blalaw87
Community Member
Good Afternoon,
I had had some issues with my Nitrates and Phosphates lately and am not sure what caused the issues or them to spiral out of control so quickly. I usually go about 2-3 weeks without a water change and it has not been an issue so far.
I have some issue the past 3 weeks so wasn't keeping up with my measurements but just paid attention the the tank. Before today the last time I took some measurements was
11/27:
Nitrate: 11.5
Phosphate: .29
Today:
Nitrate: 18.8
Phosphate: Using NLR check I was getting a max value and flashing of 0.90 which means it was out of range
I did notice last Thursday/Friday I was starting to get a little bit of what looked like turf algae so I went ahead and did a 20 (I have a 425xl) gallon water change and kept the lights off all week. I know I should have taken some measurements here but life has been crazy with the holidays etc.. even though I know that is not a good excuse.
Today I went ahead and did another 20 gallon water change and in the process cleaned a few things. Cleaned out skimmer since that was start to get nasty and a thick layer of stuff on the inside, cleaned up filter stocks etc..., cleaned up sum with all the detritus that has accumulated with a wet vac.
I am not sure what caused the high rise in the phosphates. I do feed pellets twice a day and 1/2 cube of frozen mysis shrimp once a day. Sometimes I feel like I might be over feeding a little but it has never been an issues in the past. Other than that the only thing that has changed was last weekend I did pull out the return pump and go ahead and clean that. Also to get the phosphates and nitrates back down should I do a couple more 20 gallon water change over the course of the week? I am recently just bought a media reactor and some GFO I am starting to run as well.
As always thanks for the advice everyone!
I had had some issues with my Nitrates and Phosphates lately and am not sure what caused the issues or them to spiral out of control so quickly. I usually go about 2-3 weeks without a water change and it has not been an issue so far.
I have some issue the past 3 weeks so wasn't keeping up with my measurements but just paid attention the the tank. Before today the last time I took some measurements was
11/27:
Nitrate: 11.5
Phosphate: .29
Today:
Nitrate: 18.8
Phosphate: Using NLR check I was getting a max value and flashing of 0.90 which means it was out of range
I did notice last Thursday/Friday I was starting to get a little bit of what looked like turf algae so I went ahead and did a 20 (I have a 425xl) gallon water change and kept the lights off all week. I know I should have taken some measurements here but life has been crazy with the holidays etc.. even though I know that is not a good excuse.
Today I went ahead and did another 20 gallon water change and in the process cleaned a few things. Cleaned out skimmer since that was start to get nasty and a thick layer of stuff on the inside, cleaned up filter stocks etc..., cleaned up sum with all the detritus that has accumulated with a wet vac.
I am not sure what caused the high rise in the phosphates. I do feed pellets twice a day and 1/2 cube of frozen mysis shrimp once a day. Sometimes I feel like I might be over feeding a little but it has never been an issues in the past. Other than that the only thing that has changed was last weekend I did pull out the return pump and go ahead and clean that. Also to get the phosphates and nitrates back down should I do a couple more 20 gallon water change over the course of the week? I am recently just bought a media reactor and some GFO I am starting to run as well.
As always thanks for the advice everyone!
