Radion LED and SPS Corals

jservedio · Jun 18, 2013

The Alkalinity level in your tank is far less important than how much your Alkalinity changes throughout the day. As long as there is enough Alkalinity in the tank for Corals to build their skeletons, it is in balance with Calcium, and the Magnesium level is proper - the actual Alkalinity number is not all that important - as long as it stays exactly there.

There are people with very large systems, that are very successful (I am thinking one of our local fish stores with 2500 gallons that has been set up for like 8 years) that runs an Alkalinity of 12-13dkh - it is his SPS system. All the other systems have lower Alkalinity. Stability is MUCH more important than shooting for a particular number.

bucfan · Jun 18, 2013

Ran tank without BPs and PO and NO were very high so I think BP have made a diff. I think I'm feeding too much. Got to try and lower that first. Alk has been stable ~ 9.5 for months. Got that part figured out at least.

mcarroll · Jun 18, 2013

bucfan said:
Ran tank without BPs and PO and NO were very high so I think BP have made a diff. I think I'm feeding too much. Got to try and lower that first. Alk has been stable ~ 9.5 for months. Got that part figured out at least.

It does not sound like a low nutrient system to me.

FWIW, phosphate creep is common in high nutrient systems where the excellent biofilters (live rock mostly) completely remove excess N2 from the system, leaving the PO4 behind. I don't think BPs do a lot for PO4, so I think you are going to have to work on reducing your bioload (feeding/stocking level) to meet your PO4 export levels, or do more to specifically target PO4 removal. PO4 removal is expensive and imperfect, so at least consider reducing the load. Increasing water changes is probably the simplest thing you can do. Try doubling what you do now - double the frequency if you're already changing 20% at a time. I've done as much as 10% daily with excellent results.

-Matt

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bucfan · Jun 18, 2013

mcarroll said:
Increasing water changes is probably the simplest thing you can do. Try doubling what you do now - double the frequency if you're already changing 20% at a time. I've done as much as 10% daily with excellent results.

then wife will throw me out if the house