Refugium and chaeto confusion

[Sagecritter4life]

Okay dumb question....All the tank masters have No3 and Po4 and in almost everything I read if you strip both from the tank yes possibly less algae but zoas and corals that like more nutrients suffer and possibly opening the door for dinos and other bad things? So doesnt running a refugium and chaeto strip the water of these creating a ULNS tank...I guess not sure if oxymoron situation as a newbie.

I have some algae and was considering a refugium/chaeto or similar to see if helped display to have less algae but.........

So somebody please help clear up the water lol so to speak ;-)

 

[hijinks7]

If you do light feedings and have very few fish for the amount of water you have then corals might not thrive but generally its not the case. If you're really serious about getting rid of the algae then spend some money on a really strong refugium light and not a $5 light from a big box store.

I've seen SPS tanks that run chaeto with big giant balls of it and everything is doing great. The soft corals can do good in bad water but in my opinion they do better in nice clean water.

 

[Sagecritter4life]

If you do light feedings and have very few fish for the amount of water you have then corals might not thrive but generally its not the case. If you're really serious about getting rid of the algae then spend some money on a really strong refugium light and not a $5 light from a big box store.

I've seen SPS tanks that run chaeto with big giant balls of it and everything is doing great. The soft corals can do good in bad water but in my opinion they do better in nice clean water.

Thanks for the reply just seems to be offsetting each other lol and still struggling with the multitude of methods/opinions ;-)

 

[K. Steven]

The rate at which macroalgae uptakes nutrients can depend on multiple variables, including photoperiod, light intensity and algal biomass. You could maintain an ideal nutrient concentration by altering the photoperiod or algal biomass. More algae can take up more nutrients, so keeping a smaller ball of Chaetomorpha can help maintain some nutrients in the water than a larger ball.

 

[Brian W]

you ready for a lot of blaaahhh? ;Cat

I started out with the main goal to get rid of algae and hope corals survived in a soft/lps tank

Fast forward 2 years later almost.

I have a SPS dominant tank. o Nitrate and low phosphates with 0 algae.
I am trying my hardest to get to 5-10ppm nitrate so my sps can color up more.
It is so hard to raise nitrates with a skimmer, fuge with a kessil h380 light, algae scrubber and light feeding.
I have since learned that sps likes a little bit of nutrients. not much but just a tad.
For the past week ive taken the skimmer offline and fed 2 cubes of food and 1 algae sheet daily.
my nitrates are still at 0.....im still messing with things and slowly taking them offline 1 by one to see how i can naturally raise my nitrates.
Phosphates im fine where they are at right this very moment...04
if i take my phosphate reactor (running rowaphos) offline for 1 day my phosphates jump up to .123 (roughly)
I cannot take the fuge offline to raise nitrates because the Triton Method requires it (I will reduse the photo period though)

In the end if you want to get your nitrate to 0, add a Kessil H380 to it and run it oppisite of your tanks lighting, you will be at 0 in no time
If you have a SPS tank, this may not be a good thing because from my research and personal experience SPS likes a little Nitrate...roughly 1-5ppm
I would also keep your phosphates at 0.03 as best as you can. Rowaphos is a miracle media but be careful because it can work too good...almost overnight.

 

[Sagecritter4life]

you ready for a lot of blaaahhh? ;Cat

I started out with the main goal to get rid of algae and hope corals survived in a soft/lps tank

Fast forward 2 years later almost.

I have a SPS dominant tank. o Nitrate and low phosphates with 0 algae.
I am trying my hardest to get to 5-10ppm nitrate so my sps can color up more.
It is so hard to raise nitrates with a skimmer, fuge with a kessil h380 light, algae scrubber and light feeding.
I have since learned that sps likes a little bit of nutrients. not much but just a tad.
For the past week ive taken the skimmer offline and fed 2 cubes of food and 1 algae sheet daily.
my nitrates are still at 0.....im still messing with things and slowly taking them offline 1 by one to see how i can naturally raise my nitrates.
Phosphates im fine where they are at right this very moment...04
if i take my phosphate reactor (running rowaphos) offline for 1 day my phosphates jump up to .123 (roughly)
I cannot take the fuge offline to raise nitrates because the Triton Method requires it (I will reduse the photo period though)

In the end if you want to get your nitrate to 0, add a Kessil H380 to it and run it oppisite of your tanks lighting, you will be at 0 in no time
If you have a SPS tank, this may not be a good thing because from my research and personal experience SPS likes a little Nitrate...roughly 1-5ppm
I would also keep your phosphates at 0.03 as best as you can. Rowaphos is a miracle media but be careful because it can work too good...almost overnight.

Thanks for the reply ;-) I have roughly 3-4ppm No3 and .04 Po4 but quit a bit of algae in display so trying to battle that currently lol I am dosing both nitrate and phos or levels go zero in just few days.

 

[cumbeje]

Thanks for the reply ;-) I have roughly 3-4ppm No3 and .04 Po4 but quit a bit of algae in display so trying to battle that currently lol I am dosing both nitrate and phos or levels go zero in just few days.

If you have a lot of algae in display than you have a lot more nitrate and phosphate that you are reading on kits. Why are you dosing nitrates and phosp if you want to get rid of the algae.

 

[Sagecritter4life]

If you have a lot of algae in display than you have a lot more nitrate and phosphate that you are reading on kits. Why are you dosing nitrates and phosp if you want to get rid of the algae.

Well in a nutshell the corals like zoa's that like nutrients in water we're dying on me when I had no nutrients and coincidentally no algae. System over designed for the light stocking of fish (one pair clowns) and had stripped the levels to point it took week of larger than expected doses to even read on tests.

So I started dosing and seen a quick Improvement in zoa health but along with this came algae. Now I am seeking the balance point.

Dosing pure product dirty's my sand a lot less than the approach of over feeding to raise nutrients and have it to be much more controllable.