Nutrients bottoming out from dosing

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So I have been carbon dosing and added lanthium chloride for Phosphates.

Have a new frag system that was reading 0.00 phosphates and 7.9 nitrates last week so I did water changes with my main reefs as they were around .14 took 40 gallons from each a 210 g and 110 g. Also no fish in this system and CUC coming Tuesday. Started tank with water from my reefs and rock from same for biodiversity. Also fed twice this week with mysis and calanus about a cube of each each time. Tank and sump near 200g. Today phophate 0.00 and nitrates 14.4.

210 g reef was 15 nitrates last week and .14 phosphates. Today 13.5 nitrates and 0 phosphates.

110 g reef last week 31.2 nitrates .17 phosphates. Now 25.2 N .06 Phosphates.

I am currently dosing homemade NOPOX in both reefs plus Phosphate-E lanthium chloride. Have been for months and drop has been slow.

Rearranged the 210g reef last week so probably also did a 40 gallon water change with fresh salt mix so that could account for some added reduction in that tank. Took a lot of corals out of the 210 when I did the reset and put in the new frag system for safety. Put them back yesterday.

I heavily stock and feed both reefs.

So here is what i need answers or opinions on.

1. Do I stop the lanthium completely or just reduce amount and monitor?

2. What should I get for dosing phosphate and how quickly do I need to take action?
Closest LFS that would have it is 2.5 hour drive each way, or I can order online three or four days usually. I am guessing I will need a product for the frag tank as I am not planning fish as no top and that allows no chance of fish disease from the tank.

3. Same question on NOPOX in the 210g should I reduce it or stop completely. I would assume just start cutting back like when I slowly increased weekly to get here. Don’t think I need to dose anything for nitrates as levels are ok here. Maybe I should check every two or three days to see if they continue to fall.

Want to get stability at this point. Really shocked at how far the PO3 has dropped since the 3rd. I haven’t changed the dosing level, but dropped .11 in 110 and .14 in the 210. Even with water changes I haven’t seen massive drops.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I have been carbon dosing and added lanthium chloride for Phosphates.

Have a new frag system that was reading 0.00 phosphates and 7.9 nitrates last week so I did water changes with my main reefs as they were around .14 took 40 gallons from each a 210 g and 110 g. Also no fish in this system and CUC coming Tuesday. Started tank with water from my reefs and rock from same for biodiversity. Also fed twice this week with mysis and calanus about a cube of each each time. Tank and sump near 200g. Today phophate 0.00 and nitrates 14.4.

210 g reef was 15 nitrates last week and .14 phosphates. Today 13.5 nitrates and 0 phosphates.

110 g reef last week 31.2 nitrates .17 phosphates. Now 25.2 N .06 Phosphates.

I am currently dosing homemade NOPOX in both reefs plus Phosphate-E lanthium chloride. Have been for months and drop has been slow.

Rearranged the 210g reef last week so probably also did a 40 gallon water change with fresh salt mix so that could account for some added reduction in that tank. Took a lot of corals out of the 210 when I did the reset and put in the new frag system for safety. Put them back yesterday.

I heavily stock and feed both reefs.

So here is what i need answers or opinions on.

1. Do I stop the lanthium completely or just reduce amount and monitor?

2. What should I get for dosing phosphate and how quickly do I need to take action?
Closest LFS that would have it is 2.5 hour drive each way, or I can order online three or four days usually. I am guessing I will need a product for the frag tank as I am not planning fish as no top and that allows no chance of fish disease from the tank.

3. Same question on NOPOX in the 210g should I reduce it or stop completely. I would assume just start cutting back like when I slowly increased weekly to get here. Don’t think I need to dose anything for nitrates as levels are ok here. Maybe I should check every two or three days to see if they continue to fall.

Want to get stability at this point. Really shocked at how far the PO3 has dropped since the 3rd. I haven’t changed the dosing level, but dropped .11 in 110 and .14 in the 210. Even with water changes I haven’t seen massive drops.

Stop chloride and feed foods like reef roids which will elevate phosphate

 

[Renaissance corals]

Stop chloride and feed foods like reef roids which will elevate phosphate

I completely agree. You are treating for phosphates that simply isn't there. Reef roids and polyp booster. Do that 3 times a week will raise your phosphate and you will get great growth.

 

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Stop chloride and feed foods like reef roids which will elevate phosphate

Ok. Just don’t want them to spike. They were .3 Oct 27th. So if I stop cold Turkey it won’t immediately jump back up? Took forever to get them to start down. Don’t know if it was just so high to start or some suggested it could be leaching from the rock, as I used a combination of dry rock that the lfs was cycling in a big tank in store, and a lot of dry rock they had taken in on trade that was old Tonga rock.

 

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I completely agree. You are treating for phosphates that simply isn't there. Reef roids and polyp booster. Do that 3 times a week will raise your phosphate and you will get great growth.

I have been dosing 12ml a day. Was .3 Oct 27. Was .14 11/26 .17 12/3 then 0 today.
Have some roids and fuel (probably similar amino and fatty acids) I can dose.

Just don’t know if I have depleted the phosphates or just masking them. Do not want them to skyrocket again.

Thanks.

 

[HankstankXXL750 Verified Sponsor]

Stop chloride and feed foods like reef roids which will elevate phosphate

I completely agree. You are treating for phosphates that simply isn't there. Reef roids and polyp booster. Do that 3 times a week will raise your phosphate and you will get great growth.

Information I gave above is for 210g. As far as previous levels. Should I quit dosing in the 110 as it is at .06. I think but not sure that the phosphate E I use doesn’t have to build up like the vodka.

And since this is the first time I have dosed for nutrient export, do I quit the vodka mixture, or reduce it slowly. I had it run out in my predator tank and my nitrates shot through the roof.

Thanks, just don’t want to screw the pooch now that I’ve got them in the ballpark. Going to feed roids and fuel to the lg reef and frag tank tonight. And retest in the morning.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Information I gave above is for 210g. As far as previous levels. Should I quit dosing in the 110 as it is at .06. I think but not sure that the phosphate E I use doesn’t have to build up like the vodka.

And since this is the first time I have dosed for nutrient export, do I quit the vodka mixture, or reduce it slowly. I had it run out in my predator tank and my nitrates shot through the roof.

Thanks, just don’t want to screw the pooch now that I’ve got them in the ballpark. Going to feed roids and fuel to the lg reef and frag tank tonight. And retest in the morning.

.06 is good and I would focus on keeping it stable

 

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.06 is good and I would focus on keeping it stable

Yes that is my 110, dropped to .06 from .17 this week. I reduced the chloride from 8ml to 6ml today. Should I drop it more. Still at 25 nitrates. Everything is really happy in this tank. Softies, acans, candy cane and Duncan all growing and adding heads. Have a pipe organ that is trying to recover from something, and a Goni that seems ok but doesn’t extent much. And a clam that is doing good. So thinking I’ll be happy with 20 nitrates and .06-.1 phosphates there.

Just don’t have any experience with what happens if I stop.

Shooting for 15 N and .02-.06 phos in the other two as I’m getting into some acros and torches. Have had terrible luck with the torches but everything was probably too high. Just added 4 yesterday, but a couple are pretty pale. Hoping that in the reef vs the new Frag tank they will take off. Got a green slimer back in March and it is encrusting, and growing branches and new stalks.

So in your opinion, do I completely stop the phophate-E and see what happens or do I dial it back 1/4 at a time and test more frequently. Been testing weekly as numbers haven’t been moving rapidly in either direction

Thanks, I have always found your advise solid.

 

[Renaissance corals]

Yes that is my 110, dropped to .06 from .17 this week. I reduced the chloride from 8ml to 6ml today. Should I drop it more. Still at 25 nitrates. Everything is really happy in this tank. Softies, acans, candy cane and Duncan all growing and adding heads. Have a pipe organ that is trying to recover from something, and a Goni that seems ok but doesn’t extent much. And a clam that is doing good. So thinking I’ll be happy with 20 nitrates and .06-.1 phosphates there.

Just don’t have any experience with what happens if I stop.

Shooting for 15 N and .02-.06 phos in the other two as I’m getting into some acros and torches. Have had terrible luck with the torches but everything was probably too high. Just added 4 yesterday, but a couple are pretty pale. Hoping that in the reef vs the new Frag tank they will take off. Got a green slimer back in March and it is encrusting, and growing branches and new stalks.

So in your opinion, do I completely stop the phophate-E and see what happens or do I dial it back 1/4 at a time and test more frequently. Been testing weekly as numbers haven’t been moving rapidly in either direction

Thanks, I have always found your advise solid.

Dial it back a quarter at a time in that tank until you get your desired result and it stabilizes. As for the frag tank, I believe what happened is the sudden edition of a lot of coral depleted the nutrients in the water now that the bulk of the coral is gone. It should stabilize. Maintain dosing prior to the influx and corals and treat any wild swings until they stabilize.

 

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Dial it back a quarter at a time in that tank until you get your desired result and it stabilizes. As for the frag tank, I believe what happened is the sudden edition of a lot of coral depleted the nutrients in the water now that the bulk of the coral is gone. It should stabilize. Maintain dosing prior to the influx and corals and treat any wild swings until they stabilize.

Yes as the frag tank is new, I do believe that the corals are consuming. And a lot. Was trying to supplement it by found water changes with the other reefs. But when I found them so low, I couldn’t do that either.

I am not dosing phosphate-E or NOPOX in the frag tank at this point as levels a good to low. Tried feeding calanus and mysis, but didn’t do anything for phosphate. So going to try reefroids and aquavitro fuel for coral food supply and watch my numbers there.

Thanks.