Does nitrate and phospahte get affected by Ca and Alk levels?

[coralcruze2020]

I have recently purchased the reefbot where testing of the four parameters mentioned in the question are tested three times a week. I am trying to understand if Nitrates and Phosphates get affected by rising (correction) or falling (depletion) of Ca and Alk levels? At times i seem to think yes because my feeding is automated. anyone out there notice any correlation? If so please explain how these correlate. thanks in advance for any help out there.

 

[bertoni]

The depletion of calcium and alkalinity indicates a growing coral, or some growing animal, and that animal will take up some phosphorus and fixed nitrogen, so there might be some correlation. I am not sure exactly what you are asking.

 

[coralcruze2020]

well from what I have read from some that there seems to be an effect on alk and ca when nitrate and po4 are in check. I think you framed my question well also. if these living animals require all 4 params than its obvipuse that they need them at a sertain balance for biological necessities. so my question is attempting to dig if there is actual benefits or predictable effect of these four chemicals o. each other in a reef assuming all other parsmeters are at ocean levels... the other side to this is we all know that po4 and No3 in imbalance will result in unwated "living" algae but if we keep alk high will this thwart algal growth even if po4 and no3 are not balanced? hope that clarifies the question.

 

[bertoni]

I see what you mean. I'll have to think a bit about an answer.

 

[bertoni]

I suspect that most organisms can tolerate a fairly wide range of nutrients in the absence of competitors or other pests that might use those nutrients. At some point, nitrate and phosphate might cause significant issues, but it's hard to know where those points are, and it will depend on what organisms are in the tank. In practice, our tanks probably do better on average with nutrients in reasonable control, for some value of "reasonable control" that is hard to quantify.

Personally, I'd target phosphate down near our measurable limit (0.03 ppm phosphate, or so) and nitrate below 1 ppm. What any given tank can tolerate or what that tank's optimal level might be is going to be hard to determine without a lot of difficult experimentation.

Generally, I wouldn't worry about balance much, since I doubt that most organisms will care. Certain levels of nutrients (like silicate) can encourage various organisms to grow, though, so I'd watch for signs of trouble and respond appropriately.

 

[coralcruze2020]

At some point, nitrate and phosphate might cause significant issues, but it's hard to know where those points are, and it will depend on what organisms are in the tank. In practice, our tanks probably do better on average with nutrients in reasonable control, for some value of "reasonable control" that is hard to quantify.

Exactly what I am seeing in my tank but figured I would ask the experts and advanced reefers here. My tank seems to be ok with No3 at 5-7 po4 at .03-.06 Cal at 420 and Alk at about 8 dkh. however if i am not paying attention these values can waver and sometimes i would see unwanted results like algae growth and other times I do not see anything bad happening. go figure!

 

[bertoni]

Well, as long as you know what to target, you're at least one step into the process.