How fast can we change nutrient parameters?

[Backreefing]

How fast can we reef keepers change phosphate parameters.?
example today I’m at 22 ppb tomorrow can I bump it up to say 50 ppb ? In 24 hours. Can I bump it up to 75 ppb in 24 hours? What is the max speed of change?
Nitrates same question?

 

[laverda]

Never heard of anyone wanting to increase phosphates when they are s,
Lteady very high. Why would you want to do so? You don’t want to decrease them to rapidly, but at 22 I would decrease 20% each day for a week. You don’t want to do anything rapidly in a reef tank. Depending what you do to change them it may affect other things as well. For instance many phosphate reducing media deplete ALK as well.

 

[Backreefing]

You may have miss understood the level I wrote. Today it’s .022 ( 22 ppb ) would it be fine to bump up to .075 ( 75 ppb ) in 24 hours . Also if I stop doseing for 1-2 days it can fall from .075 to .000 . Can it be raised more rapidly then lowering?

 

[rusgum]

If the phosphate during the day walks in the range from 0.02 to 0.1, then there is no problem. It is more difficult with nitrate. I would not raise from 1 to 10 in a day.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I think your suggested rise (0.02 to 0.05 ppm) is fine, but adding that specific amount won't give that rise, typically, but much less as much of it binds to rock and sand, and some gets consumed by organisms.