Bottomed out

[wjm6449]

Hi I just went to lfs and got my water tested. Salinity 1.23
Nitrates 0
Phos 0
Ak 6.7

I just heavily dosed ak and was told to do 2 caps full every other day, and I heavily dosed nitrate and phos. Didn’t measure. Just dumped it in. Cyano was starting to appear.

I have just ordered alk test kit but was wondering for nitrate and phos what’s the best way to raise? Or should I heavy dose it again tomorrow then test in the following days? Just let the tank go dirty. No water changes, limit filter sock change and lower skimmer? Tank is 5 months old mix reef starting off.

 

[ScottJ]

By 'just dumped in,' what exactly do you mean? There are directions on the bottle of your supplements, aren't there?

Just dumping in can be bad...

 

[Formulator]

Didn’t measure. Just dumped it in.

Good way to kill all of your coral… Seriously though, don’t do that man.

The best piece of advice I can give you is that anything you dose your tank should be regularly tested. So if you are going to be dosing nitrate and phosphate, you should be testing those parameters. Alk should be a given and I’m not sure how you have a 5 month old tank and just ordered your first test kit…

Nobody will be able to help you determine the best way to dose your tank if you can’t tell us what your levels are doing over time or how much you even dosed. I would stop dosing and start testing daily. This will give you an idea how much Alk, nitrate, and phosphate your tank uses, and THEN we can come up with a plan for dosing those things. You should also be testing calcium regularly.

 

[scotty333]

Pretty much same answer here

help with corals and nutrient issues

hi everyone looking for some advice and the best course of action. I made a post yesterday regarding the overall health of my lps deteriorating and came to the conclusion that my zero'd out nutrients are the cause of their poor health. Over the course of a few weeks the flesh bands on my hammers...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[wjm6449]

Good way to kill all of your coral… Seriously though, don’t do that man.

The best piece of advice I can give you is that anything you dose your tank should be regularly tested. So if you are going to be dosing nitrate and phosphate, you should be testing those parameters. Alk should be a given and I’m not sure how you have a 5 month old tank and just ordered your first test kit…

Nobody will be able to help you determine the best way to dose your tank if you can’t tell us what your levels are doing over time or how much you even dosed. I would stop dosing and start testing daily. This will give you an idea how much Alk, nitrate, and phosphate your tank uses, and THEN we can come up with a plan for dosing those things. You should also be testing calcium regularly.

I had been testing nitrates and phosphates regularly and they bottomed out. A week ago phos was .07 and nitrates were 2. I don’t know any other parameters but it’s not my first test kit. My third.

 

[scotty333]

I had been testing nitrates and phosphates regularly and they bottomed out. A week ago phos was .07 and nitrates were 2. I don’t know any other parameters but it’s not my first test kit. My third.

Do what you did last week and get .07 and 2 but a little higher would be ideal
Need a trend , with quantity’s

 

[Formulator]

I had been testing nitrates and phosphates regularly and they bottomed out. A week ago phos was .07 and nitrates were 2. I don’t know any other parameters but it’s not my first test kit. My third.

Sorry for jumping to conclusions. Still, keep testing consistently so you can really track consumption and get a better idea of how much to dose and how often. Ideally you would have daily test results for a whole week, then come up with a dosing plan based on that data.

 

[wjm6449]

Do what you did last week and get .07 and 2 but a little higher would be ideal
Need a trend , with quantity’s

I was dosing 5ml of nitrate almost daily based on directions but it barely moved the needle. Phosphates I had dosed every other day which had went from .007 to .07. I did a water change and then today went to my lfs and got the news.

I feed my tank 1/2 sheet of nori and 1/2 cube in morning and night.

 

[Formulator]

I was dosing 5ml of nitrate almost daily based on directions but it barely moved the needle. Phosphates I had dosed every other day which had went from .007 to .07. I did a water change and then today went to my lfs and got the news.

I feed my tank 1/2 sheet of nori and 1/2 cube in morning and night.

How big is your tank? I have to add 10 mL per day of neonitro to my 130g system every day to keep it stable.

 

[wjm6449]

How big is your tank? I have to add 10 mL per day of neonitro to my 130g system every day to keep it stable.

125 gal with 49 gal sump.

 

[wjm6449]

I should mention I have an oversized skimmer (Red Sea 600) and it is not producing foam. So I guess it would explain why none since no nitrates.

 

[Formulator]

125 gal with 49 gal sump.

Ya, you probably need to up your dosing. When mine bottomed out I had to dose almost 20 mL neonitro per day for a few weeks to get it to stabilize at 10 ppm. I was testing regularly so eventually I noticed it was increasing beyond 10 ppm and I cut my dose in half to 10 mL which I continue to dose daily to keep nitrate stable at 10 ppm.