Nutrients - too little bit too much and have algae?

[neo1738]

I'm trying to fugue out how to balance nutrients in my tank. It's newer only about 5 months old. I have 6 fish, feed mostly mysis and then some Hikari S and some TDO Chroma Boost pellets. Feed one of them twice to 3x a day initially. I had a bunch of GHA so cut lights and now only geed 1x a day usually mysis but pellet 1 or 2x a week to keep them on it for vacations etc. I got a ball of chaeto to help absorb nutrients, have a yellow tang that combined with manual removal got rid of the algae. Now chaeto dying (chaeto specific light about 8hr/ night). Started tank lights up again about 8 hra white light/day (FOWLR for now plan is reef in future. I am already seeing some GHAbut chaeto is dying. Phosphate and Nitrates always read 0 ever since finished cycling. I don't get how there isn't enough nutrients to support chaeto but there is for GHA. I am assuming GHa sucking up all nutrients I do have so that's why read zero. How do you get your chaeto to grow and not GHA? I mean even if I didn't have gha now if I have readings on Ph and NO3 wouldn't it grow eventually? Or would corraline prevent this? (Using dry rock)

 

[Scorpius]

Balancing nutrients in a 5 month old tank is difficult at best. You want some nitrates and phosphates. Algae can mask that and make it seem like you have zero. If you have algae, you have nutrients.

GHA is opportunistic and will choke out beneficial algae. Focus on feeding your fish enough to keep them fat and healthy but nutrients manageable. There's a ton of different ways to do this. I use filter socks, weekly 15% water changes, skimmer I run very wet, Vibrant, and UV filter. I feed fairly heavily. Other people will disagree with me and accomplish the same results with different methodology.

There's a thousand ways to skin a cat in reefing....

 

[Scorpius]

If you started with 100% dry rock expect it to take 18-24 months for your system to mature and be stable.

 

[IDAN]

I currently have GHA in my tank, I am drooping my phosphate to 0 as test to see if it'll "break" it.
otherwise I will add fluconozole. I did test for few months by not doing any water changes. I guess it didn't work

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Controlling algae by nutrient level is very challenging and often fails.

 

[Duffer]

Controlling algae by nutrient level is very challenging and often fails.

Randy, explain how to than control algae please, i'm interested to hear.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy, explain how to than control algae please, i'm interested to hear.

Algae eating organisms work much better. Fish, etc.

Trying to deter algae without starving corals that want the same nutrients is very hard unless you are feeding corals organic matter that algae may not be able to consume. Low nutrients also risks dinos.

 

[Scorpius]

Don't quote me on this as I have no proof, but I believe starving a tank of nutrients also starves your bacterial biodome which allows the bad guys to take over. That's why I'm a firm believer in high input and output.

 

[neo1738]

Appreciate all of the input. Seems like for now at least best I can do is manage feeds, lights, and let my yellow tang do it's job. I think seeding good coralline next is probalby a good idea in order to give GHA less to attach to.