank that stocked? I'll trade you some nitrates...
I'm employing nearly every trick in the trade to keep them at bay around 15-20.

I honestly have no idea. LFS are always shocked when I tell them.

 

[VanDalsenReef]

my refugium is light just opposite of the display, I think 13 hrs a day (30 minute overlap to help jumpstart photosynthesis in my chaeto to not have a huge drop in PH)

 

[VanDalsenReef]

I also run my lights 100 percent around 6n hours a day and taper on a off.
powerheads
mp40
3x nero5
maxspect jump 4k

 

[czoolander]

hahahah totally joking here but I hate you guys with super low nitrates and super low phosphates and feeding so heavy .

I literally put 2 crumbs in my tank and I have Nitrates over 10 . No idea what my phosphate actually is because of the GHA it reads 0.00 but its not 0.00 so who knows.....

Im joking of course I think that is cool and aiming to get my reef to this spot one day ! I just ordered my first phospban reactor today WOOT WOOT

 

[VanDalsenReef]

I run gfo for phosphates but kinda getting bored with it as it doesn't seem to drop them under 0,04

 

[Lavey29]

20 fish in a medium size tank, wow and you have a ton of beautiful corals to. Perhaps the corals are just eating it all up? Maybe shut down the fuge and go no skimmer for 8 hours a day combined with heavy feeding?

 

[VanDalsenReef]

hahahah totally joking here but I hate you guys with super low nitrates and super low phosphates and feeding so heavy .

I literally put 2 crumbs in my tank and I have Nitrates over 10 . No idea what my phosphate actually is because of the GHA it reads 0.00 but its not 0.00 so who knows.....

Im joking of course I think that is cool and aiming to get my reef to this spot one day ! I just ordered my first phospban reactor today WOOT WOOT

I never had a big GHA outbreak or even a gross phase but back then I was able to buy live rock. Patience is all I've learned. I used to fight 20-40 nitrates and then It just kinda poofed away

 

[VanDalsenReef]

20 fish in a medium size tank, wow and you have a ton of beautiful corals to. Perhaps the corals are just eating it all up? Maybe shut down the fuge and go no skimmer for 8 hours a day combined with heavy feeding?

I have actually tried this and it just freaked out my skimmer. Nitrates didn't even raise...

 

[VanDalsenReef]

I used to have 18 chromis but my triggers were excited one day and Chromis were being chromis so now after I think 5 years im down to 5. Oh well

 

[dvgyfresh]

Lower fuge lighting / dose ab+ daily wil get them up. Or go crazy with feeding / dosing neo nitro