Water too clean? Suggestions on dosing correctly based on my water test.

[ChrisKSB]

Hello,

My 32 gallon BioCubehas been running for about 4+ years and I have ALWAYS battled (losing battle) GHA!!!

I've scaled back feeding, I clean the tank/water change every 2 weeks. I've been dosing Phosphat-E at every water change and 1/2 cap of Alkalin8.3 3x per week. This weekend water change/water test I was told my water is now TOO CLEAN! I still have a TON of GHA.

I think I misunderstood what my LFS told me to do now. They had me purchase Foundation Calcium+ but the shop was busy and I may have messed up instructions.

I should be dosing Calcium+, Phosphat-E and Alkalin8.3 but hoping someone here can give a good amount/schedule for all of these!

Here are my water test results -

I really appreciate any assistance, I haven't given up yet!!!


Here is a pic of the tank right now -

Thank you.

 

[Formulator]

By too clean, they probably meant your nitrate is low. Unfortunately nothing you purchased is going to help that. You need to dose nitrate. NeoNitro is a good product for that. Your Alk and Calcium are low, but if you have been doing this for 4 years, I assume you know how to manage those things and have already been doing so?

Get a pincushion urchin for the hair algae. He will have it cleaned up in a week.

 

[Formulator]

Also your magnesium is super low. I would add something to raise that also. Shoot for 1350-1400 ppm. That will help with the algae also

 

[ChrisKSB]

Thanks for the replies! I have only been dosing for the past couple of months and have NO IDEA what I am doing, just following instructions after water tests... For the Nitrate issue, I was going to feed a bit heavier and give my serpent star some extra shrimp every couple of days.

This what I think I was told to do -

• Feed extra for now
• Alkaline full cap every day for 2 weeks
• Calcium 3ml 3x per week for 2 weeks

Retest

What do you think?

I realize I should start to actually learn this stuff instead of just blindly being told what to do - goals!

Thank you!

 

[Formulator]

Thanks for the replies! I have only been dosing for the past couple of months and have NO IDEA what I am doing, just following instructions after water tests... For the Nitrate issue, I was going to feed a bit heavier and give my serpent star some extra shrimp every couple of days.

This what I think I was told to do -

• Feed extra for now
• Alkaline full cap every day for 2 weeks
• Calcium 3ml 3x per week for 2 weeks

Retest

What do you think?

I realize I should start to actually learn this stuff instead of just blindly being told what to do - goals!

Thank you!

I’m not familiar with those specific products, but if you got this far just following the LFS instructions, I suppose you can just continue to do so. Just dose the calcium and alkalinity a few minutes apart. If you pour at the same time they can precipitate and cloud up your tank.

In general though, if you are going to be dosing, I think you could really benefit from a little research to gain a better foundational knowledge of what exactly you are dosing and why. Even with just a basic understanding, it won’t matter what product you’re using, you will be able to determine on your own what to add and how frequently just by looking at your test numbers. Right now, it kind of sounds like you are following a recipe to make dinner without ever having tasted any of the ingredients. Does that make sense?

Here is a great article that might interest you:

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented

 

[ChrisKSB]

Thank you! I've gotten this far, dumb and blind. Hopefully if I educate myself things will brighten up - and I can then convince my wife I need that BIG tank!

 

[Formulator]

Thank you! I've gotten this far, dumb and blind. Hopefully if I educate myself things will brighten up - and I can then convince my wife I need that BIG tank!

You must be doing something right! The tank looks great! FWIW I really don’t think your hair algae is as bad as you think. I’ve seen MUCH worse.

 

[Pod_01]

I am with the poster above, the GHA doesn’t look bad.

As for the values, did you check your salinity? Most of the main elements are low and that is caused by low salinity.
Before adding anything that is what I would look into.

To increase nitrate I prefer extra feeding, extra fish or few more snails. Amino can help as well, but can promote other undesirable things to grow.

Phosphat-E Is used to reduce phosphate and at your value I would not use it. From description Phosphate-E sounds that it is lanthanum based so extra care is required, not something I would suggest for beginners.

 

[Asm481]

Your water changes should be keeping up with the calcium, magnesium levels. I agree check your salinity. Tank looks good, change slow if at all.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Don't change too fast or raise chemical levels too quickly. Doing so will stress your coral out. Best of luck!

 

[DanyL]

Phosphat-E Is used to reduce phosphate and at your value I would not use it. From description Phosphate-E sounds that it is lanthanum based so extra care is required, not something I would suggest for beginners.

Let me re-iterate this once more:
Do not use lanthanum chloride unless you know what you’re doing, definitely not a beginner kind of product.

Your phosphate is what considered to be more on the high side, however some people are able to keep their corals under similar levels.

Given that I don’t see a huge algae problem here - I wouldn’t try to deliberately lower it, if you decide to dose nitrate rather than feeding more heavily it would also organically lower your phosphates at the same time.

As for your other parameters - Alk, Ca and Mag are all very low - I would first make sure your Salinity is in check, and if it is than proceed by dosing the appropriate supplements according to their instructions.
I also recommend to look for the recommended max daily dose for each and go slightly below it. Slower is better when making chemical changes in our tanks.

Good luck!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Agree on salinity as first thing to do.

 

[Formulator]

I agree with the sentiments of others regarding phosphate-E. That is hard core stuff and unnecessary at your phosphate concentration. I didn’t bring it up before because it seems to have worked for you this long, you don’t have any tangs, and I didn’t feel like arguing with folks who always seem to jump in and recommend it without fully appreciating the risks involved… Personally I would recommend discontinuing use of the phosphate-E in your tank and focus on the salinity as a first priority as others suggested.

And I still think that article I shared would be a great read for you