SoCoFlyFisher
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- Joined
- Nov 29, 2016
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I do not know if this helps but I wanted to share my recent experience.
I have Reefer 350 that is almost a year old and have had the nitrate at unmeasurable levels per my API test kit until recently. My fish stocking level is one squareback anthias, three blue chromis, one coral beauty, and one longnose hawkfish. Invertebrates are 9 hermit crabs, two conches, three brittle stars, one scarlet cleaner shrimp, four turbo snails, and to many to count astrea snails; the astrea snails have been reproducing like crazy to where very small snails are everywhere. I also have two hammer corals, two bird nest corals, one chalice coral, and one lobo brain coral; all the corals are growing well. I do a weekly water change of 4-5 gallons.
The last couple of weeks I was traveling and was not able to do water changes for the two weeks. My wife took care of draining the skimmer and replenishing the ATO unit; the unit replenishes evaporated water by adding the RO/DI water pumped through a kalkreactor, keeping pH at an average around 8.3. When I got home from my trip, I tested the nitrate level and the reading was showing 10 ppm. I suspected that this increase was due to lack of water change and my wife’s enthusiasm of making sure all the fish get enough food; she probably doubles the amount I feed them! I am currently doing a biweekly water change to lower the nitrate level.
What was good is even with the elevated nitrate level while I was traveling, the only algae was a light brown/green film on the glass, which is normal weekly cleaning activity, and it was not more then normal. No algae on rocks or sand.
The only reason I suspect that the algae did not bloom is the huge population of astrea snails and amphipods/copepods. The amphipods and copepods come out at night and they are on every rock, object, and on the sand at night. So while the nitrate level increased, it appears that the established population of the herbivores kept the algae growth under control.
So I feel that while the corals zooanthellae use the nitrates and offer some algae competition, I suspect that the large established invertebrate herbivore population is keeping the algae from blooming due to increased nitrates.
I have Reefer 350 that is almost a year old and have had the nitrate at unmeasurable levels per my API test kit until recently. My fish stocking level is one squareback anthias, three blue chromis, one coral beauty, and one longnose hawkfish. Invertebrates are 9 hermit crabs, two conches, three brittle stars, one scarlet cleaner shrimp, four turbo snails, and to many to count astrea snails; the astrea snails have been reproducing like crazy to where very small snails are everywhere. I also have two hammer corals, two bird nest corals, one chalice coral, and one lobo brain coral; all the corals are growing well. I do a weekly water change of 4-5 gallons.
The last couple of weeks I was traveling and was not able to do water changes for the two weeks. My wife took care of draining the skimmer and replenishing the ATO unit; the unit replenishes evaporated water by adding the RO/DI water pumped through a kalkreactor, keeping pH at an average around 8.3. When I got home from my trip, I tested the nitrate level and the reading was showing 10 ppm. I suspected that this increase was due to lack of water change and my wife’s enthusiasm of making sure all the fish get enough food; she probably doubles the amount I feed them! I am currently doing a biweekly water change to lower the nitrate level.
What was good is even with the elevated nitrate level while I was traveling, the only algae was a light brown/green film on the glass, which is normal weekly cleaning activity, and it was not more then normal. No algae on rocks or sand.
The only reason I suspect that the algae did not bloom is the huge population of astrea snails and amphipods/copepods. The amphipods and copepods come out at night and they are on every rock, object, and on the sand at night. So while the nitrate level increased, it appears that the established population of the herbivores kept the algae growth under control.
So I feel that while the corals zooanthellae use the nitrates and offer some algae competition, I suspect that the large established invertebrate herbivore population is keeping the algae from blooming due to increased nitrates.
In my case, my nutrition is too high and I drove them down by vodka dosing. It promote bacteria growth and compete with algae, but bacteria is also contribute as coral food source.
