PO4

[jtl]

I know this comes up a lot but what is the latest thinking on a good ratio of PO4 to NO3? My nitrates have been trending down (currently 1) and my phosphate is going up (.144 per Hanna). Does this ratio seem a bit low at about 7:1? I have a pretty small bio load and don't feed much and then only once per day. I am wondering if I should does a little NeoNitro and increase the ratio since I have it on hand. Thoughts?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

You don’t need to worry about a ratio.
That’s a popular myth.

The rate of uptake varies from species to species as well as flow light etc. so availability needs no set ratio.

Just keep each in an acceptable range.

 

[jtl]

You don’t need to worry about a ratio.
That’s a popular myth.

The rate of uptake varies from species to species as well as flow light etc. so availability needs no set ratio.

Just keep each in an acceptable range.

Is my range acceptable in your opinion? Seems like a lot of folks have higher Nitrate and lower Phosphate.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Is my range acceptable in your opinion? Seems like a lot of folks have higher Nitrate and lower Phosphate.

Some folks like dirtier water for zoas. Cleaner to ulns for sps.

It’s honestly up to the reefer and the results one is seeing.

No3 is generally just more abundant in a tank as food and pee rot then cycle. Po4 builds up more slowly as it’s dependent on the amount produced by the food.

 

[jtl]

Some folks like dirtier water for zoas. Cleaner to ulns for sps.

It’s honestly up to the reefer and the results one is seeing.

No3 is generally just more abundant in a tank as food and pee rot then cycle. Po4 builds up more slowly as it’s dependent on the amount produced by the food.

My reef is mixed lps and sps but I like it on the clean side. What is interesting while i agree with you, in my case my No3 is going down and my Po4 is going up. I guess I could feed more. I believe I read once that increasing nitrate will also lower phosphate.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

My reef is mixed lps and sps but I like it on the clean side. What is interesting while i agree with you, in my case my No3 is going down and my Po4 is going up. I guess I could feed more. I believe I read once that increasing nitrate will also lower phosphate.

The phosphate gets in there through feeding, so though feeding more will increase nitrate, it will also increase phosphate.

If everything is looking fine, I would leave it alone.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

If you feed prettt much the same ,(stability), you’ll see a trend in nutrients.
If that trend is slowly increasing Po4 , targeting a Po4 only export method may best serve you.
Ie , gfo or lanthanum over carbon dosing.

 

[jtl]

My N is usually between 1-3 but this is the highest my P has ever been. It was 0 when I was using gfo several months ago but my corals were not coloring up so I took it off line. I suppose I could fire it up and see what happens. For a while I was able to grow chaeto but not now. I have a small clump in my refugium that doesn't die but doesn't grow. When my P was 0 I was using a standard test kit not the Hanna ulr so who knows what it really was.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

My N is usually between 1-3 but this is the highest my P has ever been. It was 0 when I was using gfo several months ago but my corals were not coloring up so I took it off line. I suppose I could fire it up and see what happens. For a while I was able to grow chaeto but not now. I have a small clump in my refugium that doesn't die but doesn't grow. When my P was 0 I was using a standard test kit not the Hanna ulr so who knows what it really was.

When did you start using the Hanna ULR checker? How much has your phosphates increased in the last month?

If everything looks good and you PO4 hasn't done a dramatic increase in the last week or two, i.e 0.02 -0.14, I would leave well enough alone.

Chasing numbers usually leads to frustration.