Really High Nitrates, Really Low Phosphates, What do I do?

Herides · Oct 25, 2020

Hey guys,

I have a 40 gallon breeder that is only 2 months old, all it has in it is 2 little onyx clown fish. I do a 10% water change every week, and feed the clowns once a day a small amount of either pellets or frozen food. As of my most recent testing, my nitrates are at 16ppm while my phosphates are at 0.01 ppm. I am also going through diatom growth. What can/do I do?

Eric1493 · Oct 25, 2020

16ppm isn't that high, and I'm pretty sure that diatoms are dependant on silicates, not nitrates. For the diatoms, just make sure that your source water isn't adding more silicates. Your nitrate to phosphate ratio does seem off though. Are you running gfo?

Herides · Oct 25, 2020

Herides · Oct 25, 2020

Eric1493 said:
16ppm isn't that high, and I'm pretty sure that diatoms are dependant on silicates, not nitrates. For the diatoms, just make sure that your source water isn't adding more silicates. Your nitrate to phosphate ratio does seem off though. Are you running gfo?

I am not running gfo no.

Also what do you mean by source water? Like the water I use in water changes? I use RODI water everywhere I can

4tanks · Oct 25, 2020

Nitrtates fine and let diatomsrun their course couple of weeks probably be gone all part of the fun looks like your tank on the right path just be patient

Eric1493 · Oct 25, 2020

Herides said:
I am not running gfo no.

Also what do you mean by source water? Like the water I use in water changes? I use RODI water everywhere I can

If you're running gfo, there nothing I recommend. If the nitrates dropped to 0, I'd maybe consider dosing but you should be fine at 16ppm. Yes, that's what I meant. If its true RODI then it should have no silicates, and you should be good!

Herides · Oct 25, 2020

4tanks said:
Nitrtates fine and let diatomsrun their course couple of weeks probably be gone all part of the fun looks like your tank on the right path just be patient

Will do, thanks for the advice!!

cshouston · Oct 25, 2020

Yeah, your tank is very new. Higher nitrates and lower phosphates is normal in my experience. Eventually, things will stabilize. Just be patient and don’t worry about the ugly stages you’re going to go through. The more you fight it and try all sorts of treatments, the harder it’s going to be because of the destabilizing effects. You might get rid of one thing only to invite something worse to take over.

Herides · Oct 25, 2020

Eric1493 said:
If you're running gfo, there nothing I recommend. If the nitrates dropped to 0, I'd maybe consider dosing but you should be fine at 16ppm. Yes, that's what I meant. If its true RODI then it should have no silicates, and you should be good!

I will mention that over the past few weeks nitrates have been rising but slowly (I believe last week it was at 12) and if what I read right is true, the diatoms will eventually consume most of the nitrate at some point. But would you say (kind of an aside question) 16ppm is safe for potential first corals?

Also I certainly hope my RODI is true as I get it from my LFS.

Herides · Oct 25, 2020

cshouston said:
Yeah, your tank is very new. Higher nitrates and lower phosphates is normal in my experience. Eventually, things will stabilize. Just be patient and don’t worry about the ugly stages you’re going to go through. The more you fight it and try all sorts of treatments, the harder it’s going to be because of the destabilizing effects. You might get rid of one thing only to invite something worse to take over.

That's a relief to know, I might just have to let some paranoia go haha. Thanks!!!

attiland · Oct 25, 2020

Herides said:
But would you say (kind of an aside question) 16ppm is safe for potential first corals?

Also I certainly hope my RODI is true as I get it from my LFS.

Zoas would love it as per my experience

Miguel Negron · Oct 25, 2020

Herides · Oct 25, 2020

attiland said:
Zoas would love it as per my experience

I was thinking of some form of zoa being my first coral, that or a frog spawn or xenia. I'll look into it, thanks!!

attiland · Oct 25, 2020

Herides said:
I was thinking of some form of zoa being my first coral, that or a frog spawn or xenia. I'll look into it, thanks!!

Xenia said to survive almost anything spread and growing like weeds so I keep away from it. Zoas are easy to control

cshouston · Oct 25, 2020

Herides said:
I will mention that over the past few weeks nitrates have been rising but slowly (I believe last week it was at 12) and if what I read right is true, the diatoms will eventually consume most of the nitrate at some point. But would you say (kind of an aside question) 16ppm is safe for potential first corals?

Also I certainly hope my RODI is true as I get it from my LFS.

Diatoms consume silicates. They never really go away entirely, but can wax and wane over the life of your tank. Eventually, other organisms dominate and you won’t really notice them anymore, but even the ocean—the most mature of reef tanks—has diatoms.

Your tank is only two months old. I wouldn’t be adding corals just yet. You’re kind of rushing things. I let my tank cycle for two months before I even turned the lights on. If you’re just adding easy soft corals like leathers or zoas, you're probably okay. They like higher nutrient levels anyway. Just try to be patient because the slower you take things, the more success and fewer bumps in the road you’ll experience. Eventually, the tank will be full and you’ll be glad you didn’t rush it and have to fight a bunch of frustrating battles. Just browse these forums to see some of the horror stories.

Getting your own RO/DI system is a good investment. Less hauling heavy water around, and you know when you need to change the filters. I used to get my water from the LFS, but when I checked the TDS I noticed it was up in the 20s-40s because they processed tons of water per day and were lax on the media replacement. With my own system, I know for a fact that I’m getting 0 TDS water for mixing and top offs.

Herides · Oct 25, 2020

attiland said:
Xenia said to survive almost anything spread and growing like weeds so I keep away from it. Zoas are easy to control

Noted!

Herides · Oct 25, 2020

cshouston said:
Diatoms consume silicates. They never really go away entirely, but can wax and wane over the life of your tank. Eventually, other organisms dominate and you won’t really notice them anymore, but even the ocean—the most mature of reef tanks—has diatoms.

Your tank is only two months old. I wouldn’t be adding corals just yet. You’re kind of rushing things. I let my tank cycle for two months before I even turned the lights on. If you’re just adding easy soft corals like leathers or zoas, you're probably okay. They like higher nutrient levels anyway. Just try to be patient because the slower you take things, the more success and fewer bumps in the road you’ll experience. Eventually, the tank will be full and you’ll be glad you didn’t rush it and have to fight a bunch of frustrating battles. Just browse these forums to see some of the horror stories.

Getting your own RO/DI system is a good investment. Less hauling heavy water around, and you know when you need to change the filters. I used to get my water from the LFS, but when I checked the TDS I noticed it was up in the 20s-40s because they processed tons of water per day and were lax on the media replacement. With my own system, I know for a fact that I’m getting 0 TDS water for mixing and top offs.

I do intend on getting my own RODI system eventually, just not quite yet, and yes I figured even asking about corals here was a bit presumptuous but it's nice to have the validation that it is a bit fast. And oh yes, I had a bit of an incident right off the bat with this tank so I'm aware of what happens when you go too fast, hence why I'm asking in the first place haha. I should also add the question on corals was more of a query into when I do eventually get corals, is 16 or potentially higher ppm of nitrate going to be a problem down the line for that step. Thanks for the advice by the way!