Dosing Nitrate & Phosphate for Best results with Corals

[nycjwi]

I have a 180 gallon reef aquarium with a refugium. Since stability is the key to healthy coral with PH at around .05 and nitrate around 5ppm is it fair to assume that one the of the best ways to run the tank is with a light bio load of fish / food and then dosing nitrate and phosphate to reach desired levels. In my mind this provides the easiest way to truly control levels. Does this make sense? Is there any downside to this approach?
thx

 

[feelingfishy]

Dosing nitrate and phosphate is way more difficult then I thought. I have a 330 reef that I can’t keep a readable level of nitrate and phosphate at all (Hannah checkers). Reason I say is it was harder then I thought is because when I did dose it seemed like the tank was producing something poisonous when I was dosing. I think the sand bed was producing some kind of gas in such a quantity that it killed my nassarius snails. Plus, the corals just did not seem happy with it. There was a small amount of algae when I dosed but, not enough to account for the 15ml of nitrate a day which consisted of 100grams of sodium nitrate in 1l of rodi.

Anyways that was like 3 months ago when I stoped. The corals are now much happier yet are still not the vibrant color which I would like. I have come to my own conclusion that just shutting down the skimmer is the best route for me. Until I see some readable nitrate or phosphate. I think the strait introduction of nitrate and phos was just to aggressive for the biological balance of the tank.

little side note is that everyday I still dose 41ml of ab+ red sea coral food. Might be the only thing keeping the corals from nutrient starvation. Tank uses 110ml of 123 aquaforest a day. Here is a pic before my new snail crew come in but, it will give an idea of the tank.

 

[xCry0x]

You can go with a decent bioload and then strip nutrients down to where you want via carbon dosing, skimming, algae scrubber, etc.

A mature tank has a really strong capacity to handle nutrients.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have a 180 gallon reef aquarium with a refugium. Since stability is the key to healthy coral with PH at around .05 and nitrate around 5ppm is it fair to assume that one the of the best ways to run the tank is with a light bio load of fish / food and then dosing nitrate and phosphate to reach desired levels. In my mind this provides the easiest way to truly control levels. Does this make sense? Is there any downside to this approach?
thx

Those values seem fine, and if you want them higher, dosing or feeding more both are fine options.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Dosing nitrate and phosphate is way more difficult then I thought. I have a 330 reef that I can’t keep a readable level of nitrate and phosphate at all (Hannah checkers). Reason I say is it was harder then I thought is because when I did dose it seemed like the tank was producing something poisonous when I was dosing.

Assuming you mean dosing nitrate and phosphate salts, I cannot see how that can lead to a poisonous gas. I think the snail issue lies elsewhere.

Burying organics can produce hydrogen sulfide, and the sand would likely have black deposits of metal sulfides down in it if that were the case.

 

[feelingfishy]

Assuming you mean dosing nitrate and phosphate salts, I cannot see how that can lead to a poisonous gas. I think the snail issue lies elsewhere.

Burying organics can produce hydrogen sulfide, and the sand would likely have black deposits of metal sulfides down in it if that were the case.

The reason I mentioned the gas was I observed many more pockets in the sand layers when I was dosing and when I stoped those seemed to dissipate. Also I have noticed no black deposits in the sand. I’ll be the first to say I’m no expert and am still learning. Maybe it was just a lack of food or a mildly toxic algae. Either way they are both solved now. Still no readable nutrients though.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The reason I mentioned the gas was I observed many more pockets in the sand layers when I was dosing and when I stoped those seemed to dissipate. Also I have noticed no black deposits in the sand. I’ll be the first to say I’m no expert and am still learning. Maybe it was just a lack of food or a mildly toxic algae. Either way they are both solved now. Still no readable nutrients though.

Denitrification of organic matter will result in nontoxic nitrogen gas.

 

[Uncle99]

You need to run the system under normal conditions and maintenance schedules, then measure what the change is.

If nitrates and phosphate rise, we can lower them with carbon dosing and GFO.

If nitrates and phosphate fall, we can easily bump them with the incremental difference with things like neo-nitro and neo-phos (or like).

Just like all other parameters, they work best when stable and unchanged, for long periods of time as this favors not only our livestock, but feeds those micro-fauna populations which keep our rocks and sand clean.

lower bio loads result in less change. I’d run the bio load you want and manage those two elements into balance.

 

[feelingfishy]

I guess my sand bed is working too effectively then… or Maybe it’s the thick rocks in combination with the sand bed. Just wish I could get like 1 nitrate and .01 phos without dosing it everyday. Been a week without skimmer on so we will see. Thanks

 

[spsick]

I have a 180 gallon reef aquarium with a refugium. Since stability is the key to healthy coral with PH at around .05 and nitrate around 5ppm is it fair to assume that one the of the best ways to run the tank is with a light bio load of fish / food and then dosing nitrate and phosphate to reach desired levels. In my mind this provides the easiest way to truly control levels. Does this make sense? Is there any downside to this approach?
thx

Are these your current or just ideal parameters? With a tank that size, light bio load, and a fuge I would think dosing may be a fine and necessary option to keep detectable nutrients.

 

[InvaderJim]

Nutrient dosing can be finicky. You may have to dose nitrates and/or phosphates consistently over a period of time before it even shows on a test kit due to rocks and sand absorbing a lot of it. The best approach I’ve found is to be consistent with it and start out small. Dose a certain amount for a week and see if you can get a reading, if not, bump it up even more for the next week. This will also keep you overdosing. But once you get readings it’s usually easier to keep it stable with consistent dosing and testing once or twice a week.