Po4 to No3 imbalance

[Manose]

So lets look at my little dilemma
This is my Red Sea 750xxl and on day 13 of 14 with treating Flux Rx to get rid of some bryopsis.
The skimmer and floss are the only things running right now.
I have AC and my chaeto reactor ready to go online at anytime.
On the 16th I tested Po4 and it was way low .01 and nitrates at 1ppm
On the 17th I decided to feed some reef roids
Today the 18th my Po4 is at .1 and No3= 1ppm
In saying all of this my coral have not looked this good in awhile but that is where I have a question
1. Tomorrow should I bring the carbon and new chaeto online and let it ride
or
2. Bring carbon and chaeto online and dose No3 to get it up slowly.
Any advise would be appreciated

These are pictures from today and you can see the coral like the extra nutrients not trapped by the algae

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

cant help you out with your dilema, but I will ask, where the heck did you get that toadstool!! that thing looks incredible!

 

[Manose]

cant help you out with your dilema, but I will ask, where the heck did you get that toadstool!! that thing looks incredible!

I bought that from AquaSD and it has been wonderful. It loves the flow!!

 

[jordan10]

If it was me I bring cheato and carbon back on and dose slow to get where u want. But that's just me

 

[MaxTremors]

I would wait to bring chaeto online until you’ve done 2-3 water changes. The carbon should take out most of the fluconazole, but I had problems growing macro until I’d done a few water changes. Also, at two weeks, your bryopsis (or whatever you were treating) might not be fully dead. As far as the nutrients, what were your levels before the fluconazole? I would recommend shooting for 0.03-0.08ppm phosphates, and 5-15ppm for nitrates. 1ppm nitrates is a little concerning.

 

[Manose]

I would wait to bring chaeto online until you’ve done 2-3 water changes. The carbon should take out most of the fluconazole, but I had problems growing macro until I’d done a few water changes. Also, at two weeks, your bryopsis (or whatever you were treating) might not be fully dead. As far as the nutrients, what were your levels before the fluconazole? I would recommend shooting for 0.03-0.08ppm phosphates, and 5-15ppm for nitrates. 1ppm nitrates is a little concerning.

I was treating gha and added one crazy cuc also but all my nutrients were bound up in the gha and had zero till I started getting rid of the gha by cleaning and using the flux. That is when I started to detect No3 again and the coral also started perking up a lot.
Yes at 1ppm on nitrates has me totally baffled because of the amount of dead gha that I removed should have released more than that. This is with 3 new test kits red sea,salifert,nyos. I had them overnighted cause the results were nuts
I have a fresh salt batch(TMpro) that was mixed 4 days ago and ready for the awc

 

[Dan_P]

So lets look at my little dilemma
This is my Red Sea 750xxl and on day 13 of 14 with treating Flux Rx to get rid of some bryopsis.
The skimmer and floss are the only things running right now.
I have AC and my chaeto reactor ready to go online at anytime.
On the 16th I tested Po4 and it was way low .01 and nitrates at 1ppm
On the 17th I decided to feed some reef roids
Today the 18th my Po4 is at .1 and No3= 1ppm
In saying all of this my coral have not looked this good in awhile but that is where I have a question
1. Tomorrow should I bring the carbon and new chaeto online and let it ride
or
2. Bring carbon and chaeto online and dose No3 to get it up slowly.
Any advise would be appreciated

These are pictures from today and you can see the coral like the extra nutrients not trapped by the algae

Let’s test the logic.

Growing macro algae reduces nitrate and can help with PO4 reduction. Your system has low levels of both.

By carbon you mean GAC? Sure bring it on.

 

[Manose]

Let’s test the logic.

Growing macro algae reduces nitrate and can help with PO4 reduction. Your system has low levels of both.

By carbon you mean GAC? Sure bring it on.

Well my system has only low levels of No3 as Po4 is .1
And yes GAC

 

[nicholas2010e]

Following as I am having the same issue:

quick story of my tank.... I was battling really high nutrients so I made a DIY algea scrubber and it worked too well. Along with my corals exploding in growth I am now at 1 nitrate and a couple SPS started to melt. Looking to slowly bring the nitrate up without increasing phosphate.

 

[Manose]

Following as I am having the same issue:

quick story of my tank.... I was battling really high nutrients so I made a DIY algea scrubber and it worked too well. Along with my corals exploding in growth I am now at 1 nitrate and a couple SPS started to melt. Looking to slowly bring the nitrate up without increasing phosphate.

Yeah the problem for me is I am just coming off a bad algae outbreak so if I dose No3 to get the Po4 down my algae might go nuts.
Really just confused on the whole situation

 

[Dan_P]

Well my system has only low levels of No3 as Po4 is .1
And yes GAC

Thanks for the clarification. The system seems like it is matching your corals’ needs right now. I would resist tampering at the moment.

 

[TankCandy]

You tank is looking great!!
I run a ULN tank by feeding my fish once every other day, dry food only. If i do not dose NeoPhos or Nirtate i will hit 0.0 on both within a few days and Dino's will appear. I would keep your phos @.1-.06 and Nitrates around 25ish, but make sure you do not go under 5. I I personally do not feed my coral anymore since they absorb nutrients out of the water.

Yeah the problem for me is I am just coming off a bad algae outbreak so if I dose No3 to get the Po4 down my algae might go nuts.
Really just confused on the whole situation

You algae will increase, yes. not bad algae however. You will need to get a few more robust snails like astrea.

If you want to do some research look into Shane Backers High End Tenuis Hoarder https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/high-end-tenuis-hoarder.757551/ Its a long thread but he goes over the nutrient uptake and how Phos and Nitrae have to compete with algea and there is nothing left for the coral. One key thing to remeber is you need to saturate the tank then cut back on the dosing.. this will require daily tests until you understand your uptake.

My current Params
Alk: 8.9 (64 ml a day)
Phos .09 (22ml a day)
Nitrate: 40-60 (5 ml a day)
Ph: 8.3

 

[nicholas2010e]

Yeah the problem for me is I am just coming off a bad algae outbreak so if I dose No3 to get the Po4 down my algae might go nuts.
Really just confused on the whole situation

Ya it all started for me with algae too. Got cyano…. Used chemiclean and got Dino’s… beat Dino’s by dirtied my water and got hair algae. So now I made a diy algae scrubber

 

[GarrettT]

Ya it all started for me with algae too. Got cyano…. Used chemiclean and got Dino’s… beat Dino’s by dirtied my water and got hair algae. So now I made a diy algae scrubber

Wouldn’t that just circle you back to Dino’s? Algae scrubbers I’ve heard are very effective at lowering po4 and no3.

 

[nicholas2010e]

Wouldn’t that just circle you back to Dino’s? Algae scrubbers I’ve heard are very effective at lowering po4 and no3.

It is possible. My goal was and is to be able to do heavy in heavy out. Which is why I want a algae scrubber. So far even with practically no nitrate I have 0 Dino’s

 

[Manose]

Thanks for the clarification. The system seems like it is matching your corals’ needs right now. I would resist tampering at the moment.

You tank is looking great!!
I run a ULN tank by feeding my fish once every other day, dry food only. If i do not dose NeoPhos or Nirtate i will hit 0.0 on both within a few days and Dino's will appear. I would keep your phos @.1-.06 and Nitrates around 25ish, but make sure you do not go under 5. I I personally do not feed my coral anymore since they absorb nutrients out of the water.

You algae will increase, yes. not bad algae however. You will need to get a few more robust snails like astrea.

If you want to do some research look into Shane Backers High End Tenuis Hoarder https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/high-end-tenuis-hoarder.757551/ Its a long thread but he goes over the nutrient uptake and how Phos and Nitrae have to compete with algea and there is nothing left for the coral. One key thing to remeber is you need to saturate the tank then cut back on the dosing.. this will require daily tests until you understand your uptake.

My current Params
Alk: 8.9 (64 ml a day)
Phos .09 (22ml a day)
Nitrate: 40-60 (5 ml a day)
Ph: 8.3

That is what I was thinking is maybe take things a little slower and watch the parameters as I do the following:
1. Get my gac back online
2. Dont start my Chaeto reactor for a little while
3. Resume my auto water changes as I had going before I added the Flux to treat gha
(2gal everyday by my DOS from 7pm until 10pm)
4. add very small amounts No3 each day and test

What do you guys think as the worst thing I want to do is upset the coral or ruin the natural balance of the tank?
Any other input is also appreciated as my coral are the happies they have been in a ling time.

 

[Manose]

So today I thought before we go any further lets check all parameters again
No3 = 1-1.5
Po4 = .03 first test Hanna
P04 = .08 second test Hanna
Po4 = .05 third test Hanna
I will do one more test later tonight

 

[Manose]

So today I thought before we go any further lets check all parameters again
No3 = 1-1.5
Po4 = .03 first test Hanna
P04 = .08 second test Hanna
Po4 = .05 third test Hanna
I will do one more test later tonight

Just tested Po4 4th time today .03 so it's safe to say my Po4 is just right

 

[nicholas2010e]

Just tested Po4 4th time today .03 so it's safe to say my Po4 is just right

what is your nitrate goal?

 

[Manose]

what is your nitrate goal?

No goal at all really but would like to see it at 5ppm with Po4 at .03-05 and those number are realistic as I have 2ppm nitrate.