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scfurse77
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I have a doser as well as an auto top off system. So my levels are very consistent.
I need some HELP asap..
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I have a doser as well as an auto top off system. So my levels are very consistent.
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
Start your tank build and post some pictures if you not all ready
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scfurse77
Active Member
Start your tank build and post some pictures if you not all ready
I've got one.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cadlights-versa-42-gallon.245349/
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
Went there, nice setup
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scfurse77
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Thanks man, I just got home from work and changed to your recommended light schedule. I went with a 20 day acclimation period. I'll let you know how it goes.
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
Your welcome. My thought is you were not getting the light you needed and these lights can do it. I would say you should see a slight difference in a week, but you should really start seeing some differences in week 2.
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scfurse77
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Just a quick update I pulled my phosguard 2 days ago and started feeding just a bit heavier. haven't noticed much of a change. However I tested phosphates today and they were still basically zero. Then I tested my nitrates and they had sky rocketed up to 50 ppm! did a quick water changed and lowered it a bit. I also started dosing NOPOX today so hopefully that helps get the nitrates down. No change in the corals yet either.
I've been pulling my hair out with sps problems and high nitrates. I was told the corals turning white was from water temperature being over 80 degrees, but that info was from a west coast coral dealer that didn't give much help about anything without seeing my tank. I started with Nopox also, but then spoke with a LPS with over 40 yrs experience. He was against dosing vodka or vinegar, and impressed that the nitrate source needed to be eliminated first. Yep! Everytime you speak to someone, who should know, you come away knowing even less.
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scfurse77
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scfurse77
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Also has anyone else experienced high nitrates with zero phosphates? Seems weird to me. But two different tests are reading the same thing. How does this happen? And how do I fix it?
Look up the red field ratio. It's pretty weird science. Also Po tests are by nature of the subject being tested , slightly inaccurate. as your only sampling the water colomband that's only the Po that is available to leach of the rock and sent back into the water. You may have heard Po is hart to test because it is locked up in the algae or rock. That's why. If you could do a more accurate test of the available Po in the tank it would likely show a number ,no matter how small ,that matches to ratio of No you detected by testing , suggested by that set rule of the Redfield ratio.
Science is a trip.
Science is a trip.
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scfurse77
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I looked it up, That is all a bunch of gibberish to me. Way to sciencey for me to understand. Anyway you could dumb this up for me and tell me what exactly this means? The only thing that i really got out of it is that you have to some form of phosphate to have Nitrates.
that is exactly correct.
and you are now constantly stripping the water of available phosphates and all your organisms need that to live. and with those in you dont really know how much available Po is actually in the system as the Po is constantly being bound it or "stripped" by it.
simply put your taking the food away from the corals.
Gfo is really powerful stuff so IMO the prophylactic use of it is not a good idea. It is a means to remove excess phosphate.
when I do or when i have used gfo, i use a table spoon to start, and test the water a week later. then maybe ill add another table spoon. then repeat.(my gfo is four years old)
keep in mind, gfo also slowly loses strength over time. so adding large amounts of new stuff can create a spike.
this is why I like refugiums, it pulls BOTH no and po from the system. it regulates growth(exess nutrient removal rate) based on the amount of the EXCESS nutrients available, not a fairly constant chemical binding rate so it can never spike. creating stability in the system.(there are other feeding related benefits too imo)
once the system is a bit more stable, youll be able to focus more on the individual coral needs as it appears they each are exhibiting different symptoms due to this systemic instability IMO.
A side note. One of the major SPS Guru's here on reef2reef is visiting Salt Lake, deer valley actually. Any Good Reef places you could recommend?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/deer-valley-utah.259979/
just sayin
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/deer-valley-utah.259979/
just sayin
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scfurse77
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A side note. One of the major SPS Guru's here on reef2reef is visiting Salt Lake, deer valley actually. Any Good Reef places you could recommend?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/deer-valley-utah.259979/
just sayin
Most of the good stuff around here is sold by in-home stores. The biggest store is probably Aquatic Dreams. My favorite place is OCD Reefs.
Hit up diesel in the thread He's an amazingly good guy. He'll appreciate it.
And he might have a few tips for you. Or one billion.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Look to nitrate reduction methods that do not require as much phosphate, such as organic carbon dosing.
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scfurse77
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I Started No3Po4x Last week and it seems to be working pretty good. I haven't seen any recovery in my corals quite yet and it seemed to cloud my water a bit. I started off with dosing 6ML for the first 4 days and yesterday i cut the dose in half (3ml) So hopefully things clear up a bit and the nitrates continue to go down.
