Hello everyone! I am having trouble keeping my phosphates up. I am consistently at 0.00
I am dosing sodium nitrate which keeps my nitrates consistently between 9.0 - 11.0
I also have a cyanobacteria outbreak that I can't shake off with chemi-clean. I am using reef roids daily to try and raise phosphates. I have lost almost all my LPS since this situation came about. If anyone can give insight it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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@ChillyCardinal78
132d
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@DirectCherry
132d
Chemi-clean might kill the cyano, but it will come back as long as your nutrient issues remain unsolved. Cyanobacteria and algae consume nitrate and phosphate. Since your nitrates are at 9.0-11.0ppm but phosphates are at 0.00ppm, all bacteria, algae, and corals in your tank are likely phosphate-limited, meaning they will fairly quickly consume any phosphate that is added to the tank. We want beneficial bacteria and corals to consume NO3 and PO4, but algae and cyano are likely consuming a large share of both (especially PO4), causing your PO4 to stay at 0.00ppm. I'd recommend: - Regularly siphon out as much cyano and algae as you can to reduce PO4 consumption. Also siphon out detritus to reduce organic matter for the cyano to feed on. - Dose something like Brightwell NeoPhos or feed more high-phosphorous foods. NeoPhos (or something equivalent) will likely be more effective at raising phosphates than feeding heavily, but either should work. If you do these two things, beneficial bacteria should start to out-compete cyano as your PO4 concentration in the water rises.
@DirectCherry
132d
I was struggling to get my PO4 and NO3 concentrations above 0.00ppm in my coral and invert QT tank. I had let a thick layer of algae grow on the glass to make sure there was enough food for my snails. Since I cleaned off the glass and removed 90% of the algae, I've had no trouble raising NO3 and PO4 concentrations.
@Frostbitten_Dolphin_16
128d
Sounds like you might be running a bit too clean try adding some detritus or switch up feeding to boost phosphates naturally cyano loves super low
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Feed more. I dropped to 0.03 last week so fed twice a day the past week and it’s 0.1 now. You need to keep it balanced with your nitrate, the Cyano will die off then. You could also add a uv sterilizer it will be gone within 48 hours
Thank you for the response. I am currently running UV. What would you recommend for the nitrate to phosphate ratio? I will definitely start feeding more then and continue to check phosphate trends
Everyone will quote different numbers depending on the needs of their tank. Some people run ultra-low-nutrient systems, others run higher-nutrient systems. Some people suggest a 100:1 ratio of nitrates to phosphates. I have a mixed reef (no acros) and I'm shooting for roughly 15-25ppm nitrate and 0.03-0.05ppm phosphate, though I will adjust those based on what I'm seeing happening in the tank. The most important thing is to get them both up from 0.00ppm. I'd say a good initial goal is to get nitrate around 5-15ppm and phosphate around 0.03-0.06ppm. If you are within those ranges your tank should be fine. From there you'll learn what works best for your tank.
I would suggest the 100 : 1 ratio for nutrients but every tank is different. So if you aim for say 10 nitrates- No3 and 0.1 phosphate - No4 or 20 No3 and 0.2 nitrates that’s the medium ground anyway. I wouldn’t go over 0.2 No4 so try keep my No3 under 20 and when it rises I do a water change so it stays balanced.