Nutrient Balance

Travis Stewart · Oct 10, 2018

I have watched several videos and done my fair share of research on above topic. I wanted no to reach out and see if there was anything you guys did specific or things that help you keep nutrients stable.

I currently do weekly water changes, run a skimmer, fuge and keep my feedings down to correct amounts. I am trying to stay away from running a reactor.

Travis Stewart · Oct 10, 2018

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 10, 2018

Be patient.

Do what you’re doing.

Don’t overdo water changes. Don’t under do waterchanges.

There is no hard and fast rule.

Every tank is different.

Watch the corals.

Tests are what is happening not what you need to make happen.

Don’t overthink. If it looks fine it is fine.

A reef tank is a chess game not a car. It evolves. It changes. It’s alive.

Be patient.

Opinions are like pizza. I don’t prefer pineapple. That’s ok.

Be patient.

Travis Stewart · Oct 10, 2018

I use all above rules of thumb. This isn’t something I’ve been dealing with for a couple days. My sand has been dirty for a couple months now :/

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 10, 2018

Travis Stewart said:
I use all above rules of thumb. This isn’t something I’ve been dealing with for a couple days. My sand has been dirty for a couple months now :/

Do you have a thread on it?
Some organisms have little to with nutrients , in a way.

Travis Stewart · Oct 10, 2018

saltyfilmfolks said:
Do you have a thread on it?
Some organisms have little to with nutrients , in a way.

A thread on my sand bed?

Oshengems · Oct 10, 2018

Dirty in what way ? Red slimy algae growing on it ?

Travis Stewart · Oct 10, 2018

No cyano or any vertical algae growth, just dirty lol I can’t explain it better than it just not being white

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 10, 2018

Travis Stewart said:
A thread on my sand bed?

Yes.
This seemed like a general nutritent control thread

Oshengems · Oct 10, 2018

How old is the tank and what type of substrate you have? In my 75g I added a layer of crushed coral on the bottom and my conchs have manage to move some to the top, particularly in one area that idk if it’s because of their size are are colored brown/green from the algae growing on it other than that the sand stays pretty clean

Travis Stewart · Oct 10, 2018

saltyfilmfolks said:
Yes.
This seemed like a general nutritent control thread

No, just this thread as I will occasionally get some algae growth on my rocks also.

Travis Stewart · Oct 10, 2018

bronxreef said:
How old is the tank and what type of substrate you have? In my 75g I added a layer of crushed coral on the bottom and my conchs have manage to move some to the top, particularly in one area that idk if it’s because of their size are are colored brown/green from the algae growing on it other than that the sand stays pretty clean

Tank is 6 months new and I’m using tropic eden mesoflakes

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 10, 2018

Travis Stewart said:
No, just this thread as I will occasionally get some algae growth on my rocks also.

Kinda normal really.

IMO and seconding @bronxreef , cuc is hugely underrated now a days for some reason.

Travis Stewart · Oct 10, 2018

saltyfilmfolks said:
Kinda normal really.

IMO and seconding @bronxreef , cuc is hugely underrated now a days for some reason.

I have a general base amount, but I guess it can’t hurt to add additional sand snails

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 10, 2018

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/choosing-cleanup-crew-critters.258695/

PDR · Oct 10, 2018

I have a hefty CUC, and quite a few sand stirring conchs and snails. My sand bed was still really dirty and after two years I started having issues keeping it looking clean. A few weeks ago I decided to start vacuuming it weekly and since then, it has looked great and the overall algae and nutrients in my tank has decreased, all while upping my feeding considerably.

Travis Stewart · Oct 10, 2018

PDR said:
I have a hefty CUC, and quite a few sand stirring conchs and snails. My sand bed was still really dirty and after two years I started having issues keeping it looking clean. A few weeks ago I decided to start vacuuming it weekly and since then, it has looked great and the overall algae and nutrients in my tank has decreased, all while upping my feeding considerably.

When you say vacuuming, are you referring to pulling some sand particles out of the bed as you do this?

PDR · Oct 10, 2018

Travis Stewart said:
When you say vacuuming, are you referring to pulling some sand particles out of the bed as you do this?

I'm not 100% sure what you mean but this is what I do. I use a normal gravel vac and siphon from my dt into my sump through double layered filter socks. I clean all the way to the bottom of the sand bed (1.5"-2" deep). Some sand gets siphoned out but I try to avoid it.