Pale SPS but encrusting

[Robert S]

Lights will do this as well.

 

[nick0206]

You were having nutrient issues with 3 fish???????

Yes they were. Like the addition of 5 conchs, after which everything jumped, and NO2 and NO3. But there has never been phosphate since cycle. At first I checked it once a week, but after 2 months I stopped it altogether.
Consulted with other people who have Zeovit, they confirmed that in the Zeovit system the problem with phosphates is extremely rare.
I repeat, the zeovit system at the formation stage is extremely unstable, therefore, along this path it is necessary to move veeeeery slowly.

 

[dirtysock]

Just to update & keep track.

I dosed nitrate for a few days, managed to get a pinkish looking reading on the salifert test kit. Corals color had started to return slowly.

Well....it lasted a few days. Now my corals started to looked like it had burnt tips, some had started to stn from the base.

Alk had been stable, so the burnt tips shouldn't be due to alk.

Tested my po4 and nitrate again, 0 po4 and pinkish reading for nitrate. Some cyano also started appearing, hair algae had mostly receded and disappeared.

Start to dose po4 to get some reading from the hanna checker..... will update again in a few weeks

Cal: 470
Kh: 7.1 ~7.3
Mag: 1350
Potassium: 400
Po4: 0.00
Nitrate: Pinkish reading on salifert

 

[7237689918]

Was thinking that too, lol, NO3 looking kinda low, lol. Doubt that is harming anything

I still can’t get my arms around this. If you have excess at all how can it be too low? it doesn’t seem logical to me that more excess is better. Not from a practical management standpoint but from availability in the tank.

 

[SeaDweller]

Just to update & keep track.

I dosed nitrate for a few days, managed to get a pinkish looking reading on the salifert test kit. Corals color had started to return slowly.

Well....it lasted a few days. Now my corals started to looked like it had burnt tips, some had started to stn from the base.

Alk had been stable, so the burnt tips shouldn't be due to alk.

Tested my po4 and nitrate again, 0 po4 and pinkish reading for nitrate. Some cyano also started appearing, hair algae had mostly receded and disappeared.

Start to dose po4 to get some reading from the hanna checker..... will update again in a few weeks

Cal: 470
Kh: 7.1 ~7.3
Mag: 1350
Potassium: 400
Po4: 0.00
Nitrate: Pinkish reading on salifert

Are you dosing daily or just once and stopped?

 

[LARedstickreefer]

I still can’t get my arms around this. If you have excess at all how can it be too low? it doesn’t seem logical to me that more excess is better. Not from a practical management standpoint but from availability in the tank.

Excess would mean that corals and algae are both getting what they need. If there isn’t any excess, corals and algae are probably competing. Algae will win. Super low results could be within the margin of error and actually be zero.

 

[7237689918]

Excess would mean that corals and algae are both getting what they need. If there isn’t any excess, corals and algae are probably competing. Algae will win. Super low results could be within the margin of error and actually be zero.

So then raising a bit is simply to guard the margin of error in the testing device, not to provide any nutrient value to the tank, assuming it wasn’t actually zero and the testing was close.

 

[LARedstickreefer]

So then raising a bit is simply to guard the margin of error in the testing device, not to provide any nutrient value to the tank, assuming it wasn’t actually zero and the testing was close.

To be honest, if there is a lot of algae, enough to be stripping water of nutrients, I’d manually remove the algae. Same concept of running a fuge...

Id want to see nitrates and phosphates clearly above the margin of error for whatever the test is.

Dosing either when you have an algae outbreak is a catch 22. You will help your corals with the dosing, but you will also fuel your algae outbreak.

 

[dirtysock]

Are you dosing daily or just once and stopped?

I dosed for a few days till I could get a reading on salifert test kit. After which I stop but continue testing to ensure there is nitrates in the tank.

Due to my busy schedule, I forgot to test for po4.

I dosed about 0.7ml of seachem flourish phosphorus and fed the tank with PE Mysis. Tested the po4 to be at 0.02. Kinda too big a jump for me, would prefer to increase by 0.01

Current readings:

No3: 1 ~ 2.5 (reading sideways from salifert)
Po4: 0.02 (hanna checker)

From redfield ratio, my po4 should be higher like around 0.06. However, I'm observing my tank for awhile before I dose anything. Good to go slow....

 

[dirtysock]

Small update..

All the SPS in tank are STNing....even the hardy bali slimer had started to stn from the bottom and tips.

All the parameters are on point and I cannot figure out what's wrong...nothing had changed apart from me dosing nitrate.

 

[Kayvon]

I started getting STN after dosing Spectracide for nitrates

 

[LARedstickreefer]

Small update..

All the SPS in tank are STNing....even the hardy bali slimer had started to stn from the bottom and tips.

All the parameters are on point and I cannot figure out what's wrong...nothing had changed apart from me dosing nitrate.

Time for an icp test to rule out bad test kits and metals.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I started getting STN after dosing Spectracide for nitrates

So you dosed a few ppm of solution into your tank and saw necrosis? Or you used it for a period of time and then saw necrosis?
I like to use it when lowering po4 but wouldn’t use it to keep nitrates in my tank like I see a lot of people doing.

 

[Kayvon]

So you dosed a few ppm of solution into your tank and saw necrosis? Or you used it for a period of time and then saw necrosis?
I like to use it when lowering po4 but wouldn’t use it to keep nitrates in my tank like I see a lot of people doing.

I dosed for a period of time. I thought the lack of nitrates was what caused the STN. My nitrates kept zeroing after each dose so I kept going. So dumb chasing numbers.