Nutrient Balance in a Softy Dominant Tank

[Dulcolaxiom]

I’m very confused and would benefit from talking to someone:

Basically: I have a softy dominant tank. Should I be dosing Phosphate? Should I stop dosing aminos? I’ve been seeing some manageable fuzzy algae growth on the rocks, and have what I think are some easy to manage dino strands interspersed throughout the algae.

My setup right now is a 7 month old 20G Cube with a Royal Gramma and a Rainford’s Goby. I feed them a mix of food, but primarily a total of 6-8 total pellets per day between them of TDO Chromaboost. Some days I switch to Reef Frenzy. I’ve also been dosing live phyto every day and Brightwell Aminos every now and then and have been trying Redsea AB+ for the last few days trying to get more growth - especially out of my Duncan which has given me only one new head in 4 months.

I believe I’m seeing decent growth in my Xenias and Leathers, although sometimes it’s hard to tell because toadstool leathers can be slow. I’m pretty confident the green nepthea has given me a solid 1 cm of growth in 2 months which AFAIK is good.

Tank Parameters:
20G Cube, 7 months old
Temp: 78-79
Salinity: 33.6 ppt
Alk: 8.2 dKH
pH: 8.1-8.2
Nitrate: ~10 ppm
Phosphate: 0.0 most of the time, sometimes reads out as ~0.13. Weird.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

I wouldn't dose phosphate if it was me. If you want phosphate additions, try reefroids a couple times a week. Corals eat, phosphates will rise.

Use a hanna ulr checker for phosphates and you'll get consistent readings.

 

[Dulcolaxiom]

I wouldn't dose phosphate if it was me. If you want phosphate additions, try reefroids a couple times a week. Corals eat, phosphates will rise.

Use a hanna ulr checker for phosphates and you'll get consistent readings.

Thanks! You must be psychic. I’m always kicking myself for not paying attention and picking up the LR Phosphate instead of the ULR. Maybe that’s the reason my readings jump sometimes. Would make sense.

I’ll research the Reef Roids. Wouldn’t they be a bit over the top though? I don’t think I need the rest of those nutrients given what I already have - and I don’t need my Nitrate any higher. Wouldn’t I need just the Phosphate or is there something special about Reef Roids I don’t know about?

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

Thanks! You must be psychic. I’m always kicking myself for not paying attention and picking up the LR Phosphate instead of the ULR. Maybe that’s the reason my readings jump sometimes. Would make sense.

I’ll research the Reef Roids. Wouldn’t they be a bit over the top though? I don’t think I need the rest of those nutrients given what I already have - and I don’t need my Nitrate any higher. Wouldn’t I need just the Phosphate or is there something special about Reef Roids I don’t know about?

If the corals look good, i would not change anything unless you have a reason. Reliable testing would be a good start i think. That said, if the corals look good and no issues, be careful about chasing a non-issue.

Adding pure phosphate is not a very natural approach. Reefroids is food and contains phosphate.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If the corals look good, i would not change anything unless you have a reason. Reliable testing would be a good start i think. That said, if the corals look good and no issues, be careful about chasing a non-issue.

Adding pure phosphate is not a very natural approach. Reefroids is food and contains phosphate.

lol

Of course it is natural. Folks claiming that ANY of chemical we use in a reef is unnatural are just not aware of the natural processes in the ocean that use that process.

There are many ways that inorganic phosphate is dosed to the ocean:

https://hahana.soest.hawaii.edu/cmoreserver/summercourse/2008/documents/Paytan%20&%20McLaughlin%202007%20Chem%20Rev%20copy.pdf

"Phosphorus Sources and Sinks in the Ocean Phosphorus is primarily delivered to the ocean via continental weathering (Figure 2). This P is transported to the ocean primarily in the dissolved and particulate phases via riverine influx. However, atmospheric deposition through aerosols, volcanic ash, and mineral dust is also important, particularly in remote oceanic locations"

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m very confused and would benefit from talking to someone:

Basically: I have a softy dominant tank. Should I be dosing Phosphate? Should I stop dosing aminos? I’ve been seeing some manageable fuzzy algae growth on the rocks, and have what I think are some easy to manage dino strands interspersed throughout the algae.

My setup right now is a 7 month old 20G Cube with a Royal Gramma and a Rainford’s Goby. I feed them a mix of food, but primarily a total of 6-8 total pellets per day between them of TDO Chromaboost. Some days I switch to Reef Frenzy. I’ve also been dosing live phyto every day and Brightwell Aminos every now and then and have been trying Redsea AB+ for the last few days trying to get more growth - especially out of my Duncan which has given me only one new head in 4 months.

I believe I’m seeing decent growth in my Xenias and Leathers, although sometimes it’s hard to tell because toadstool leathers can be slow. I’m pretty confident the green nepthea has given me a solid 1 cm of growth in 2 months which AFAIK is good.

Tank Parameters:
20G Cube, 7 months old
Temp: 78-79
Salinity: 33.6 ppt
Alk: 8.2 dKH
pH: 8.1-8.2
Nitrate: ~10 ppm
Phosphate: 0.0 most of the time, sometimes reads out as ~0.13. Weird.

It is cheap, and easy to evaluate dosing with phosphate. You can start and stop any time you want.

Feeding more can be a fine plan, but adds a lot more than simply raising phosphate.

 

[Dulcolaxiom]

It is cheap, and easy to evaluate dosing with phosphate. You can start and stop any time you want.

Feeding more can be a fine plan, but adds a lot more than simply raising phosphate.

Thanks! Yea I ordered a ULR Checker that should come tomorrow. I think I want a better read on where my phosphate likely has been before I decide to start dosing it. If my LR checker just hasn’t been the greatest about detecting it I’d like to know that.

You’re right though, it’s cheap and I wouldn’t need much. Should I still dose the AB+ or is that not likely to do much for my system?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm not sure if the Red Sea AB+ is useful or not for your corals. I'd treat it as an experiment and only use it if it seems useful to them over time.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

lol

Of course it is natural. Folks claiming that ANY of chemical we use in a reef is unnatural are just not aware of the natural processes in the ocean that use that process.

There are many ways that inorganic phosphate is dosed to the ocean:

https://hahana.soest.hawaii.edu/cmoreserver/summercourse/2008/documents/Paytan%20&%20McLaughlin%202007%20Chem%20Rev%20copy.pdf

"Phosphorus Sources and Sinks in the Ocean Phosphorus is primarily delivered to the ocean via continental weathering (Figure 2). This P is transported to the ocean primarily in the dissolved and particulate phases via riverine influx. However, atmospheric deposition through aerosols, volcanic ash, and mineral dust is also important, particularly in remote oceanic locations"

okay, you're geeking out and taking me too literal, with your "gotcha", here... I am not claiming anything.

Dosing pure fertilizer in my reef tank is just not what i would do... just add some extra fish/coral food, it has all the phosphate needed and you can watch your corals eat, which is more enjoyable and likely much cheaper.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

okay, you're geeking out and taking me too literal, with your "gotcha", here... I am not claiming anything.

Dosing pure fertilizer in my reef tank is just not what i would do... just add some extra fish/coral food, it has all the phosphate needed and you can watch your corals eat, which is more enjoyable and likely much cheaper.

We take all statements at face value in the Reef Chemistry forum, and I strive to ensure they are all accurate, or at least that any uncertainties are noted.

It is much more science based than other forums at Reef2Reef or elsewhere.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

We take all statements at face value in the Reef Chemistry forum, and I strive to ensure they are all accurate, or at least that any uncertainties are noted.

It is much more science based than other forums at Reef2Reef or elsewhere.

I don't take statements literal on a public fish forum because i'd be acting like Rainman, trying to figure out who's on first.

Rather i strive to understand the meaning of what people are askinh or statinh no matter how inarticulate. I mean the only thing not "natural" in this world is plutonium. Under that definition of natural, inorganinc versus organic anything, if there is distinction there, is meaningless.

My only point is i dont think liquid phosphate or nitrate for that matter is normal to dose in a reef tank, or necessary (or helpful) in all but the odd case.

Marketing aiming for your wallet may say otherwise but so what ....

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I don't take statements literal on a public fish forum because i'd be acting like Rainman, trying to figure out who's on first.

Rather i strive to understand the meaning of what people are askinh or statinh no matter how inarticulate. I mean the only thing not "natural" in this world is plutonium. Under that definition of natural, inorganinc versus organic anything, if there is distinction there, is meaningless.

My only point is i dont think liquid phosphate or nitrate for that matter is normal to dose in a reef tank, or necessary (or helpful) in all but the odd case.

Marketing aiming for your wallet may say otherwise but so what ....

Fine, we just have different definitions of what is normal and natural.

To scientists, truth and definitions are very important. If we do not agree on simple definitions of words, then every discussion needs to be more lengthy and qualified. That's certainly fine if need be. I will spend whatever time is needed in this forum to ensure that messages are clear and accurate.

Regardless of whether I understand folks, others readers may misunderstand, and I don't want that to happen.