Show me your polluted tanks: High Po4 High No3

[rc1]

Are there some secrets in here for the super clear glass, especially with some of the higher than most people would recommend numbers? Or are y'all just scrubbing all the time?

I don’t really track it, once a week and is film that’s starting to show in some areas

 

[schooncw]

Nice hammer garden!
I want to do the same in a tank that is skimmerless. How fast or slow is the growth of your hammers when the PO is at your level?

Thanks!

Hard to tell, as I have had high nutrients as long as I remember…..the system is 35 or so years old. Think I have lost 4-6 heads over the last several months but overall, LPS is doing well and growing.
I carbon dose w a biopellet reactor and Fauna Marin Bacto Energy, so a skimmer is essential.
Carbon dosing does much more for coral other than nutrient control, as it feeds them as well.

 

[scotty333]

Phosphate 4.0
Nitrate 160
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0

Just 1 anemone ? No coral?

 

[scotty333]

This is back when my Nitrates were 30s and phosphates 0.3-0.7. I attacked them aggressively and ended up losing probably about 70% of the corals. But eh at least my nitrates and phosphates were at the “right” levels…

That was a mistake then I guess?
“ right levels “ is a very broad term espewhen on this thread alone reports of .5-.7 with healthy tanks seems ok

 

[scotty333]

You guys are too weak.
Nitrate: 210 ppm
Phosphate:6.1 ppm

We have a winner!

 

[Nate Chalk]

I will never show you !

 

[Slocke]

That was a mistake then I guess?
“ right levels “ is a very broad term espewhen on this thread alone reports of .5-.7 with healthy tanks seems ok

Got nitrates to be consistently less then 5. Didn’t make the connection to that and coral deaths until long after

 

[scotty333]

Well I feel more relaxed after reading this great thread
I’m currently at my highest po4 .31 nitrates 10
I gave myself a cut of point of .50 but I see no ill effects reported even higher so may just see where it lands naturally and observe

 

[Ryebreadiest]

UNS 75p with hang on back filtration. About 6 months old, combined my two nano tanks into this. Bit of a mess as I picked up a great hammer/frogspawn pack for cheap and will be rearranging things soon.
No3 10-15ppm
PO4 0.2 to 0.3

 

[tbrown]

Well I feel more relaxed after reading this great thread
I’m currently at my highest po4 .31 nitrates 10
I gave myself a cut of point of .50 but I see no ill effects reported even higher so may just see where it lands naturally and observe

I was dosing nitrates at one point due to a malfunctioning test kit giving false readings of 0. When I finally figured it out, I was flashing 75+ on my Hanna HR. Corals we're fluffy and happy. I started dosing vinegar to bring my nitrates down to "normal" levels and lost almost every Acro I had in the tank...

Lesson learned. My doser dumped 500 mL of NeoPhos in my tank over the course of 3 days. My Hanna tester is flashing 0.90 and my corals are happy and fluffy. I turned off the doser but I'm not doing anything other than letting the levels come down naturally. I usually shoot for 0.1-0.2 on the phosphates and 35+ on the nitrates.

Corals like and need nutrients. Too low and they suffer. Too high and... Well... Maybe some algae if they're out of balance? My fish and corals are not suffering.

 

[BryanM]

Corals like and need nutrients. Too low and they suffer. Too high and... Well... Maybe some algae if they're out of balance? My fish and corals are not suffering.

I think its that balance that is ellusive. Black magic.

 

[FindingNem0]

5month reef tank.

I think the early stages of reef keeping is to keep nutrient low, but once it gets more mature, you can slowly let it go up.

I started my first couple months
No3 under 2 ppm
Po4 under 0.05 ppm

Now I'm sitting around
No3 - 7 ppm
Po4 - 0.1 ppm

Making any big changes = big swings.

 

[rc1]

Just 1 anemone ? No coral?

There are 4 small bubble tips hiding around, have GSP growing on the back wall, some mushrooms and some softies scattered around. Not into the hard corals. Rather keep it simple. Less stress and everything in the tank is happy

 

[Formulator]

This is back in 2019 before I rebooted the tank. I was “ignorant” back then and I wasn’t even testing my nutrients with any regularity. Nitrate was probably at least 50 ppm and phosphate a whopping 1.0 ppm.

 

[BriansBrain]

Phosphate 0.47
Nitrate 18
I was concerned about the high phosphates running gfo to keep under 0.15 but I’ve been letting it ride the past 6 months and things better I think. Only if some of these frags would start growing now lol

 

[VintageReefer]

Phosphate 0.47
Nitrate 18
I was concerned about the high phosphates running gfo to keep under 0.15 but I’ve been letting it ride the past 6 months and things better I think. Only if some of these frags would start growing now lol

Awesome tank! What’s your alk? Higher levels = faster growth; and you need higher nutrients to safely support those growth speeds. Wondering if you have room to increase alk based on your n and p levels

 

[BriansBrain]

Awesome tank! What’s your alk? Higher levels = faster growth; and you need higher nutrients to safely support those growth speeds. Wondering if you have room to increase alk based on your n and p levels

Thanks! I’ve kept this at 7.5 dkh because my last by tank I would always get burnt tips around 9 dkh but my nutrients were not as high at this current tank. I may be adventurous and bump up to 8 dkh haha

 

[VintageReefer]

Thanks! I’ve kept this at 7.5 dkh because my last by tank I would always get burnt tips around 9 dkh but my nutrients were not as high at this current tank. I may be adventurous and bump up to 8 dkh haha

Bro. This is the growth issue. 7.5 is low. That’s for like near zero nutrients

Yes when you ran 9 you got burnt tips because flesh growth couldn’t keep up with skeletal growth. Skeleton grew faster from higher alk, but the flesh was always a few steps behind

If you keep your current nutrient parameters…you should increase to 8 and then 8.5 and then 9. Trust me. And I’m being conservative. You could go higher. But get a plan to increase to 9 over a few weeks then observe the difference.

 

[FindingNem0]

Bro. This is the growth issue. 7.5 is low. That’s for like near zero nutrients

Yes when you ran 9 you got burnt tips because flesh growth couldn’t keep up with skeletal growth. Skeleton grew faster from higher alk, but the flesh was always a few steps behind

If you keep your current nutrient parameters…you should increase to 8 and then 8.5 and then 9. Trust me. And I’m being conservative. You could go higher. But get a plan to increase to 9 over a few weeks then observe the difference.

I didn't know that's how it worked.

So higher nutrients require higher alk.

 

[tbrown]

I didn't know that's how it worked.

So higher nutrients require higher alk.

I think it's the other way around though. Higher alk encourages growth which requires higher nutrients to assist with the growth demands.