Solutions for <No3 and <P04 Help!

[gcarcher59]

Hello,

I have a 2 year old 160g mixed reef and No3 and Po4 starting rising and can't get it back down. I do biweekly water changes and test the water before it goes in to make sure its free of these. I recently installed a ReefMat which is working great and has been helpful in lowering a little. I have been running biopellet reactor and GFO for awhile but still cannot lower my current numbers down to what they should be. Should I be considering something like a algae scrubber?

Parameters
No3 - 26
Po4 - .27

pics of my reactor and sump, also include a video for the livestock.

 

[00W]

Where would you like these numbers to be and anything going on you'd like to change?
I couldn't open the video.

 

[Pickle_soup]

Your tank looks pretty great, and your corals seem to love it. From experience (I do not know the chemistry behind it) I had a harder time pulling out po4 when nitrates were elevated. 24 for softies is a decent level, I try to keep it between 10-20 myself. My guess is, you might not have enough flow behind the rocks and detritus is building up back there. How much water do you change?

 

[gcarcher59]

Where would you like these numbers to be and anything going on you'd like to change?
I couldn't open the video.

The higher numbers are giving my SPS trouble. Most of my corals are soft and seem okay. Fish are fine too

 

[gcarcher59]

 

[00W]

Yep most fish and softies are fine there.
What is your goal for nitrate?
Increase water changes to weekly. How much water are you changing?

 

[00W]

Wow that tank looks great!

 

[Pickle_soup]

Am I correct, is that the only powerhead in the system?

 

[gcarcher59]

Yep most fish and softies are fine there.
What is your goal for nitrate?
Increase water changes to weekly. How much water are you changing?

I used to run<10 No3 and < .15 Po4. Can't figure out what changed. I even pupped out a modish idol who loves eating all my coral. I do about 30gallon changes up to about two weeks. Any advice on maybe a algae scrubber? Have to clean my glass about every 5 days

 

[gcarcher59]

Am I correct, is that the only powerhead in the system?

Yes but I am running a Sicce Syncra SDC 9 for a return pump. Do you think more internal flow will help? It's a 36x36d36 quarter cylinder tank

 

[Pickle_soup]

I used to run<10 No3 and < .15 Po4. Can't figure out what changed. I even pupped out a modish idol who loves eating all my coral. I do about 30gallon changes up to about two weeks. Any advice on maybe a algae scrubber? Have to clean my glass about every 5 days

I mean theoretically, the scrubber will do the job. I found one that I like on eBay, check out Algea Clean. It is reasonably priced and has pretty good reviews. I have no idea why someone would charge in excess of $600 for an acrylic light and two lights. What is your skimmer rated for?

 

[gcarcher59]

I mean theoretically, the scrubber will do the job. I found one that I like on eBay, check out Algea Clean. It is reasonably priced and has pretty good reviews. I have no idea why someone would charge in excess of $600 for an acrylic light and two lights. What is your skimmer rated for?

Skimmer is 150g so a little small. The new Red Sea reef Matt is the big one and it's fantastic. No more sock changing

 

[Pickle_soup]

Yes but I am running a Sicce Syncra SDC 9 for a return pump. Do you think more internal flow will help? It's a 36x36d36 quarter cylinder tankD

Do you feel that there is enough flow behind the rockwork? In a corner bowfront like that it makes sense to stack the back wall, you just have to make sure waste doesn't build up there. Maybe 2 or 3 brittle starfish could help you out if you don't want to disrupt the rocks too much. At this point, I wouldn't rush to any drastic measures.

 

[Pickle_soup]

Skimmer is 150g so a little small. The new Red Sea reef Matt is the big one and it's fantastic. No more sock changing

You have some heavy bioload in there. The Naso itself in a tank of that size can cause major problems. I would definitely go with an oversized skimmer for those fish. But that's me, I love oversized skimmers since I will never keep SPS and I love to feed my fish.

 

[00W]

Yeah @Pickle_soup is right. Just go slow for now. Couple of dc adjustable power heads add extra flow and detritus removal help.
Is that an octopus skimmer?

 

[gcarcher59]

Do you feel that there is enough flow behind the rockwork? In a corner bowfront like that it makes sense to stack the back wall, you just have to make sure waste doesn't build up there. Maybe 2 or 3 brittle starfish could help you out if you don't want to disrupt the rocks too much. At this point, I wouldn't rush to any drastic measures.

Thanks. I'll see if I can make room for that scrubber. I just checked it out and it's way cheaper. Thanks for the tip!!

 

[00W]

30 gallon change every two weeks only brings nitrate down by 19 percent.
With that bioload,and only changing every other week it will gradually climb.

 

[Pickle_soup]

Thanks. I'll see if I can make room for that scrubber. I just checked it out and it's way cheaper. Thanks for the tip!!

There is a post here somewhere on these scrubbers. Check it out. That's what made me do it.

 

[00W]

Changing 20 percent every week until you get it where you want is where to start.
Algae scrubber would be great for you.

 

[bakbay]

The higher numbers are giving my SPS trouble. Most of my corals are soft and seem okay. Fish are fine too

What do you mean by “giving my SPS trouble.”? Are they RTN/STN due to high nutrients? They turned brown? Your nitrate is fine but phosphate is a little high — that said, it should be fine. What did you use to test these parameters?

What is your Alk level? You’re keeping it stable?