Ulns questions

[CoryC]

ULNS help?
I've somehow created an ultra low nutrient system, and was wondering if i need to do anything to remedy this, perhaps growth wise.
I have a 72 g reef, I dose 2 part, it's lit by 2 radions and 2 t5 ATI blue plus's. 15 gal sump with a SRO xp1000s, phosban reactor, filter socks. I have pretty good color on most my sps but not all however every frag i've added recently has colored up nicely. it's my older stuff that went through alk swings before i started dosing that doesnt seem the greatest(lack of PE and the best color), most of my lps, zoas, etc look great but it doesnt seem like i'm getting the best growth, or what i used to get when i remember getting positive test on n03 and po4 kits. now my levels are undetectable, and have been for a while. i dont ever get nitrates or phosphates even after going longer than 2 weeks without a water change. i've been dosing for calc and alk and mag too. 8.4 dkh, 430cal, 1350mag. I try to feed a cube of mysis everyday but sometimes miss a day, i'll add reef nutrition oyster, rotifers, phyto and other things occasionally. i dip everything before it goes in. I have 8 fish. Should i feed more? Should I look into dosing KZ zeovit additives since i have an ULNS? Will my chalices be ok in a zeovit system? has anyone else experienced this?

 

[RogerWilco357]

wow that is nice I have battled PO4 and NO3 over the last year trying to get it to ulns status but the bio-load my large tangs put into the system along side the old rock makes it impossible ..seems your doing everything right with the feedings your corals should be fine.

 

[Dowtish]

Feed more. Feed twice or three times a day. Not all frozen, but some pellets or flakes will do. If you are able to keep low levels like that with not much effort, then I would try to feed as much as the system can handle. Your corals and fish will appreciate it.

Are you running GFO or Phosban?

 

[cultivatedcoral]

I run an ulns. I used to run full blown zeo but now I run microbacter7 and vodka dosing to keep it ulns. I dose amino acids and supplemental coral food. I do have a lot of fish too and extra fish poop is always good for coral food. Zeo aminos are great and zeo coral vitalizer. I also used fauna Marin ultra Amin. I am going to start trying Salifert bio coral aminos next week. these may help with poly extension and overall health of the corals so they don't slowly starve. Fauna Marin was good as we'll I am just experimenting to see if there is another brand that blows the rest away.

 

[Mrfresh]

You could cut ur phosreactor media in half and see what happens.
But if u want to keep ur system the same sence it seems to be dialed in perfectly! Think about adding aminos.
I personally like the 2 part from red sea. My corals have huge poylp extention afterthat... also look at feeding coral frenzy .
Phyto will feed the micro orginisms in the tank and that will inturn feen the corals...

Fish poop is great too. I vodka dose and I have great coloration with phos at .08or less and nitrates at 10ppm or less.
I had to add a lot of fish to get that right balance in my 90 I have a total of 13 fish some super small. Gum drop goby to a tang thats about 5 inches...
Feeding ur fish more is a pretty good way to go tho its the cheapest easiest way to start.if its still happening look at doing other things....

 

[CoryC]

Running phosban. I add three drops of pohls vitalizer every night. I think that's amino acid. Ill try feeding more. I run phosban but I guess I'm just worried my rainbow chalices won't grow like I want them to

 

[cultivatedcoral]

For your chalices you would use Zeo amino LPS. They also aye aminos for SPS. I'm not sure that Pohls Xtra has aminos.

Running phosban. I add three drops of pohls vitalizer every night. I think that's amino acid. Ill try feeding more. I run phosban but I guess I'm just worried my rainbow chalices won't grow like I want them to

 

[CoryC]

I ordered the zeo amino LPS as well as some Pohls Xtra Special that I thought may help my sps to color up and look better. reviews seemed to favor it. I picked up a brightwell Coral Amino as well that i will be trying too. Anyone experience with any of these products?

 

[CoryC]

Started dosing the Xtra Special today. if things dont improve ill add the lps

 

[cultivatedcoral]

I have not used Brightwells Coral Amino for any real length of time but I would assume it is fine. Brightwell has good products.

 

[Curtis Scott]

I'm having a great results with Pohl's, brightwell amino and spot feeding to help my corals recover from low nutrients. You can read more about my experience here. Basically feeding more while still keeping an eye on your water quality is the way to go.

 

[jservedio]

It's hard to tell with Amino Acids - they definitely make it easier to get cyano in ULNS systems though! I too haven't had Phos or Nitrate readings on my salifert tests in months and had the same problem with acro coloring - the new ones color immediately and the older ones that have been through a lot take much longer to color up. I have a Radion pro and get pretty good color and excellent PE (though I get shading from not having T5s in addition to the LED). I started dosing a mix of Elos Omega and AquaVitro Vibrance on a dosing pump at about 1/3-1/2 the suggested dose. If I go any higher I seem to get a couple of little cyano patches if I continue feed my normal amount. With 100x turnover, flow isn't the problem either and the only difference is the addition of AAs.

It's hard to tell if they do anything - but they don't hurt and are super cheap for a tank as small as mine so I am keeping it up. I feed Larry's Reef Frenzy Nano that has been enriched with additional large zooplankton for LPS, additional Mysis for the fish, and Elos Skimmer food + tiny zooplankton for my SPS.

My colors have been steadily improving for months with the addition of AAs - but my stability has also greatly improved in terms of Alk (with the dosers I swing less than 0.3 dkh daily since it doeses 6 times per day) and I added the Radion Pro so I don't really know what is helping the color and what isn't.

If there is nothing wrong with your tank - don't change it. Acros take forever to color up and repair themselves after they have been damaged - especially if they have been through Alk swings in the past.