Nitrates and Phosphates Impossible to Reduce - Vodka/Vinegar Dosing, Chaeto, Oversized Filtration

[Lil Puff]

Hi guys, I have a 3 year old 400L predator soft coral reef aqurium thats really strugging with nutrient problems. I have tried just about everything but it just won't go down. My chaeto is growing fast. I have been dosing a vodka, vinegar and ro/di mix over the past few months and has been slowly increased to 70mls daily which from what I've read should have plummetted my nitrates - especially from that high of a dose. I can definetly see and smell the difference in the skimate. All my oversized filtration seems to be working but its just not going down for whatever reason. I am really trying to get my soft corals to grow and to get corraline algae. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks heaps! Photos are included on post. Excuse the film algae on the glass

Filtration:
Buuble magus filter roller
Mantis tornado 180 protein skimmer (600L - 1500L)
Aqua uv 57watt
Refugium with chaeto
Bioballs

Paramaters:
Nitrate - 100ppm
Phosphate - 0.25ppm
Alkalinity - 7.8dKH
Magnesium - 1260ppm
Calcium - 405ppm

Dosing:
70mls vodka, vinegar and ro/di mix daily

Display:

Sump:

Skimmate:

Chaeto:

 

[Cichlid Dad]

3/4 to 1 pound rock per gallon. Get your rock to this amount. Either sump and tank or tank only. Toss bio balls. Water changes and add sand to the tank, or sump where the bio balls are.

 

[Doctorgori]

Have you tried wet skimming plus backing off the food a lil

 

[Lil Puff]

Have you tried wet skimming plus backing off the food a lil

I Haven't tried that. Will start slowing down on feeding and wet skimming. Any other ideas?

 

[Lil Puff]

3/4 to 1 pound rock per gallon. Get your rock to this amount. Either sump and tank or tank only. Toss bio balls. Water changes and add sand to the tank, or sump where the bio balls are.

What advantages does rock and sand have over bioballs? I'll see what i can work out. Any other advice?

 

[Doctorgori]

I Haven't tried that. Will start slowing down on feeding and wet skimming. Any other ideas?

Maybe be more aggressive with pulling the chaeto

 

[Cichlid Dad]

What advantages does rock and sand have over bioballs? I'll see what i can work out. Any other advice?

Bio balls can become a nitrate factory. Some say no they don't, you have a nitrate problem so I would remove that possibility. They are not needed in a reef tank. Your rock is your bio filter. Water changes will reduce your nitrates. I would do large water change weekly until they get to where you want them

 

[Saltees]

I removed all my media, siporax, biosphere, bricks, etc. with only 1” sand, my NO3 went zero. I have a full tank of SPS with lots of fishes. Nutrient export with BK Skimmer and Chaetomorpha supercharged with BW ChaetoGro. I dose a little LaCl to keep PO4 at 0.1ppm +/- 0.05ppm.

 

[Jimbo327]

More vodka. Probably go with straight vodka. It's more carbon than vinegar.

And I would get a different brand of Nitrate test kit just to make sure it is accurate.