Where do you keep your nitrates and phosphates?

[fish farmer]

I used to have N around 30 and P around 1ppm. I dropped them gradually to undetectable with my kits. I was growing chaeto which eventually slowed.

My tank was doing extremely well during this low level. I've boosted up to N around 10 and P rarely registers on a Hanna low range....but do have more in tank algae at the moment.

 

[Troylee]

 

[WrasseyReefer]

I’d be very wary of believing folks opinions on the relationship between nutrient levels and algae issues. More than almost any area of reefing, this one has a lot of opinions that may not reflect reality.

I’m interested in your thoughts on what causes nuisance algae in a reef tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m interested in your thoughts on what causes nuisance algae in a reef tank.

For green hair algae and some other types, availability of ALL of these:

1. A place to grow that is not occupied by something the keeps it from attaching (such as coralline algae, corals, bacteria, etc),

2. Sufficient light

3. Lack of sufficient herbivores to keep it in check

4. An adequate supple of a variety of necessary elements, including N, O, iron, manganese, and several other trace elements.

If any one of those is missing, there will not be an algae problem.

For any chemical, there is a level at which being too low limits algae growth, and above this level it is not limiting and really does not matter much how much higher it is. Something else limits growth. For example, for many types of algae, 10 ppm nitrate us plenty of N and having 20 or 50 or 500 ppm nitrate will not likely make it grow faster.

It is a difficult challenge to limit algae by #4 without hurting corals.

 

[WrasseyReefer]

For green hair algae and some other types, availability of ALL of these:

1. A place to grow that is not occupied by something the keeps it from attaching (such as coralline algae, corals, bacteria, etc),

2. Sufficient light

3. Lack of sufficient herbivores to keep it in check

4. An adequate supple of a variety of necessary elements, including N, O, iron, manganese, and several other trace elements.

If any one of those is missing, there will not be an algae problem.

For any chemical, there is a level at which being too low limits algae growth, and above this level it is not limiting and really does not matter much how much higher it is. Something else limits growth. For example, for many types of algae, 10 ppm nitrate us plenty of N and having 20 or 50 or 500 ppm nitrate will not likely make it grow faster.

It is a difficult challenge to limit algae by #4 without hurting corals.

Thank you for that information. I’m currently battling green hair algae in my FOWLR tank. Is there a sequence of steps that you recommend people take to try to eliminate it?

 

[sawdavis]

Thank you for that information. I’m currently battling green hair algae in my FOWLR tank. Is there a sequence of steps that you recommend people take to try to eliminate it?

I battled GHA for two years and finally got rid of it by boosting Magnesium levels to 1400 and taking out red lighting in my display tank. I do have red lighting in my sump to encourage my cheato growth. I tried everything else, (keeping N & P low, using various chemicals, including Vibrant, etc.) but nothing worked until I did those two things and then I noticed a reduction of GHA growth within days and it was gone by the end of the month.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Nitrates above 50
Phosphates above 0.9


To piggyback onto what Randy is saying, as my tank matures the need to focus on Nitrates and Phosphates has diminished. Weather it's bacteria, fish, inverts, etc nuisance algae doesn't seem to be a concern for me.

 

[saltyhog]

My tank is pretty stable at NO3 10-11, PO4 0.1-0.12. I've had NO3 levels just above 20 and PO4 levels 0.16-0.2 with no problems with coral or pest algae. I do have a lot of active herbivores.

 

[WrasseyReefer]

I battled GHA for two years and finally got rid of it by boosting Magnesium levels to 1400 and taking out red lighting in my display tank. I do have red lighting in my sump to encourage my cheato growth. I tried everything else, (keeping N & P low, using various chemicals, including Vibrant, etc.) but nothing worked until I did those two things and then I noticed a reduction of GHA growth within days and it was gone by the end of the month.

Thanks for your insights. I’ll test the magnesium in my FOWLR and increase it if needed and then see if I can get rid of the red lights.

 

[WrasseyReefer]

Nitrates above 50
Phosphates above 0.9


To piggyback onto what Randy is saying, as my tank matures the need to focus on Nitrates and Phosphates has diminished. Weather it's bacteria, fish, inverts, etc nuisance algae doesn't seem to be a concern for me.

Yeah, I think maybe once a tank has matured enough that sufficient amounts of bacteria, coralline, and corals have inhabited the rocks, sand, glass, etc, there isn’t a place for nuisance algae to grow.

 

[WrasseyReefer]

My tank is pretty stable at NO3 10-11, PO4 0.1-0.12. I've had NO3 levels just above 20 and PO4 levels 0.16-0.2 with no problems with coral or pest algae. I do have a lot of active herbivores.

What size tank do you have and what herbivores do you have?

 

[WrasseyReefer]

I battled GHA for two years and finally got rid of it by boosting Magnesium levels to 1400 and taking out red lighting in my display tank. I do have red lighting in my sump to encourage my cheato growth. I tried everything else, (keeping N & P low, using various chemicals, including Vibrant, etc.) but nothing worked until I did those two things and then I noticed a reduction of GHA growth within days and it was gone by the end of the month.

The GHA didn’t appear until after I changed my rocks. I use to have white caribsea rocks stacked in the tank. Then I replaced the established white caribsea rocks with purple caribsea life rock shapes. I imagine the algae had a place to grow on new rock that wasn’t inhabited by bacteria. Hopefully, with time, the rock will develop enough bacteria to inhibit the GHA growth. I wonder if the dye they use to make the rocks purple has any impact on algae growth.

 

[WrasseyReefer]

I battled GHA for two years and finally got rid of it by boosting Magnesium levels to 1400 and taking out red lighting in my display tank. I do have red lighting in my sump to encourage my cheato growth. I tried everything else, (keeping N & P low, using various chemicals, including Vibrant, etc.) but nothing worked until I did those two things and then I noticed a reduction of GHA growth within days and it was gone by the end of the month.

My FOWLR mag was at 1185! I don’t normally test it. There’s no inverts/corals because of my puffer, so I didn’t feel the need to test it. But I guess I’ll test it from now on. Added mag to raise it to 1400. Hopefully, that will help. Alk was also low, so raised that too. Calc was fine. Thanks for pointing out the mag.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for your insights. I’ll test the magnesium in my FOWLR and increase it if needed and then see if I can get rid of the red lights.

FWIW, high magnesium is not generally a way to solve algae issues.

 

[WrasseyReefer]

FWIW, high magnesium is not generally a way to solve algae issues.

Yeah, you didn’t list it. I guess it’s just going to take time to establish a more mature tank.

 

[saltyhog]

What size tank do you have and what herbivores do you have?

My tank is 72x24x21. I have Gold Rim, Yellow, Lavender and Hippo tangs as well as lots of algae eating snails.

 

[RichReef]

I do not test for them anymore. I just react to what my tank is telling me.

If I am cleaning my glass everyday it's a red flag. Every 3 days makes everyone happy.

Too much algae growth on the sand is a red flag. There is always some, not much but some and it's spotty. Time for a sand vacuum and clean out the areas in my system that collect junk.

Small signs of cynao on the sand and I use some Phosguard for a week or so. A few times this has happened my DI was spent because I slacked on looking at the TDS.

The main part is my ATS. I can really dial in the export using the amount of time the lights are on. Right now it's on for 13 hours. The only drawback to my ATS is having to dose Iodine. I was losing color in my corals and after an ICP test Iodine was severely low which was attributed to the ATS.

I HEAVILY feed the tank and my load is heavy.

The only testing I do is ALK once a week. CAL and MAG once a month.

Am I doing it right? I dunno. This seems to work for me. The tank is happy. I am not advocating for not testing. It just slowly died off for me. I have no idea where my levels are. When I was testing I was looking to just have some detection.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I do not test for them anymore. I just react to what my tank is telling me.

If I am cleaning my glass everyday it's a red flag. Every 3 days makes everyone happy.

Too much algae growth on the sand is a red flag. There is always some, not much but some and it's spotty. Time for a sand vacuum and clean out the areas in my system that collect junk.

Small signs of cynao on the sand and I use some Phosguard for a week or so. A few times this has happened my DI was spent because I slacked on looking at the TDS.

The main part is my ATS. I can really dial in the export using the amount of time the lights are on. Right now it's on for 13 hours. The only drawback to my ATS is having to dose Iodine. I was losing color in my corals and after an ICP test Iodine was severely low which was attributed to the ATS.

I HEAVILY feed the tank and my load is heavy.

The only testing I do is ALK once a week. CAL and MAG once a month.

Am I doing it right? I dunno. This seems to work for me. The tank is happy. I am not advocating for not testing. It just slowly died off for me. I have no idea where my levels are. When I was testing I was looking to just have some detection.

I think you're relying upon something that most people are either afraid to do or don't have the skills to do.

If the tank looks good and a test says otherwise, most people are willing to trust the test results and start taking corrective actions, when no action was necessary.... you know "chasing numbers"

I'm not saying to stop testing, it's a tool in our bag. But to look at the big picture before making drastic decisions.

 

[RichReef]

I think you're relying upon something that most people are either afraid to do or don't have the skills to do.

If the tank looks good and a test says otherwise, most people are willing to trust the test results and start taking corrective actions, when no action was necessary.... you know "chasing numbers"

I'm not saying to stop testing, it's a tool in our bag. But to look at the big picture before making drastic decisions.

Outside of my water changes and regular husbandry it just seems the less I do the better. I've gotten into a routine.

 

[MrGisonni]

The sweet spot in my mixed reef seems to be about 30 ppm nitrate and .03 - .07 phosphate.

Interesting read about this subject

Tank Parameters Of Some Masters

Tank Parameters Of Some Masters To this day one of the most frequently asked questions I get, and actually that many “old time hobbyists” get is “How do I get rid of the algae in my tank. My first question then is “what are the parameters of...

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