0 phosphate 43 nitrate

[Tom S.]

Hey everyone,

For the past month I have been trying to get my nitrates down and I can't seem to figure it out. I do 10 gallon water changes in my 65 gallon tank once per week. I have vacuumed out my sump so it's super clean. I have a protien skimmer. I have a refugium. I change my filter socks every 3 days without fail. I dose zeobak two times per week. I dose NP balance everyday. My cheato doesn't seem to be growing rapidly if at all. It looks healthy just doesn't seem to do much. It collect detritus so I clean it every so often. I reduced how much I feed my fish by 50% ( two times per day 2.5 frozen mysis shrimp 5ml total.) I just picked up some neophos and cheato grow and started that. After two doses of neophos My phosphate is 0.00.

Any other ideas?

Thanks!
Tom

 

[Ben.QLD2]

I'd increase water changes to at least around the 30% mark each week. When it's under control and stable you can start reducing.

Get some bacterial cultures that have denitrifying bacteria in them, Red Sea do one.

Is the nitrate causing I'll effect?

What livestock do you have?

 

[Lavey29]

Dose PNS probio which is a natural bacteria supplement that breaks down organic waste before it becomes nitrate. I use once a week and have the same size tank with fuge. Feed 2x per day. Nitrates stay at 10.

 

[92Miata]

After two doses of neophos My phosphate is 0.00.

Of course it is. Your tank has been phosphate deficient, and everything needs phosphate. You added it, they ate it. Dose more.

 

[EricR]

I've been dosing NeoPhos for a little over a month and finally maintaining detectable levels (around 0.03 ppm).
*in the beginning, testing an hour after dose would show expected phosphate rise but then, the next day, would be back to 0.00,,, so, yeah, just keep dosing until things stabilize.

Not sure if this is just coincidence but, since dosing NeoPhos, my nitrates started going down (so now have that to deal with too),,, but maybe good in your case, if they were at all related.

 

[PeterEde]

Increase WC period to every other day to keep up. Carbon dose?
My No3 got to 60 so I did WC every 2 days and calculated the expected drop and got close.
I increase my NOPOX dosing from 3.6ml per day to 6 per day. Which the bottle does not say to do. In fact it gives no recommendation to increase. So I was dosing 3.6ml for about 2 months and wondering why NO3 would still rise.
I now have a pretty stable NO3 at 25 and dropping. I turned my skimmer off a day and NO3 jumped 6ppm.
Now I know what impact my skimmer is having.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I've been dosing NeoPhos for a little over a month and finally maintaining detectable levels (around 0.03 ppm).
*in the beginning, testing an hour after dose would show expected phosphate rise but then, the next day, would be back to 0.00,,, so, yeah, just keep dosing until things stabilize.

Not sure if this is just coincidence but, since dosing NeoPhos, my nitrates started going down (so now have that to deal with too),,, but maybe good in your case, if they were at all related.

You need phosphates for chaeto to take up nitrate and vice versa.

 

[nereefpat]

How are you testing for nitrate and phosphate?

I reduced how much I feed my fish by 50% ( two times per day 2.5 frozen mysis shrimp 5ml total.)

Is this cubes? You were feeding 10 cubes a day and now you're feeding 5?

 

[EricR]

You need phosphates for chaeto to take up nitrate and vice versa.

Good point -- makes sense.
I do have a softball size wad of chaeto in a soap dish on the side of my DT.
Only getting stray light from AI Prime LEDs so not growing much but still alive and healthy after more than a year so must be consuming something.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Good point -- makes sense.
I do have a softball size wad of chaeto in a soap dish on the side of my DT.
Only getting stray light from AI Prime LEDs so not growing much but still alive and healthy after more than a year so must be consuming something.

I use my chaeto to completely strip out nutrients then dose back trisodium phosphate and sodium nitrate in solution. Keeps my phosphate at 0.14 and nitrates round 8 ish

 

[Tom S.]

How are you testing for nitrate and phosphate?

Is this cubes? You were feeding 10 cubes a day and now you're feeding 5?

No I have a frozen sheet I chopped up into small blocks then I mix it with 5ml of tank water and feed 2.5ml two times a day.

I'm testing with hanna checkers.

 

[Uncle99]

Hey everyone,

For the past month I have been trying to get my nitrates down and I can't seem to figure it out. I do 10 gallon water changes in my 65 gallon tank once per week. I have vacuumed out my sump so it's super clean. I have a protien skimmer. I have a refugium. I change my filter socks every 3 days without fail. I dose zeobak two times per week. I dose NP balance everyday. My cheato doesn't seem to be growing rapidly if at all. It looks healthy just doesn't seem to do much. It collect detritus so I clean it every so often. I reduced how much I feed my fish by 50% ( two times per day 2.5 frozen mysis shrimp 5ml total.) I just picked up some neophos and cheato grow and started that. After two doses of neophos My phosphate is 0.00.

Any other ideas?

Thanks!
Tom

Two doses of Neophos and still zero?
I would not trust that at all, regardless of type of checker.

 

[Tom S.]

I'd increase water changes to at least around the 30% mark each week. When it's under control and stable you can start reducing.

Get some bacterial cultures that have denitrifying bacteria in them, Red Sea do one.

Is the nitrate causing I'll effect?

What livestock do you have?

I have a hippo tang, lawn mower blenny, golden nugget clown, 6 line wrasse, cleaner shrimp, conch, urchin, snails and Hermit crabs. Not sure if it's worth mentioning I put galaxy pods in once per month.

I've lost some coral I think due to the nitrates being high. Mostly LPS.

Softies seem to be happy and growing.

 

[nereefpat]

I'm testing with hanna checkers.

Which specific checker for phosphate? ULR phosphorus?

 

[EricR]

Two doses of Neophos and still zero?
I would not trust that at all, regardless of type of checker.

I have to disagree based on my single (month+) experience with NeoPhos.
Home Hanna Phosphate ULR and LFS Milwaukee both confirm.
I'd get a phosphate rise (shown in testing 1 hour after dose) but next day would be back to 0.00 (in the beginning).

*I went with half dry rock and dry sand during tank transfer about a year ago so assume that was just sucking it up (or at least "A" reason anyway}

 

[Lavey29]

I have to disagree based on my single (month+) experience with NeoPhos.
Home Hanna Phosphate ULR and LFS Milwaukee both confirm.
I'd get a phosphate rise (shown in testing 1 hour after dose) but next day would be back to 0.00 (in the beginning).

*I went with half dry rock and dry sand during tank transfer about a year ago so assume that was just sucking it up (or at least "A" reason anyway}

I had to double dose neophos and neonitro for many months before my tank stabilized in those areas. After a year the tank went through an evolution and just became much more stable and predictable.

 

[EricR]

I had to double dose neophos and neonitro for many months before my tank stabilized in those areas. After a year the tank went through an evolution and just became much more stable and predictable.

Yep. My suggestion to the OP would be the obvious:
Dose,,, test,,, adjust dose,,, and don't be afraid to dose more than you thought you'd ever have to (just based on your initial calculations).

 

[Uncle99]

I have to disagree based on my single (month+) experience with NeoPhos.
Home Hanna Phosphate ULR and LFS Milwaukee both confirm.
I'd get a phosphate rise (shown in testing 1 hour after dose) but next day would be back to 0.00 (in the beginning).

*I went with half dry rock and dry sand during tank transfer about a year ago so assume that was just sucking it up (or at least "A" reason anyway}

I hear you.
I didn’t think zero phosphate made sense as you posted your softies were doing well.
How old is the system?

 

[Tom S.]

I hear you.
I didn’t think zero phosphate made sense as you posted your softies were doing well.
How old is the system?

4 months old

 

[Uncle99]

4 months old

What’s the thinking of employing every type of nutrient export methods in a tank of 4 months?
The skimmer and a carbon dose would have brought that nitrate down, while not impacting phosphate much.
Seem you’d be stripping that system of the good stuff.