Both of which probably compounds the lack of chaeto growth. I actually took my algae scubber offline because it was too efficient and I had to feed the tank like crazy to keep it running smoothly. What happened is it stripped phosphates completely out of my tank and brought nitrates down to under 2ppm. I took note of the issue when my corals started turning pale. I ended up throwing some chaeto in my sump instead with a 120w equivalent 5k cree led bulb, removed the skimmer too as an experiment since aeration is a non-issue in my system and the tank has been holding steady at 5ppm nitrates. I’m not even bothering with testing phosphates as the display is algae-free, the chaeto is growing and everything else is looking healthy. I’m feeding the equivalent of three food cubes daily on a 120 gallon system. For maintenance, I typically just turkey baster the sand twice a month and change out the filter sock the next day. I’m going on 8 months with no water changes. The key here is that things do get easier as you add more coral to your tank and things mature and start using nutrients more. But for now, instead of chasing low nutrient numbers, feed your tank and let things grow so they can develop that need for increased nutrients. Put a strong light (home depot is a proven source for the best reefing gear in this case) over your macro algae and let it do what it does best. Don’t worry about having 5 or even 10ppm nitrates. It’s the ratio of nitrates to phosphates and how they relate to calcification that counts and is something chaeto growth will do a lot to balance. Lastly, watch what’s happening in your display. If your corals are colorful & growing and you don’t have hair algae growing on stuff, don’t stress. Just keep checking alk/cal/mg and trimming chaeto every so often. Lastly, don’t do things that aren’t actually necessary. This includes the “10% weekly water change” just because it is such a common practice.
