Dosing for Nitrates and Phosphates

[RaymondL]

Nitrates in my tank are always hovering around <2.0ppm, and Phosphates 0.00 or 0.02. I'm told by many that I should at least have Nitrates at 5ppm, and Phosphates at 0.03 - 0.05, and I"ve been dosing for both to bring them up to 5.0ppm and 0.03 respectively. However, after less than a week the numbers drop down to 0.00. Is this because of absorption from the corals mainly?

I never imagined having an Ultra Low Nutrient System and having to dose......I wonder how normal this is for other reefers out there.

Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Folks who dose these typically dose every day since you have to continually overcome consumption and any potential binding of phosphate.

Bear in mind the context. Foods are adding far more phosphate (and likely nitrate) than you are dosing, so to make a difference, one may need to dose quite a lot.

 

[RaymondL]

Folks who dose these typically dose every day since you have to continually overcome consumption and any potential binding of phosphate.

Bear in mind the context. Foods are adding far more phosphate (and likely nitrate) than you are dosing, so to make a difference, one may need to dose quite a

Thanks Randy - I just remembered I have Nitrate - Phosphate removers in my sump, so I'm going to reduce those quantity perhaps.

 

[Seansea]

Its a cat and mouse game. You will dose and have hard time keeping them up then out of blue they will be high out of the blue and now you are trying to get them back down. Unless stuff is looking rough or algaes are running wild i dont get too specific with it. My phos right now is .15 and nitrate around 12. Im ok with it

 

[PeterEde]

Nitrates in my tank are always hovering around <2.0ppm, and Phosphates 0.00 or 0.02. I'm told by many that I should at least have Nitrates at 5ppm, and Phosphates at 0.03 - 0.05, and I"ve been dosing for both to bring them up to 5.0ppm and 0.03 respectively. However, after less than a week the numbers drop down to 0.00. Is this because of absorption from the corals mainly?

I never imagined having an Ultra Low Nutrient System and having to dose......I wonder how normal this is for other reefers out there.

Thanks

Don't dose. Feed more. Your fish will love you for it

 

[exnisstech]

I just remembered I have Nitrate - Phosphate removers in my sump, so I'm going to reduce those quantity perhaps.

Makes no sense to dose N & P while running media to remove them. I would remove all N & P removal media and monitor. The levels may settle in and not need any dosing or removal media. Doing both is like chasing your tail IMO.

 

[Nicklepickle]

I agree with Randy! Who doesn’t? All tanks are different in their n & p consumption but fast growing corals need nitrates and ammonia which requires a big input of fish food, coral supplements and a complex system to recycle and capture those elements. All that life in a closed system often leads to excess phosphates. I use gfo in my tank and dose nitrates and ab+ as much as I can. If I get the uglies I dial it back a bit.