I can't raise my nitrates

[Uncle99]

I agree hobby grade needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I will try to get the result confirmed this week. I think another Hanna checker is in my future.

Corals make great testers.
In general, ultra low or zero nutrients will result in poor polyp extension and drab coloration, or paleness
High nitrate may causes browning or stunted growth.

That tank pic did look good to me.

Bacteria bloom thing is weird, only seen that with an overdose of carbon like Nopox or Vodka

 

[DrZoidburg]

Proprietary stinks lol. I like crunching numbers. It's hard to do that with secrets.

 

[terraincognita]

Does feeding too much / targeting corals only once trigger a bacteria bloom the next day ?

IT can in newer tanks.

Once your tank is more established it shouldn't.

I'd say after a year it definitely should not, but within 6 months it very well could.

 

[DrZoidburg]

Yea it does sound like a heterotropic bacteria problem. Is it snotty and clear looking?

 

[terraincognita]

OP have you tried stopping dosing and just doing WC's.

You aren't keeping any SPS. and IMPE with softies and LPS, this has always been the most successful route for my own tanks where I just keep softies/LPS

only WC's and no dosing.

 

[Rmckoy]

Thanks. I imagine Brightwel and others are similar. They never like to list the ingredients even though I am sure most use the same stuff.

So
Many different products for nitrate in Canada . This is one of the only ones I could find .

I couldn’t find potassium nitrate or stump killer.

might raise a few eyebrows if I started asking around for different chemicals

 

[DrZoidburg]

So
Many different products for nitrate in Canada . This is one of the only ones I could find .

I couldn’t find potassium nitrate or stump killer.

might raise a few eyebrows if I started asking around for different chemicals

Yea a lot of this stuff is banned worldwide.

 

[Chlorinated]

My hammer could is very pale and has been for a long time. Trumpet isn't bad and montis are good. Good polyp extension all around except the favia...been struggling with it a long time. Grows in spurts and the declines again.

IT can in newer tanks.

Once your tank is more established it shouldn't.

I'd say after a year it definitely should not, but within 6 months it very well could.

Tank has been setup for like 6 years. I moved it to our new apartment 11mo ago but things settled quickly. Buckets for everything and quick 5g wc after move. Some ticked off corals for a few days but everything recovered.

Yea it does sound like a heterotropic bacteria problem. Is it snotty and clear looking?

Long and stringy on the glass but nonexistent on rocks and sand. It gloves my floss In hours. Clear gel like snot. Same in my reactor for carbon clogging it up.

OP have you tried stopping dosing and just doing WC's.

You aren't keeping any SPS. and IMPE with softies and LPS, this has always been the most successful route for my own tanks where I just keep softies/LPS

only WC's and no dosing.

Been that way for years actually only started kalk a few months ago due to declining alk. My Duncan has like 10 new heads in the last 6mo, leathers, especially the finger shed like every week.

 

[DrZoidburg]

Try slowing down reactor. Definitely sounds like that type. I beat this before by putting masking tape over skimmer vents. Then run the drain line to a bucket with a wet skim for a couple weeks. Floss or socks are pretty worthless for this.

 

[Chlorinated]

Try slowing down reactor. Definitely sounds like that type. I beat this before by putting masking tape over skimmer vents. Then run the drain line to a bucket with a wet skim for a couple weeks. Floss or socks are pretty worthless for this.

Slowing down my reactor? It runs GAC not biopellets or anything. It's slow flow because it's carbon and don't want it tumbling. I use the small Desktop version if the IM *MiniMax not Mediamax

 

[Chlorinated]

OP have you tried stopping dosing and just doing WC's.

You aren't keeping any SPS. and IMPE with softies and LPS, this has always been the most successful route for my own tanks where I just keep softies/LPS

only WC's and no dosing.

Could all the leather shedding be causing the issue? I never see sheets of tissue floating around lol but maybe all the mucus production?

 

[Lavey29]

Beautiful tank but with all those mature corals and only 2 fish it makes sense you have no nitrates. When I only had 2 fish in my tank my nitrates bottomed out also. Had to double dose neonitro for several weeks before I started seeing any measurable numbers.

 

[DrZoidburg]

Bacteria out of balance. They do eat other things though. These types thrive in high o2 or high carbon environment. Got to cut out what their eating on. What sps do you keep?

 

[Chlorinated]

Beautiful tank but with all those mature corals and only 2 fish it makes sense you have no nitrates. When I only had 2 fish in my tank my nitrates bottomed out also. Had to double dose neonitro for several weeks before I started seeing any measurable numbers.

Thanks! I do believe it's due to my low bioload. My issue though is if I feed more, the bacteria go nuts. I can only increase my fish load so much in a small tank. I hate to go to daily dosing of nirate, but I may have to.

The other question is, will doing nitrate just fuel the bacteria even more?

No idea...

 

[Lavey29]

Thanks! I do believe it's due to my low bioload. My issue though is if I feed more, the bacteria go nuts. I can only increase my fish load so much in a small tank. I hate to go to daily dosing of nirate, but I may have to.

The other question is, will doing nitrate just fuel the bacteria even more?

No idea...

I had some blooms when my nitrates and phosphate bottomed out but when I raised both the blooms stopped and coraline started. I have some patches of GHA but pretty sure the coraline will outcompete it. I think if you get that nitrate to 10 your corals will flourish even more and you will have coraline flourish to outcompete any nuisance algae.

 

[Idech]

IT can in newer tanks.

I’m sure it’s happened to some but not in my experience with my many, many new tanks.

I figure this tank is so full of nutrients that even the slightest over feeding will trigger a bloom. This is not something that we see a lot.

 

[DaddyFish]

I can send you some hi-res photos of my predator FOWLR. Just show them to your tank and the nitrates will rise.

 

[Chlorinated]

I had some blooms when my nitrates and phosphate bottomed out but when I raised both the blooms stopped and coraline started. I have some patches of GHA but pretty sure the coraline will outcompete it. I think if you get that nitrate to 10 your corals will flourish even more and you will have coraline flourish to outcompete any nuisance algae.

That is my hope! Skip the over feeding and get right to nitrates. See if that "resets" this crazy bacteria.

I’m sure it’s happened to some but not in my experience with my many, many new tanks.

I figure this tank is so full of nutrients that even the slightest over feeding will trigger a bloom. This is not something that we see a lot.

So you think I'm overloaded with nutrients? So why is it my phosphate is 0.08 and nitrate 0?

I feel the bacteria is just waiting for a meal, so when I feed it goes nuts. Somewhere my nutrients fell out of wack which allowed this strain to take hold. My hope is that getting nitrate up will reset the balance. I have no idea though.

I think the reason things go back to normal after the 3 days of cleaning is because it's most likely heterotropic. While I dont see it in the sand and rocks, it doesn't mean it's not there. Basting it and changing floss 10000x effectively removed large amounts of the bateria so things look normal for a time. But the second I add too much food or feed the corals...boom off it goes and the cycle restarts.

Heterotropic bacteria reproduce much faster than autotrophic bacteria so they just never get a chance to catch hold.

 

[Chlorinated]

I can send you some hi-res photos of my predator FOWLR. Just show them to your tank and the nitrates will rise.

Hahaha I'll try anything at this point!

I should go buy a baby moray eel...that should do the trick!

 

[Idech]

So you think I'm overloaded with nutrients? So why is it my phosphate is 0.08 and nitrate 0?

I can’t answer that, but in new tanks, it’s really hard to have phosphates and nitrates. Both my tanks have none.

Could you be really overfeeding ? Are you adding other nutrients in the tank ?