How can I get some nutrients in my tank?

Cory

More than 25 years reefing
View Badges
Joined
Oct 30, 2014
Messages
6,882
Reaction score
3,129
Location
Canada
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would start dosing vodka to increase the food supply for corals. Worked for me with 0/0 po4/no3 before i started dosing. Monti loved it, softies hate it.

I posted a longer story about this today you can search for it in the chem forum.

I believe that reefs are nutrient poor but not foodless. Vodka adds that missing factor. Imo
 

Ocelaris

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
May 3, 2016
Messages
1,786
Reaction score
1,157
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I started dosing Potassium nitrate per that thread, and have been keeping my nitrates around 2-4 ppm, and phosphates around .2 - . 4 with gfo and carbon. I also have gotten my alk up to around 9-10 and everything seems to be happy. I've noticed especially one acro I've had for 6 months start to color up from brown to fluorescent green. It's only been 2 weeks, but I really feel that's the secret, higher nitrates and lower phosphates. My Dinos on the glass have been reduced dramatically as well. And I feed pretty heavy for the 5 fish in my 110, 3 cubes a day and algae for the tang. I also pulled my carbon reactor offline as well to no noticeable difference. The frags are definitely entrusting at the pace I can actually see, so I'll stay the course.
 
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks Ocelaris, My alk is around 7.6 Ca at 360. I'm just trying to match the new Red Sea salt I'm using. It's been stable for a few months now. I'll consider boosting these levels in the future. At this point I'm happy with the Po4 level just need some more No3 ! Now I do have Ha growing right under the surface of the sand bed. Tonight I did a good cleaning/Water change. Took a kiddie sand rake and slowly raked the top layer. Got a good hand full of ha & a little sand out, scrubbed a couple larger base rocks and added some plugs to lift them off the sand. The ha makes me think the light is too strong so I moved it up another 4/5 inches. It's a good 14 inches off the water surface now. No too strong light now ! ( The lights are another story). Did a water change,it had been almost a month. Went to my local Home Depot,no Spectracide brand stump remover. Thanks for sharing your experience per the thread.
Cory, I prefer to dose the vodka into myself! I've dosed biopellets with good results in the past. I'll look for Your post soon. For now I'm outta here ! I had a nice Christmas hope You did as well. Best Wishes for the next Year also !
 
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Good Evening Gents ! So I mixed up a 2 cup batch of Ro/ Stump remover . Dosed 4 tsps and tested about 1 1/2 hours later. No3 is just barely under 2 . I'm using the regular Red Sea NO3 & Po4 kits. I have the Pro kits but my eyes have probs with the fine differing shades. All I want are general readings . I must confess ,when it was suggested I dose a chemical stump remover, my 1st response was No way ! So I did the research,followed Randy's suggestion, and it works ! I feel good about dosing this stuff, just not sure what target numbers I want yet. This is the 1st time since last November I had any No3 in this tank .So as of right now, No3 is 2 , Po4 is .02 .
 
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Last night,after dosing 4 tps I got a reading of 2 No3. This afternoon I tested again . There was no No3 left,the tank had sucked it all up ! So I dosed 2 tbls and got back to 2 No3. A couple hours later I dosed another 2 tbls.
Now i'm right around 4 No3. Which I think is where I want to be. Will test again tomorrow .
 
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ok, ended up back at No3 2 . Added another 2 tbls . will test again same time next night. . I know this can't be true, but I swear the brain coral appears to be coloring up a bit?
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ok , the tank has sucked up 4 tbls ! Almost sure the test was good. will add 4 m,ore and test tomorrow. This sound about right? Can a 75 with 20 or so corals use up 4 tbls? Maybe it takes a lot more at 1st? These are the things I'll test for. I do enjoy a good experiment !
PS, HAPPY NEW YEAR !
 
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So Last night I added another 4 tbls. then tested 2 hrs later. it was way way high. Like just under 10 !
Once again I'm confident the test was good. Tonight I got just over 5. So no dose tonight. will test again tomorrow. I will get it right sooner or later LOL !
 

alten78

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Messages
386
Reaction score
478
Location
Sheffield Lake, OH
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The best thing I ever did for my coral was feed more. Like you, the tank was low in No3 and Po4, sucked up as much as I dosed of the stump remover. Between feeding more (added more fish) things colored up and didn't have the need to dose anymore. 10ppm is far from high for me, its what I aim for :)

Ca of 360 is low, I try to stay between 425-450.
 
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks for the insight Alton , I j started dosing kalkwasser recently & just now getting the correct amounts to match the salt I use. I do plan to raise these levels in the future. I was shooting for Po4 around.02 & No3 at 5. I'm real leery about raising these levels due to bad algae issues in the past ! I will "slowly " see how things go . LOL
 
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I don't get it. I dosed Potassium Nitrate 4 nights in a row. 1 tbls 2 tbls 3 tbls 4 ! The tank sucked it up every time. Dosed another 4 tbls and it has been about the same for 3 nights now ! It did drop a little to No3, 5 . It's right where I want it but still. I "think" that the tank was starving for nitrates. When I reached a certain amount . the tank didn't need more. I expect it will need a little every so often. we shall see ! So I can see the red Macro(dragon's breath) & Chaeto has definitely colored up and An oPen brain coral seems to have done the same. Very Cool ! I must admit , since hanging out here at R2R You Younger Reefer's with new ideas have taught me and improved my skills.
I suppose a" Thanks" is in order.
 
Last edited:

alten78

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Messages
386
Reaction score
478
Location
Sheffield Lake, OH
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
What's not to get? Coral need nutrients to live, grow, color, etc, and if they are starving as others have suggested, they'll consume what little nutrients are available. There's are reason everybody that responded to this thread said to feed, feed, feed! Good luck and keep us posted!
 
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hello Alton, I was surprised that after 3/4 days of dosing a bunch. suddenly the tank didn't want any more. I'm not going to feed feed feed ! I'll overfeed and end up with another Aquatic Chia pet !
so again tonight the No3 dropped just a little. Tomorrow night I might dose just a little and see if I get a stable reading. Gotta figure just how much the tank wants.
Also on a side note, I'm trying to keep Alk levels stable. they drop quickly. Started using Kalkwasser in the ato. It's not enough. Mag & Ca levels are stable but alk keeps dropping. I dosed a little prt 1 & 2 , raised it to 9.
It dropped next day to 7.8 . All I want at this point is to match the levels of the new RED SEA salt ( not the pro) I'm using. Problem is I don't know what the alk levels are for a new batch of this water. I didn't save the bag & can't find the info online. so I tested a new batch and got an alk reading of 9. Is this about right ? I could call Jason at " Orange Park Aquatics " and ask him but I have to keep up my ( I know what i'm doing)image !
Any way I'll figure it out. After all if this was an easy endeavour I'd get bored with it.
 

alten78

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Messages
386
Reaction score
478
Location
Sheffield Lake, OH
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I found this thread here on the forum interesting, maybe it will help you keep up your image - https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/redfield-ratio-significant-factor-in-reef-tanks.215833/

I wouldn't bother trying to match bucket parameters as they can vary from bucket to bucket. Shoot for a number that works for you and keep it as stable as possible, I try to keep mine between 7-7.5 while others shoot for 9-10.

Dont forget you need some po4 as well...
 

Rick.45cal

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 14, 2016
Messages
3,693
Reaction score
9,210
Location
Lakeland Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You'll have to figure out your alkalinity consumption. By testing daily at the same time. Your alkalinity has started dropping because your corals are taking up carbonate ions to build skeletons with. It's a good thing, they have nutrients now, so they can grow. You need to dose alkalinity solution to make up for what they are using daily.

Test your alkalinity. Wait 24 hours and test alkalinity again (don't dose alk during this time). The difference in those values is what has been consumed in 24 hours (it's a starting point). So that's your starting maintenance dose. That's what you will have to add daily to make up for what is getting used. (You should continue to test daily while dosing to make adjustments to fine tune your dose regime).

Glad you've found the right track! :)
 
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks Rick, You make good sense !So here is what I got now. The Kalkwasser was keeping up with the Alk consumption until I started dosing the potassium nitrate . The corals are able to do something with this No3 so now they need more Alk . So I ahhhhh already knew that. Just took me a couple days to remember ? How'as that sound? Thanks ! LOL I'm testing again now.
 
Last edited:

Rick.45cal

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 14, 2016
Messages
3,693
Reaction score
9,210
Location
Lakeland Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'd start dosing an alkalinity supplement. I'd seriously consider the simplicity of dosing a 2 part that way the Ca get taken care of automatically and you don't have to keep track of it. ;)

Yes, calcium is important. The other half of that part is the alkalinity part (the carbonate ion). They are used equally by the corals as they grow their skeletons. The catch is there is a lot more calcium in seawater than there is alkalinity. So the alkalinity uptake makes a much bigger overall impact in the system. Ca depletion is harder to keep track of than alkalinty depletion. If you dose two part your Ca will stay in an equal proportion to what it's alkalinity part is. ;)

Long story short it's easier to keep track of.
 
OP
OP
cracker

cracker

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
7,164
Reaction score
16,237
Location
north east Fl
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Good Evening Gents, so I got a steady alk of 7.6 Po4 is slightly greater than 0.1. CA at 360. I want to get the alk a little higher maybe 7.8 or a little more. When I dose the tank to a prefered level,it's just drops back to the 7.6 .
I was really hoping the Kalkwasser/Ato dosing would keep up but that's not going to happen. I guess I'm not getting enough of the topff into the tank. However I can't imagine what few corals I have are sucking this up. Could be something else going on ? We shall see. I will have to start dosing manually again.
Maybe the kalkwasser solution is strong enough but I'm not getting enough evaporation so not enough of the solution is getting into the tank. Ok I'm rambling now so Good night !
 

alten78

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Messages
386
Reaction score
478
Location
Sheffield Lake, OH
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Kalk is equal parts alk and ca, as I understand it (and used it myself) as something to maintain levels, not raise them. I think I may have mentioned it in a previous post, but 360 for ca is low, I'd bump that up to at least 400. Bring both ca and alk to your target numbers, test again 24 hours later and see if they drop or not. If they don't, then your kalk is doing its job.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 55 49.5%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 61 55.0%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 25 22.5%
  • None.

    Votes: 28 25.2%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 8.1%
Back
Top