Fear of nitrates bottoming out

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Despite the sarcasm, it is quite clear to me and others that nutrients low enough to prevent competing organisms from growing on bare rock is a strong risk factor for developing dinos on those surfaces.

 

[Dburr1014]

Just to elaborate. It’s not really your opinion that zero nutrients causes dinoflagellates. It’s the consensus of all scientific research, biology, and common knowledge on earth. The “opinion” of 0=dinos only exists in the hobby by some hobbyist and no where else. The rationale is that “bad” dinos have a “superpower” that allows them to grow, thrive with below hobby test kit resolution nutrients when all other inhabitants die. Than as minimum amounts of nutrients are available, they again use this superpower, and consume all the nutrients before other inhabitants can; even other good dinoflagellates, zooxanthellae. The hobbyist raises nutrients and magically the bad dinoflagellates lose their superpower and other reef inhabitants can now use nutrients that before couldn’t. Again, this mystery is only observed in glass boxes by reef hobbyists and no other place in reality, might happen in the Matrix, but I chose the blue pill.

I was specifically speaking of "nitrate" not "all" nutrients. But I get your point none the less.

 

[CHSUB]

Despite the sarcasm, it is quite clear to me and others that nutrients low enough to prevent competing organisms from growing on bare rock is a strong risk factor for developing dinos on those surfaces.

Hopefully the sarcasm is amusing..on the discussion of dinos. I run my aquariums a specific way and it has been successful. If undetectable nutrients causes dinoflagellates, I have never observed it? Recently, I added some bare, sterile rock to my aquarium to prop up my clams. My tank with undetectable no3 and po4 at .00-.04 didn’t produce problem algae on this bare rock, only coralline algae.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If undetectable nutrients causes dinoflagellates, I have never observed it? Recently, I added some bare, sterile rock to my aquarium to prop up my clams. My tank with undetectable no3 and po4 at .00-.04 didn’t produce problem algae on this bare rock, only coralline algae.

That’s no more convincing than a lifelong smoker not getting lung cancer as evidence that it’s not contributing in other people.

It’s a risk factor, not an either/or situation.

 

[90addict]

I’d personally either feed more or dose ammonium, but dosing nitrate can also work.

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

That’s no more convincing than a lifelong smoker not getting lung cancer as evidence that it’s not contributing in other people.

It’s a risk factor, not an either/or situation.

I was a winner of the algae barn phyto and pods. Is adding them to My tank only gonna make matters worse? I'm off tomorrow and am gonna start dosing the ammonia bicarbonate