Nitrate

[jimk60]

So my algae growth has been of the charts and I can’t seem to figure out the issue.
PH 8.6
Calcium 485
Mag 1603
Ammonia.01
Alk 8.7
Phosphate .028
Nitrate 34.7

So my ratio. Of N to P is much of a gap. And need help bringing them closer

8 fish 3 cubes a day and nori every 3

I don't know what size tank you have or how large your fish are but three cubes of food a day seems like a lot of food to me.

 

[sixty_reefer]

So my algae growth has been of the charts and I can’t seem to figure out the issue.
PH 8.6
Calcium 485
Mag 1603
Ammonia.01
Alk 8.7
Phosphate .028
Nitrate 34.7

So my ratio. Of N to P is much of a gap. And need help bringing them closer

8 fish 3 cubes a day and nori every 3

I personally would just look at improving your export of nitrate, you could look at the maxspect anaerobic block or any similar method that just targets nitrate, if the current issue is just a problem removing nitrate your phosphate seems fine to me.

 

[aSaltyKlown]

8 fish 3 cubes a day and nori every 3

What size tank and what type of fish?

I have 8 fish in a 40 breeder and only feed a cube a day, half in the morning and half at night.

 

[Doctorgori]

No such thing as a nitrate to phosphate ratio

It’s 1:16, I thought everyone knew that…
…but don’t blame me, Im just trying to stretch this thread into a 16:1 pointless post to useful post ratio…
Maybe between us we can stretch this bad boy out a few dozen pages LOL

Algae is from a lack of herbivores

Nope, wrong again: White light is what causes algae…

That thought is obviously a relic from the incandescent/T5 era …. back in those days, without a “white channel” to turn off, algae just friggin took over our tanks…nobody knew what the h3ll to do … I was a nightmare before LED’s ..

oh the humanity

That’s why I cover my lawn every time I see a dandelion …saves me the bother of actually solving the root cause

I had a cucumber and I have not seen him actually think it’s death might be my issue

I found mine in bare bottom a few years after removing the sand…before that I bought one, never saw it for years, then discovered 2

 

[library 112]

What size tank and what type of fish?

I have 8 fish in a 40 breeder and only feed a cube a day, half in the morning and half at night.

112 total system about 135
Clown
Kole tang
4 lyertail
Gold rombius wrasse
Dusky wrasse

 

[library 112]

I personally would just look at improving your export of nitrate, you could look at the maxspect anaerobic block or any similar method that just targets nitrate, if the current issue is just a problem removing nitrate your phosphate seems fine to me.

Yeah that was my thought but many things do both and did not want to bottom phos out

 

[sixty_reefer]

Yeah that was my thought but many things do both and did not want to bottom phos out

Just keep an eye for phosphate, if you using GFO just remove or just add a little more if you need.
Just evaluate your tank as you go and aim for a balanced set up were you don’t have to be messing much with nitrate and phosphate. once you regain balance add more herbivorous if needed.
Don’t follow a number or a ratio let your tank tell you were it’s happy as.

 

[Dan_P]

I get that but there’s tons of articles and many who believe in a ratio. All your saying is there is non with no added reason, advice or help. So why would I listen to you?

I guess that if you start posting links to the articles, we can go over each one and point out the flaws. Would that help?

 

[Doctorgori]

I guess that if you start posting links to the articles, we can go over each one and point out the flaws. Would that help?

…. @Dan_P ….
what is your “over/under” on the page count for this thread if we go down that path ? LOL

 

[Doctorgori]

Um yes there is and there’s articles on here about it. It’s called the red field ratio 16:1 outside that range causes algae issues

there is/was a long thread here on this ratio thing, it went or is going nowhere

I get that but there’s tons of articles and many who believe in a ratio. All your saying is there is non with no added reason, advice or help. So why would I listen to you?

I hate to drop the ole “I’ve been reffing for Xyears” on ya but after a few decades of listening to and following utter BS on these forums; my 1st instinct on the Redfield ratio appears correct: it’s utter nonsense…

And understandably we all just can’t all stay abreast of every debunked trend, so lots of room to back out of this one…
it’s truly nonsense …

Here is a quote from “The other thread here on R2R …I’m just copy/paste as I can’t say this any better:

Whether we like it or not, new hobbyists come onto the forums and read all sorts of nonsense. Then they try that nonsense, it works (but for other reasons they don’t understand) and then they go parrot that nonsense without having the actual facts. Redfield is one of those nonsense ideas. Not because it isn’t real but because it’s severely misunderstood especially by those parroting it.

similarly a few of my favorite parroted phrases:
- “white light causes algae, run blues if you want to keep it in check”
- you need a heater for your “mixing station”
- stability is key; keep your thermostat 78F or your corals will stress out
I dunno, listen to whomever, put whomever on ignore, just saying a LOT of what you read on these forums is pure “Dunning-Krueger” parroted malarkey

 

[Dan_P]

…. @Dan_P ….
what is your “over/under” on the page count for this thread if we go down that path ? LOL

HaHa, good question. I don’t have a feel for the level of investment in the nutrient ratio topic.

 

[Reefahholic]

I find that certain ratios do affect my tank. Literature or not, low PO4 in certain situations will grow a lot of algae just like high P will, but it depends on a lot of variables.


In this particular case with a P of .02 I think you will grow much more algae than you would at .08-0.12 as long as that range is staying stable, and the system isn’t needing to be dosed.

On the flip side if you’re P is high enough and you get there too quickly, you will grow a lot of algae. Low P you’ll typically see more turf algae, funky brown algae’s and slimes. High P grows more GHA.

 

[Spare time]

I get that but there’s tons of articles and many who believe in a ratio. All your saying is there is non with no added reason, advice or help. So why would I listen to you?

There are no credible sources or any logic than supports it as anything relevant.

 

[Reefahholic]

If you don’t think the ratio matters consider this for a moment.

Your P is at 0.4
Your N is at 0

It is much more difficult to bring the P down with N at 0 than it would be if N is at 20-30. If seen it many times.

 

[Reefahholic]

There are no credible sources or any logic than supports it as anything relevant.

Here’s some logic. 50-100:1 ratio top pic.

Bottom pic…low P high N.

Which tank is cleaner?

 

[Spare time]

It’s 1:16, I thought everyone knew that…
…but don’t blame me, Im just trying to stretch this thread into a 16:1 pointless post to useful post ratio…
Maybe between us we can stretch this bad boy out a few dozen pages LOL



Nope, wrong again: White light is what causes algae…

That thought is obviously a relic from the incandescent/T5 era …. back in those days, without a “white channel” to turn off, algae just friggin took over our tanks…nobody knew what the h3ll to do … I was a nightmare before LED’s ..

oh the humanity

That’s why I cover my lawn every time I see a dandelion …saves me the bother of actually solving the root cause



I found mine in bare bottom a few years after removing the sand…before that I bought one, never saw it for years, then discovered 2

Do you really believe white light causes algae? Have you ever looked at a spectrograph of chlorophyll A and C and such? It is blue/violet and red that promote better growth. Some use green and red, but its not anywhere near as important.

 

[Spare time]

Here’s some logic. 50-100:1 ratio top pic.

Bottom pic…low P high N.

Which tank is cleaner?

EDIT: Ignore my response lol

 

[rtparty]

Do you really believe white light causes algae? Have you ever looked at a spectrograph of chlorophyll A and C and such? It is blue/violet and red that promote better growth. Some use green and red, but its not anywhere near as important.

That was a sarcastic post

 

[Spare time]

That was a sarcastic post

Oh lol. I is not smort. I edited it haha

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I find that certain ratios do affect my tank. Literature or not, low PO4 in certain situations will grow a lot of algae just like high P will, but it depends on a lot of variables.


In this particular case with a P of .02 I think you will grow much more algae than you would at .08-0.12 as long as that range is staying stable, and the system isn’t needing to be dosed.

On the flip side if you’re P is high enough and you get there too quickly, you will grow a lot of algae. Low P you’ll typically see more turf algae, funky brown algae’s and slimes. High P grows more GHA.

It is certainly true that a reef tank is a complex system with many organisms competing for many different potentially limiting factors in algae growth.

It’s hard to interpret your situation since you mention ratios but never mention a measure of anything except phosphate. Your post as written doesn’t mean that ratios mean anything, just that the absolute level of phosphate was important in your situation.