Looking for advice/opinions for a ULNS

[OcellarisClown]

I have a chaeto refugium running on reverse-light cycle, Bubble Magnus protein skimmer, and i run phosguard in my media chamber.

I like the idea of keeping nutrients low (phosphates/nitrates close to 0) for a ULNS, but now I’m slowly understanding the need for nutrients for ATP synthesis, coral growth, etc.

I have a Red Sea Reefer Deluxe XXL with a Fox face (5 inches) and a purple tang (3 inches) and just a ton of LPS colonies and mini SPS colonies.

I’ve tried taking out the phosguard for a week and increase intervals for feeding to increase the bioload but I can’t seem to get the nitrates above 1ppm and my phosphates are close to 0ppm which I know is essentially starving the corals from much needed nutrients.

For a ULNS, if my nutrient export is heavy through skimming with a refugium, should I be feeding more (Reefroids, Oyster feast, brine shrimp) along with Amino Acid supplements (Brightwell Coral Amino & Red Sea AB+), should I get another fish, or should I manually dose nitrate supplement?

I found this article about ULNS that was really helpful!

Frequently asked questions on Ultra Low Nutrient Systems

www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

Update: I found a lot of discussion posts here that have previously discussed how to manage ULNS and what I learned was that I need to lower alk more towards 7-8 to prevent alkalinity burned tips and start increasing heavier feedings to balance the heavy export to get detectable nutrient levels needed for intense lighting and growth.

 

[Spare time]

You need heavy and fairly constant feeding, particularly foods that everything in the tank can capture and actually digest or utelize

Honestly though it's far simpler to just to keep some nitrate and phosphate rather than riding the edge of death, cyano, and dinos. ULNS are not very popular these days because of how it is essentially manipulating the environment to keep corals on the edge of starvation to get pastel colors (which is a result of them barely being able to keep zooxanthellae alive)


You also need way more fish.

 

[OcellarisClown]

I have a chaeto refugium running on reverse-light cycle, Bubble Magnus protein skimmer, and i run phosguard in my media chamber.

I like the idea of keeping nutrients low (phosphates/nitrates close to 0) for a ULNS, but now I’m slowly understanding the need for nutrients for ATP synthesis, coral growth, etc.

I have a Red Sea Reefer Deluxe XXL with a Fox face (5 inches) and a purple tang (3 inches) and just a ton of LPS colonies and mini SPS colonies.

I’ve tried taking out the phosguard for a week and increase intervals for feeding to increase the bioload but I can’t seem to get the nitrates above 1ppm and my phosphates are close to 0ppm which I know is essentially starving the corals from much needed nutrients.

For a ULNS, if my nutrient export is heavy through skimming with a refugium, should I be feeding more (Reefroids, Oyster feast, brine shrimp) along with Amino Acid supplements (Brightwell Coral Amino & Red Sea AB+), should I get another fish, or should I manually dose nitrate supplement?

You need heavy and fairly constant feeding, particularly foods that everything in the tank can capture and actually digest or utelize

Honestly though it's far simpler to just to keep some nitrate and phosphate rather than riding the edge of death, cyano, and dinos. ULNS are not very popular these days because of how it is essentially manipulating the environment to keep corals on the edge of starvation to get pastel colors (which is a result of them barely being able to keep zooxanthellae alive)


You also need way more fish.

I bought some nitrate/phosphate supplements from Brightwell Aquatics that will arrive tomorrow.

I know it’s counterintuitive to run GFO and have heavy nutrient export while dosing nitrates/phosphates like leaving the AC on while keeping the windows open, but I like the capability to control the nutrient levels.

For a mixed LPS/SPS dominated tank, what should my nitrates/phosphates be at?
How many fish should i be adding?

 

[Spare time]

I bought some nitrate/phosphate supplements from Brightwell Aquatics that will arrive tomorrow.

I know it’s counterintuitive to run GFO and have heavy nutrient export while dosing nitrates/phosphates like leaving the AC on while keeping the windows open, but I like the capability to control the nutrient levels.

For a mixed LPS/SPS dominated tank, what should my nitrates/phosphates be at?
How many fish should i be adding?

I would stop the gfo if you have a refugium. That is asking for dinos. Use gfo as a tool when you need it rather than constantly used. A properly lit refugium can handle a tank all on its own (such as mine with no skimmer or phosphate media).

As for target nitrate and phosphate, it often depends on realistic expectations of a test kit. I keep my phosphates at 0.05 (below 0.03 people start having problems unless feeding constantly) and nitrate between 5-12ppm (below 5 you often begin to see cyano since test kits really are likely not as accurate as people think. If I need to adjust these, I can lower nitrate by swapping filter socks out daily and low phosphates by using gfo for a night in a bag.

 

[ckozma]

More fish poop! That’s all you need. Let nature do it’s job.