Dosing Nitrates and Phosphates in ATO water

[Steve1500]

Correct. It would raise the DT that much if put in all at once. I'm down to dosing 2ppm Nitrates and up to 0.4ppm Phosphates. I have trouble keeping Phosphates up from 0. It seems odd to me since so many people run GFO and struggle with Phosphates. I'm getting some other type of algae growth in the sump (more leafy and lighter in color) and I've just been putting that in my algae feeder in the DT for my Tang. Lots of algae there, virtually none in the DT. I moved a few of my snails down to the sump, so I only have about 3 large turbos and a tuxedo urchin in the DT as my CUC (and the yellow Tang).

Thanks. I think I will try but ease into it to find the sweet spot. My phosphate is wacky. One day I dose 5 ml and no big changes and then I dose 3ml and it rockets to .1ppm.

 

[Rick Krejci]

What effects (if any) have you seen in your corals?

Haven't noticed any changes really. Some of my LPS's had been declining, which is one of the reasons I wanted to get my nutrients up. They've been steady, but not making a comeback I'd say.

 

[BigJohnny]

Haven't noticed any changes really. Some of my LPS's had been declining, which is one of the reasons I wanted to get my nutrients up. They've been steady, but not making a comeback I'd say.

Well keep us posted! Good luck.

 

[Rick Krejci]

Wanted to follow up on this. After dosing Nitrates and Phosphates a while, I determined I was really just chasing a ghost. As I increased the dosages, the fuge would just grow more to compensate so I never really got to a steady state, just created a new normal and probably pushing the system toward its limits.

I've now just gone to feeding a bit more than the fish need and letting nature do its thing and not obsessing about the Nitrate&Phosphate levels. I can dial down the fuge light if I want to slow the nutrient absorption levels. I'm pulling a softball of chaeto and other various algaes out of my sump weekly and I take that as a sign my nutrients are just fine.

 

[Jonreefer]

What effects (if any) have you seen in your corals?

I cant say anything about it in my ATO. I have been manually dosing nitrate and phosphate for little over a week now. All my SPS before had a very pale look to them. Already i am getting some of them with very bright colored spots showing up and getting fuller looking polyp extension. I have been trying to keep my nitrate at around 3ppm and phosphate anywhere between .001 and .003. I have noticed that the nitrate is starting to hold itself more and I am starting to already move that to every other day dosing. I test everyday.

 

[Rick Krejci]

It certainly does work. I found the long term issue is that the biological system changes, so it's difficult to reach an equilibrium so requires a lot of testing. In my case, I think decreasing the fuge time/intensity (since that it the major export mechanism) makes more sense, especially since I'm lazy and don't like to test all the time. Control the outflow rather than the inflow. I'll test every once in a while to see if Nitrate/phosphate balance is OK and, if not, just dose one or the other to retain balance. Like everything in this hobby, there are dozens of different ways of doing things. Just need to find what works for you.

 

[EJReef]

Wanted to follow up on this. After dosing Nitrates and Phosphates a while, I determined I was really just chasing a ghost. As I increased the dosages, the fuge would just grow more to compensate so I never really got to a steady state, just created a new normal and probably pushing the system toward its limits.

I've now just gone to feeding a bit more than the fish need and letting nature do its thing and not obsessing about the Nitrate&Phosphate levels. I can dial down the fuge light if I want to slow the nutrient absorption levels. I'm pulling a softball of chaeto and other various algaes out of my sump weekly and I take that as a sign my nutrients are just fine.

If you were only having issues with phosphate being 0 why were you dosing nitrate? I’d assume phosphate would eventually stabilize if you only dosed phosphorous and nitrogen

 

[EMeyer]

I've also been dosing a mixture of nitrates and phosphates and have been happy with the stable levels it's produced. But I'll second the comment made earlier about bacterial growth. I'm finding its important to sterilize the dosing bottles and lines for the nutrient mixture, or it goes cloudy within days.

 

[Rick Krejci]

If you were only having issues with phosphate being 0 why were you dosing nitrate? I’d assume phosphate would eventually stabilize if you only dosed phosphorous and nitrogen

Both nitrates and phosphates were 0, which is why I was dosing both.

 

[Rick Krejci]

I've also been dosing a mixture of nitrates and phosphates and have been happy with the stable levels it's produced. But I'll second the comment made earlier about bacterial growth. I'm finding its important to sterilize the dosing bottles and lines for the nutrient mixture, or it goes cloudy within days.

Odd. I keep my concentrated in a small plastic bottle and they stay perfectly clear for months. Maybe since they are concentrated?