Zero nitrates and phosphates

[jgvergo]

The basic stats for my tank:

115 gallon (DT+sump)
7 months old - I rebooted it in November 17
Alk 9.5 (Hanna)
Ca 546 (Hanna)
Phosphate 0.0 (Hanna)
Phosphorous 0 (Hanna ULR)
Nitrates 0.0 (Red Sea)

I have some (but not a lot) stubborn brown hair algae in my DT and some bubble algae in my sump.

My corals are mixed (softies, LPS and SPS). They are generally not doing well. I just got the Hanna checkers and my conclusion is that I am basically starving the corals.

I currently feed once a day, and it's a healthy amount. It takes about an hour for the fish and corals to eat everything.

So, should I:
1) Feed more often, more food?
2) Skim less (I run my skimmer continuously)
3) Dose nitrate and phosphate
4) Something else?

Thanks,
John

 

[laverda]

Sounds like your feeding too much if it takes them an hour to eat it all. What are you doing for nutrient export besides skimming?

 

[jgvergo]

Sounds like your feeding too much if it takes them an hour to eat it all. What are you doing for nutrient export besides skimming?

I also run a BRS Carbon/GFO reactor. That's it really.

I have considered that I'm feeding them too much, but wouldn't that result in higher nitrates and phosphates?

 

[laverda]

If your runing GFO remove it or reduce the amount, as corals need some phosphate to survive.

 

[Maggie321]

The algae is eating up your nutrients before your corals can get any. I would put the tank on a diet reducing to every other day or every 3rd day feedings. Make your livestock eat the algae. Put an emerald in the sump with the bubble algae. Look into other ways of reducing algae. Manual removal will be a must the first month or so... If you can get rid of the algae, you can get those corals to start taking in some of the nutrients.

 

[mcarroll]

115 gallon (DT+sump)
7 months old - I rebooted it in November 17

Phosphate 0.0 (Hanna)
Phosphorous 0 (Hanna ULR)
Nitrates 0.0 (Red Sea)

I also run a BRS Carbon/GFO reactor.

Definitely doesn't add up to a great start for a new tank. Take all the nutrient controls and extra bio-media off the tank.

Maybe continue running activated carbon, because....

Conditions like this commonly spawn dino blooms.....have you ID'd your "brown hair algae" yet? Make sure.

If it's not dino's then I'd also cease using activated carbon. No dinos = no dino toxins = no need for activated carbon.

What is your bubble algae growing on? They don't really need PO4 or NO3 in the water, so you may inadvertently be favoring the bubble algae by starving out their competition.

Do you have a microscope? And can you post some tank pics of where the algae are growing as well as a full tank shot of both tanks?

If you have nitrate and phosphate fertilizers, I'd probably dose PO4 up to 0.03 ppm until you get a handle on what's actually growing. This will be a good safety measure for your corals, which are almost surely suffering without a PO4 source (unlike the bubble algae, they do have requirements for it in the water) as well as vs the possible dino's in the display.....again, until you confirm what's actually growing.