Next step on reducing high nitrate and phosphate?

[NinnJinn]

160 gallon total water volume.

Salinity is 1.025

Water temperature ranges from 77.7 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit

Fowlr has been up and running for 26 months

Nitrates are in between 80 to 160 PPM using API test kit. Have a nyos test kit on its way.

Got Hanna phosphorus checker today, showed 71 ppb which translates to .218ppm phosphate

With API test kit ammonia is 0

Have always been using a four-stage Rodi system with a booster pump and water saver.

Hair algae on back of tank.

Chaeto in fuge for over 1 year with a 12 hour photo period.

In the last 32 days:
No DT lights on
30 gallon water change at once
4 gallon automatic water change every 24 hours
Feed one cube of Frozen a day

Currently have 3 fish in DT with more in quarantine.


Pretty much ever since I set this system up I cannot keep my lights on for very long until I started getting hair algae. So I would just leave my lights off and it would have been truly go away.

I will be honest, I sucked at tank maintenance for the first 1 1/2 years. No water changes no nothing.

About four months ago I decided I wanted to try corals mainly LPS and read up and learned what my tank parameters needed to be. So I upgraded my lights to current USA lights initially set the lights to 70 blue and 30% white lights were on for 10 hours a day within 4 days my glass was green and covered in hair algae.

So I have had the lights off for roughly 32 days now and checked my parameters.


I have been looking online at Clearwater algae scrubbers but I do not have the room in my stand to mount it above my sump. However I do have room in my stand if the scrubber is not required to be mounted on top of the stump.
But I have to wonder if an algae scrubber would even help with my nitrate and phosphate problem.
No offense but I don't want to throw hundreds of dollars into my tank if it's not going to solve the problem.

I know nothing comes quickly in this hobby but I am almost at my wit's end and getting close to just saying screw it and get out of the hobby.

One of the things that I have thought about is doing a large 75% water change but I'm not sure that that will help.

I currently have roughly 35 gallons of heated saltwater for AWC DOS. And roughly 60 gallons of Rodi water at room temperature.

PLEASE!! Give me your thoughts, suggestions, and criticisms.

 

[piranhaman00]

If its fish only I would do a huge water change to get NO3 down. PO4 is fine but will also come down. From there maintain water changes. How heavily stocked are you? Do you have a protein skimmer?

Also the Nyos nitrate is terrible for high range, the colors are so off its useless. I would get a saliftert test.

 

[Spieg]

What kind of filtration are you using? When you do water change, are you actively trying to remove all/most detritus from tank and sump? Simply replacing the water doesn't help much if there is a ton of fish crap in the filter/sand/rocks/sump.

 

[nereefpat]

Any rock in the tank?

What are the three fishes, and how big are they?

For nitrates, large water change will bring it down. If it's fish only tank, and you have hardy fish, then you can change nearly 100% of the water as long as the temp and salinity matches. Dropping nitrates is a matter of dilution.

Now, if your 3 fishes are something like a volitan lion, fimbriated eel, and a clown trigger, then we'll have to talk about that.

Phosphate can't easily be diluted with water changes, because the rock and sand absorbs and releases it back into the water. I would use GFO or lanthanum chloride to drop it. Corals would care if you drop P too fast, but fish only won't matter...so no harm in using these chemicals.

 

[NinnJinn]

If its fish only I would do a huge water change to get NO3 down. PO4 is fine but will also come down. From there maintain water changes. How heavily stocked are you? Do you have a protein skimmer?

Also the Nyos nitrate is terrible for high range, the colors are so off its useless. I would get a saliftert test.

Only have three fish Royal Gramma basslet, orange spotted goby, and a blue Mandarin

I have a bubble Magus curve 5 skimmer that runs 24/7 maybe I need to turn it up a bit because I don't get much skin they eat at all in the bubbles stop at the neck of the skimmer itself.

 

[NinnJinn]

What kind of filtration are you using? When you do water change, are you actively trying to remove all/most detritus from tank and sump? Simply replacing the water doesn't help much if there is a ton of fish crap in the filter/sand/rocks/sump.

Thank you for the pointers! No I have not been vacuuming the substrate or sump I have a blue Mandarin and was afraid of emptying out the copepods.
But when I do a massive water change today, I will vacuum and clean up the sump as well.

I have a curb five protein skimmer buy bubble Magnus. But I only have the bubbles coming up to the neck of the skimmer and not actually into the cup

 

[NinnJinn]

Any rock in the tank?

What are the three fishes, and how big are they?

For nitrates, large water change will bring it down. If it's fish only tank, and you have hardy fish, then you can change nearly 100% of the water as long as the temp and salinity matches. Dropping nitrates is a matter of dilution.

Now, if your 3 fishes are something like a volitan lion, fimbriated eel, and a clown trigger, then we'll have to talk about that.

Phosphate can't easily be diluted with water changes, because the rock and sand absorbs and releases it back into the water. I would use GFO or lanthanum chloride to drop it. Corals would care if you drop P too fast, but fish only won't matter...so no harm in using these chemicals.

Thank you for the suggestions. I have a blue Mandarin, Royal gramma basslet, and an orange spotted goby.

Yes I do have Rock in the system

 

[HB AL]

I have a heavily stocked fish and coral tank and feed 12 cubes a day, nopox has worked really well for me keeping nitrates between 5 and 10. Also I do have alot of live
Rock. I dose 15ml every day. It works for me without any adverse effects especially to all the acros. I have 4 triggers and 10 other fish. Heres a pic to give you an idea of what I consider heavily stocked.

 

[dopey]

Said you were using RODI; but just for sanity sake have you checked the nitrates of your new saltwater? Just to confirm you are starting at 0?

I understand neglecting a tank for a while, it happens to many of us.

I'd either do large water changes about as fast as I could make/mix/heat water or i'd do medium size water changes as fast as I could make/mix/heat water.

You said you have chaeto, but is it healthy and growing well?

Regardless, i'd continue doing water changes every day or every other day until nitrates were in a reasonable range. Stop, and continue testing daily.

With a functioning refugium, and moderate feeding.. You shouldn't see nitrates climbing back up once you get them initially down. If you see them climb then either up your export game (What lighting/amount of chaeto do you have?) or reduce your feeding.

 

[14 foot reef]

160 gallon total water volume.

Salinity is 1.025

Water temperature ranges from 77.7 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit

Fowlr has been up and running for 26 months

Nitrates are in between 80 to 160 PPM using API test kit. Have a nyos test kit on its way.

Got Hanna phosphorus checker today, showed 71 ppb which translates to .218ppm phosphate

With API test kit ammonia is 0

Have always been using a four-stage Rodi system with a booster pump and water saver.

Hair algae on back of tank.

Chaeto in fuge for over 1 year with a 12 hour photo period.

In the last 32 days:
No DT lights on
30 gallon water change at once
4 gallon automatic water change every 24 hours
Feed one cube of Frozen a day

Currently have 3 fish in DT with more in quarantine.


Pretty much ever since I set this system up I cannot keep my lights on for very long until I started getting hair algae. So I would just leave my lights off and it would have been truly go away.

I will be honest, I sucked at tank maintenance for the first 1 1/2 years. No water changes no nothing.

About four months ago I decided I wanted to try corals mainly LPS and read up and learned what my tank parameters needed to be. So I upgraded my lights to current USA lights initially set the lights to 70 blue and 30% white lights were on for 10 hours a day within 4 days my glass was green and covered in hair algae.

So I have had the lights off for roughly 32 days now and checked my parameters.


I have been looking online at Clearwater algae scrubbers but I do not have the room in my stand to mount it above my sump. However I do have room in my stand if the scrubber is not required to be mounted on top of the stump.
But I have to wonder if an algae scrubber would even help with my nitrate and phosphate problem.
No offense but I don't want to throw hundreds of dollars into my tank if it's not going to solve the problem.

I know nothing comes quickly in this hobby but I am almost at my wit's end and getting close to just saying screw it and get out of the hobby.

One of the things that I have thought about is doing a large 75% water change but I'm not sure that that will help.

I currently have roughly 35 gallons of heated saltwater for AWC DOS. And roughly 60 gallons of Rodi water at room temperature.

PLEASE!! Give me your thoughts, suggestions, and criticisms.

I believe you are 100% going to find that the API test kit is your issue.

The Nyos will get you closer to what your true actual nitrate level is. I would NOT do anything until you test with Nyos.

 

[NinnJinn]

Said you were using RODI; but just for sanity sake have you checked the nitrates of your new saltwater? Just to confirm you are starting at 0?

I understand neglecting a tank for a while, it happens to many of us.

I'd either do large water changes about as fast as I could make/mix/heat water or i'd do medium size water changes as fast as I could make/mix/heat water.

You said you have chaeto, but is it healthy and growing well?

Regardless, i'd continue doing water changes every day or every other day until nitrates were in a reasonable range. Stop, and continue testing daily.

With a functioning refugium, and moderate feeding.. You shouldn't see nitrates climbing back up once you get them initially down. If you see them climb then either up your export game (What lighting/amount of chaeto do you have?) or reduce your feeding.

RODI is showing 0 nitrates