Will nitrate at 0 cause birdsnest to die?

[Lavey29]

It can be nitrates but seeing as how this guy is bleaching from the center out, I’d say this is more likely an issue with lighting and flow. Birdsnests can easily grow too big for their own good and then they start to block light and flow from reaching the center of the colony. I’ve found that the best way to get mine to grow big without having these sorts of problems is to regularly frag it and bonsai the branches so that it still has a cool shape but remove enough of them to allow flow and light to reach the middle.

This certainly can be a contributing factor. When mine grew large I saw this happening. You can trim the white branches back so they are covered by the colored canopy. I mainly just let corals do their thing like they do in the ocean.

 

[Lavey29]

Not my thread and I apologize to the OP for hijacking, but imo, your tank is fine and passes the eye test. Losing one coral is not a sign of a problem and I would suggest fragging it. My tank is not a ULNS only a skimmer and a sock, no dosing or supercharger bacteria colons. A mangrove, clam mixed reef lagoon 5 months in: 0 no3 and .01 po4 maintained with only weekly WC. More FTS provide if requested…..lol!

Let us know how your small frags do in your new tank with no nutrients in a few more months. Kind of like a scientific test study.

 

[Badblackdog]

I have several corals in my 40 breeder and after moving a couple corals I have a birds nest that is struggling. Everything else is doing fine. My parameters all seem fine except my nitrates are stuck at 0 and have been forever. If I feed super heavy I can get them to register but are still under 1 ppm using the Hanna nitrate HR checker. I have also used the api test kit and it’s always bright yellow meaning 0 ppm.
I have 2 mp10s at 100% flow using lagoon and reef crest modes, for a skimmer I use the reef octo 1000 hob, I have a tidal stuffed with pinkyfilters and change every week with 5 gallons of water, ati 6 bulb t5’s on 12 hrs/day. I dose alk, cal, mg and have just bought some nitrate and plan to start adding that because I think the nitrates need to rise.
The parameters I test are as follows
Alk 9.3
Phos .03
Nitrate 0
Ca 400
Mg 1400

Could the low nitrates be the cause of the bridsnest dying, am I doing too many water changes, should I stop using the pinkyfilters or skimmer, am I missing something?

I have been struggling with the same problem and after looking at the pictures of your tank, I know exactly what is wrong. GSP eats up nitrates like a sponge. About a third of my back wall of my Aquarium is GSP and I have to dose nitrates to get any detectable levels. I discovered it when I read a post about a reefer who removed a bunch of GSP all at once and his nitrates started to spike. I just started dosing Neo-Nitro and my nitrates are climbing.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I have several corals in my 40 breeder and after moving a couple corals I have a birds nest that is struggling. Everything else is doing fine. My parameters all seem fine except my nitrates are stuck at 0 and have been forever. If I feed super heavy I can get them to register but are still under 1 ppm using the Hanna nitrate HR checker. I have also used the api test kit and it’s always bright yellow meaning 0 ppm.
I have 2 mp10s at 100% flow using lagoon and reef crest modes, for a skimmer I use the reef octo 1000 hob, I have a tidal stuffed with pinkyfilters and change every week with 5 gallons of water, ati 6 bulb t5’s on 12 hrs/day. I dose alk, cal, mg and have just bought some nitrate and plan to start adding that because I think the nitrates need to rise.
The parameters I test are as follows
Alk 9.3
Phos .03
Nitrate 0
Ca 400
Mg 1400

Could the low nitrates be the cause of the bridsnest dying, am I doing too many water changes, should I stop using the pinkyfilters or skimmer, am I missing something?

Could you see the polyps moving through the center of the coral prior to the dying? The bird nest will suddenly die in the center without enough flow when it gets this size. You always have to look at the polyps. Especially when they start getting big. Many reefers have their BN die in the center and they will find a good branch and start the colony over.

 

[CHSUB]

Let us know how your small frags do in your new tank with no nutrients in a few more months. Kind of like a scientific test study.

Not my first rodeo. Here is my tank from 98 to 2005, no3 0.0 as I used a methanol denitrator. Dispight your assumption corals die at 0 no3, it thrived...note birdnest!

 

[Spare time]

I will agree on po4 in some systems, but will seldom if ever agree with regards to no3.

You do realize organisms have to obtain their own nitrogen in most cases right? There are exceptions like some cyanobacteria.

 

[Spare time]

Not my first rodeo. Here is my tank from 98 to 2005, no3 0.0 as I used a methanol denitrator. Dispight your assumption corals die at 0 no3, it thrived...note birdnest!

The thing is you are inputting nitrogen into the tank with feeding. A tank with 0 nitrate simply has enough food going into it to sustain it. However, given that nitrate acts as a buffer against starvation for nitrogen, it's a good idea for people to have at least some. Many people feed their tank sparingly and scenarios like that with 0 nitrate is problematic.

 

[Dburr1014]

I have been struggling with the same problem and after looking at the pictures of your tank, I know exactly what is wrong. GSP eats up nitrates like a sponge. About a third of my back wall of my Aquarium is GSP and I have to dose nitrates to get any detectable levels. I discovered it when I read a post about a reefer who removed a bunch of GSP all at once and his nitrates started to spike. I just started dosing Neo-Nitro and my nitrates are climbing.

Hmmm, if only I had GSP, then I'd know why I don't have no3.
HO HUM

But seriously, every tank is different than another.
When one has a success doing a certain thing, that does not make that thing, universal.

 

[CHSUB]

You do realize organisms have to obtain their own nitrogen in most cases right? There are exceptions like some cyanobacteria.

Not sure your question, however the OP’s coral can get its N, organically or throughout the biological cycle and he is only testing the last step, no3, which is biologically the least preferred.

 

[CHSUB]

The thing is you are inputting nitrogen into the tank with feeding. A tank with 0 nitrate simply has enough food going into it to sustain it. However, given that nitrate acts as a buffer against starvation for nitrogen, it's a good idea for people to have at least some. Many people feed their tank sparingly and scenarios like that with 0 nitrate is problematic.

The op’s tank has fish and all his corals appear well….only the bird nest is STNing, hence not lacking N and only testing that one parameter. Not nh3, nh4, no2 or organic sources. The coral is not starving imo.

 

[Lavey29]

Not my first rodeo. Here is my tank from 98 to 2005, no3 0.0 as I used a methanol denitrator. Dispight your assumption corals die at 0 no3, it thrived...note birdnest!

Very nice, 2005 was about when UNLS faded out right?

 

[crappie]

I have been struggling with the same problem and after looking at the pictures of your tank, I know exactly what is wrong. GSP eats up nitrates like a sponge. About a third of my back wall of my Aquarium is GSP and I have to dose nitrates to get any detectable levels. I discovered it when I read a post about a reefer who removed a bunch of GSP all at once and his nitrates started to spike. I just started dosing Neo-Nitro and my nitrates are climbing.

That sounds logical and gives a reason for the low readings. I will never have GSP again! It grows over everything and is the reason I had to originally move the birdsnest

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Not my first rodeo. Here is my tank from 98 to 2005, no3 0.0 as I used a methanol denitrator. Dispight your assumption corals die at 0 no3, it thrived...note birdnest!

Would you just go away? I'm tired of you taking over this thread

 

[crappie]

Could you see the polyps moving through the center of the coral prior to the dying? The bird nest will suddenly die in the center without enough flow when it gets this size. You always have to look at the polyps. Especially when they start getting big. Many reefers have their BN die in the center and they will find a good branch and start the colony over.

It’s really dying randomly. There are dead spots all over and what looks like alive spots all over including the center.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

It’s really dying randomly. There are dead spots all over and what looks like alive spots all over including the center.

That's exactly what happens. Find a good branch and try to start it over. Keeping in mind watch the polyps. Let me find my video for reference

 

[CHSUB]

Very nice, 2005 was about when UNLS faded out right?

I would say no, back than low nutrients were hard to attain. I really didn’t understand how the deNO3 worked until I started reading Randy’s article about carbon dosing. Imo Randy both started and ended ULNS with carbon dosing or at least made it mainstream and understandable to the masses.

 

[CHSUB]

That's exactly what happens. Find a good branch and try to start it over. Keeping in mind watch the polyps. Let me find my video for reference

Yes, I would frag several pieces, being sure that no dead areas are saved.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

It’s really dying randomly. There are dead spots all over and what looks like alive spots all over including the center.

This doesn't show a lot of the bird's nest flow but a good example of flow the water sounds are from a fresh water tank behind me

 

[vetteguy53081]

Every tank differs with needs and according to coral especially if SPS specific, mixed reef or softie tank. I run at nitrate 12 and here is my birdsnest upper left

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Every tank differs with needs and according to coral especially if SPS specific, mixed reef or softie tank. I run at nitrate 12 and here is my birdsnest upper left

Nice copperband!