Starving SPS -- Or, why I removed some siporax!

[Rakie]

You know i've been thinking about it more and more.. I feed heavy, tank is stocked, dose no3 -- Never had anything but stellar colors, and an easy time with SPS.

Then suddenly, I started having problems. Algae blooms, this issue or that issue, loss of color, slowed growth, etc etc. Mostly, I've noticed my nutrients end up almost undetectable -- Even if I dose 2-3 no3 in the evening, it's down to 0.5 - 1 no3 in the AM.

I couldn't figure out why I've been having all these little issues, and suddenly it dawned on me... All these issues started when I put 3L siporax in my tank. Now I know, I know... the vast majority of people really like ULNS system. Well, I don't. In my personal experience, my SPS had never looked better than when my no3 was at 20-25, and my po4 was at .08+ -- And no, they weren't brown. They were insanely colorful..

So today, I took the first step in getting my tank back on track.. By removing 1/2 (ish) of my Siporax. I will slowly remove more bits and pieces as time goes on, testing my parameters.

I think it's important we take stock of what we did, so we can look back and find out why we have this problem, or that problem. Additionally -- Nutrients are demonized a lil more than they should be.

Anybody else have issues with siporax being too good at it's job?

 

[kevlow]

You know i've been thinking about it more and more.. I feed heavy, tank is stocked, dose no3 -- Never had anything but stellar colors, and an easy time with SPS.

Then suddenly, I started having problems. Algae blooms, this issue or that issue, loss of color, slowed growth, etc etc. Mostly, I've noticed my nutrients end up almost undetectable -- Even if I dose 2-3 no3 in the evening, it's down to 0.5 - 1 no3 in the AM.

I couldn't figure out why I've been having all these little issues, and suddenly it dawned on me... All these issues started when I put 3L siporax in my tank. Now I know, I know... the vast majority of people really like ULNS system. Well, I don't. In my personal experience, my SPS had never looked better than when my no3 was at 20-25, and my po4 was at .08+ -- And no, they weren't brown. They were insanely colorful..

So today, I took the first step in getting my tank back on track.. By removing 1/2 (ish) of my Siporax. I will slowly remove more bits and pieces as time goes on, testing my parameters.

I think it's important we take stock of what we did, so we can look back and find out why we have this problem, or that problem. Additionally -- Nutrients are demonized a lil more than they should be.

Anybody else have issues with siporax being too good at it's job?

I have matrix in a basket. It is very effective especially with a once a week stirring by hand to keep it detritus free. When I raised it up off the bottom with pvc tubes it got even more effective.
It works really well with controlling Nitrates. I find that sometimes I must dose some Neo Nitrate to raise my numbers.

Like you, I found my corals have never looked better then when Nitrates are at about 20-25.

Phosphates do not stay where I would like them. I will sit at .18 regularly and have hair and bubble algae mostly in the sump [it is lighted] and overflows. I would like them to stay under .1. If I dose one drop of Phosphate RX for several days then the number drops to 0 quickly.

So far I have found that if I add some powder coral food to my frozen fish food this helps drive up the Nitrate number while still maintaining the bacteria media in the sump. I am trying the strategy of high import,high export . I could remove some Matrix but I think it is allowing me to import more.
Phosphates seem to be the difficult one for me to stabilize.

 

[Rakie]

Thanks for your insight.

I mix in a cube of Rotifers / Cyclops / Oyster Eggs with my foods. The fish like 'em too so win/win. My only issue seems to be that no matter what I do, my nutrient import CANNOT keep up with Export.

This is very anecdotal, and 99% chance a coincidence -- But my corals look better today than they have in awhile.. All i did was remove half my siporax. After testing, my no3 went from 4 --> 2 overnight. Typically it will go from 4 --> 0.5 overnight. I'm definitely a believer in nutrients, but even I can't be sure if that was the only factor which made everything look better today.

Following suit from last night -- I took out another 1/4 of my Siporax. This leaves me with 1L, which supposedly is more than enough for a tank of my size. I will continue to monitor whats going on, and will either write an article, or at least a dedicated thread.

 

[Wu Tang Clam]

Sorry to drag this back from the past guys....but Rakie did pulling some siporax help solve some of your issues??
I want my nitrates back!!!

 

[TX_Punisher]

Similar situation with too many bio pellets. Removed a bunch and have just enough to process some no3.

 

[TDEcoral]

I think siporax in my sump is keeping nitrate too low for me as well, even if I feed a ton.

 

[jda]

I know that this is an old thread, but Nitrate is not a food. It is a building block for organic tissue, not an energy source. I know that there is a lot of thought that more is better, but any surplus is enough. There can be some long-term consequences to keeping your N or P higher than they need to be, but sometimes they do not manifest for months or a year.

If you want to "feed" your corals more, then light is the best way, by far, since it is unlikely they corals can outcompete single-cell organisms for aminos and nearly no SPS can catch any foods that we feed.

 

[Rakie]

Sorry to drag this back from the past guys....but Rakie did pulling some siporax help solve some of your issues??
I want my nitrates back!!!

Yes. I use a little bit of Seachem Matrix as it keeps stable nutrient levels as siporax just slurped it all away. I also don't like refugiums because of this.