High phosphates but low nitrates, si it possibile?

[Brian1f1]

That certainly makes sense.

I have a similar situation, but I do have a question that fits right into this discussion. While I know that raising nitrate alone won't likely allow for increased phosphate export to such a degree that they become balanced, can it meaningfully enhance it?

Specifically, I dose nitrate and have a large fuse with chaeto. My phosphate is higher than I'd like it. Wouldn't enhanced chaeto production, even it requires the addition of more nitrate, be a meaningful way to increase phosphate export even if not, as you've established, fully sufficient for phosphate management on its own?

 

[lbacha]

Nitrates and phosphates need to both be present but are not directly related. As long as you have measurable amounts of one or the other then you are ok from that standpoint. If one or the other drops to 0 you will see a rise in the other because the benificial organisms (macroalgae and zooxanthellae) that consume these nutrients need both so you don’t want either to drop to 0. If you have one higher than the other you will get organisms more suited to only needing one or the other flourishing in this case nuisance algae, Dino’s, etc. This is why people will say you need them balanced but in reality the key is not letting one or the other bottom out to 0. I use to have to dose nitrates just to make sure I had a level of about 3-5ppm this actually kept my phosphates down. This was because I had a smaller tank with a very low fish bioload to add nitrates naturally.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have a similar situation, but I do have a question that fits right into this discussion. While I know that raising nitrate alone won't likely allow for increased phosphate export to such a degree that they become balanced, can it meaningfully enhance it?

Specifically, I dose nitrate and have a large fuse with chaeto. My phosphate is higher than I'd like it. Wouldn't enhanced chaeto production, even it requires the addition of more nitrate, be a meaningful way to increase phosphate export even if not, as you've established, fully sufficient for phosphate management on its own?

If nitrate is at least a few ppm, more is unlikely to allow anything to grow faster since it likely no longer the limiting factor.