Fighting to raise nitrates, PO4 high!

[dmax525]

I’ve spent a fair amount of time reading different threads and the abundance of info is doing nothing but confusing me more.

Details on the system: 150 gallon cube tank, R200 sump, large ATB 850 skimmer, 4 Hydra 26hds, mixed reef. Feeding LRS and reefroids twice a week with the auto feeder dumping small amount of pellets twice a day. I have been stepping into the SPS game more and more the last year or so with mixed results. Full apex with DOS doing 2 gallon AWC daily and another DOS doing 2 part. The tank has been running about 2 years at this point.

Testing water chemistry in a few different ways to verify what I have been seeing is correct, Red Sea kits, IDIP and occasionally a high end photometer at work since I have access.

Alk, cal and Mg rock solid every test. SPS losing color and STN eventually. Nitrates at 0, phosphates usually around .50-.54

I know I need to likely increase the fish load as of now there about 10 fish, two of these being larger tangs. But with QT protocol this isn’t an adjustment I can make quickly I would like to do some nitrate dosing but, I could really use some baseline starting points on what to do and how quickly to move the nitrates up. I have the option to run GFO in a reactor if needed to lower the PO4. As of now I haven’t made any changes as I don’t want to make a bunch of moves in the wrong direction.

Thanks in advance.

 

[WWIII]

You can start dosing nitrate. I use sodium nitrate in one of my tanks that had undetectable nitrates and it works fine. Do you have any macro algae in the sump?

 

[dmax525]

You can start dosing nitrate. I use sodium nitrate in one of my tanks that had undetectable nitrates and it works fine. Do you have any macro algae in the sump?

Ok, suggestions on starting points and what to use? No macro in the sump. More of an area for a frag rack with a black box LED on it, running an opposite schedule from the DT lighting to help with Ph stability.

 

[WWIII]

Here is what I use...
https://www.loudwolf.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=69

Here is the calculator...
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm

Here is a discussion on dosage and how to use the calculator for sodium nitrate instead of potassium nitrate. (0.84 grams for every 1 gram of potassium nitrate). Or you could use potassium nitrate, but I prefer sodium nitrate.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/calculating-sodium-nitrate-dosage.328408/

Edit - that might have sounded a little confusing. The calculator will give you the info you need for dosing. I would shoot for 1ppm nitrate per day to start out. The calculator uses potassium nitrate, which is also fine to use and is what's in stump remover that lot's of guys use. I prefer sodium nitrate. To convert the potassium nitrate result to sodium nitrate, just simply multiply by .84.

So for example, if the calculator says you need 10 grams of potassium nitrate, you would use 8.4 grams of sodium nitrate for the same strength.

Just go slow and test along the way. See how the tank responds. You can certainly use gfo if needed to bring down phosphate while trying to get a little nitrate in the tank. I prefer to run my tanks at around 3 ppm nitrate and .03 ppm phosphate.