No3 and po4 near zero

Smallslandreefer · May 11, 2022

Hey guys, i have a question some maybe able to help out. I am currently running a 100 gallon peninsula 7 months old used live rock with a filter roller,skimmer and bio pellete reactor. Most of my corals are lps and my average par is around 150. The problem is that i usually have my no3 aroun 5 ppm and my po4 around 0.07. I came to face some algae issues on the rock and the sand along with some diatom bloom. No much though. So what i did, i cleaned a few of the rocks with the hair algae and skim siphoned only on some of the patches on the sand bed as well as cleanined the glass with a sponge all around. Basically the tank look clean with some algae stains still remaining sand and rock( minimal). My levels went down to 0,5 ppm nitrates and 0.006 po4 using hanna checkers. I dont know if i should dose some liquid po4 and no3 to get the levels abit up or just let them stay low for a week or so and see if it recovers back to the normal levels. Also i dont know if my reading are thrown off due to the remaining algae in the tank. How much algae can throw off your readings??

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 11, 2022

I'd feed a more while you wait to see if the readings return to where they were. No need to dose at this point, IMO.

Smallslandreefer · May 11, 2022

Thank you Randy for your reply, i feel more reliefed now. My followup question is how long can someone have his nutrient low or zero to start facing cyano or dino problems? I know its abit hard to tell but has anyone ever noticed?

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 11, 2022

Smallslandreefer said:
Thank you Randy for your reply, i feel more reliefed now. My followup question is how long can someone have his nutrient low or zero to start facing cyano or dino problems? I know its abit hard to tell but has anyone ever noticed?

I don't think cyano is a likely outcome, but dinos are a risk. I'd start feeding more today and the risk will be low.

Would not hurt to feed 50-100% more than previously for a few days.

Smallslandreefer · May 11, 2022

Nobody has time to deal with dinos hahaha. Thanks Randy for your wisdom.

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 11, 2022

Note I had a typo and changed "would hurt" to would not hurt. lol

Smallslandreefer · May 11, 2022

Roger that

Bucs20fan · May 11, 2022

Id take cyano any day over dinos. I agree with Randy completely. The easiest fixes for those issues are more food or our very favorite more fish!

Smallslandreefer · May 11, 2022

Haven't really thought about it but how big of a nitrate and phosphate fluctuation might hurt corals? I know rapid alk and salinity fluctuations will most likely cause issues but how about rapid no3 and po4 fluctuations ( with in logical numbers) for example in my case 5 ppm droping to 0,5 pmm in couple of days time. What are your thoughts on these?

Bucs20fan · May 11, 2022

Stability is key, My phos is running higher than I would like it to but all of my corals have great PE and nothing is bothered so I am lowering it over time. Rapid fluctuations are where alot of issues tend to arise even among fish. Phos and Nitrate dont have nearly the affect on fish as they do corals and inverts. Most inverts are intolerant to higher nitrate and would not do well with rapid changes.

Smallslandreefer · May 11, 2022

Yeah i agree with this

jda · May 11, 2022

I constantly have residual levels of no3 at .1 and po4 at 1-3 ppb on Hannah Ultra Low. This is no issue. I don't have dinos, but I also have things growing in all of the surfaces - coralline, bacteria, other filmy stuff. Keep feeding well and don't worry about the residual levels.

Smallslandreefer · May 11, 2022

jda said:
I constantly have residual levels of no3 at .1 and po4 at 1-3 ppb on Hannah Ultra Low. This is no issue. I don't have dinos, but I also have things growing in all of the surfaces - coralline, bacteria, other filmy stuff. Keep feeding well and don't worry about the residual

jda said:

I constantly have residual levels of no3 at .1 and po4 at 1-3 ppb on Hannah Ultra Low. This is no issue. I don't have dinos, but I also have things growing in all of the surfaces - coralline, bacteria, other filmy stuff. Keep feeding well and don't worry about the residual levels.

Click to expand...

Interesting, so as long as you have detectable levels your reef is doing fine. Do you hold lps dominat or sps dominat reef?

brmc1985 · May 12, 2022

jda said:
I constantly have residual levels of no3 at .1 and po4 at 1-3 ppb on Hannah Ultra Low. This is no issue. I don't have dinos, but I also have things growing in all of the surfaces - coralline, bacteria, other filmy stuff. Keep feeding well and don't worry about the residual levels.

Anyone else going to give this person props for saying “residual”??? This is literally the best word to use when talking about “nutrients”.

jda · May 12, 2022

I have acropora. I have a rebuild thread with photos and some description of my methods.

Availability > Residuals.

Smallslandreefer · May 13, 2022

A small update on my parameters. My no3 went from 0.5 to 1,6 ppm and my po4 went to 0.006 ppm to 0.07 ppm. I did the wayerchange on sunday and tested on tuesday morning, i thing the sudden fall was caused due to the new water still being mixed with the old water of the tank, hence the parameters dropped and increased all of a sudden. This is my theory what are your opinions? Also do you thing 1.6 pmm is still low?

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 13, 2022

Smallslandreefer said:
A small update on my parameters. My no3 went from 0.5 to 1,6 ppm and my po4 went to 0.006 ppm to 0.07 ppm. I did the wayerchange on sunday and tested on tuesday morning, i thing the sudden fall was caused due to the new water still being mixed with the old water of the tank, hence the parameters dropped and increased all of a sudden. This is my theory what are your opinions? Also do you thing 1.6 pmm is still low?

It all might just be testing error, or real effects, but the current numbers are OK.