Dosing Nitrate to reduce Phosphate
- Thread starter 2hands
- Start date
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
A while back i played around with dosing iron Citrate and ended up with some overgrowth of bacteria and some STN of acropora corals(I had an overdose). I decided to reset the tank using the Zeovit system and have discovered that it is similar to what I was doing with nitrate in the first place.
The system consists of Zeolites in a reactor, and daily doses of a "Carbon source" called ZeoStart. You also dose bacteria daily when the stones are first set up, then a couple of times per week for maintenance later.
Anyhow, what I have discovered is that Zeostart is both a carbon and nitrate source. The carbon is very concentrated, possibly glacial acetic acid or acetate or a combination of both, and the nitrate is very concentrated as well(approx 500ppm). The system only requires a very small addition(~2ml/250Gallons per day) so it has the same effect of adding small amounts of nitrate in a carbon dosing tank.
Now about the Zeolites - An analysis was done on the stones to see what they adsorbed. That analysis was very interesting, it shows that the stones appear to leach Titanium, Manganese, Rubidium, Sulphur, and Strontium in small amounts and leach Iron and Calcium in larger amounts. As discussed here on this thread, Iron and Manganese may be two important elements to get bacteria to grow that people overlook. The analysis also shows that the stones don't adsorb Phosphate, but do adsorb a bit of Potassium, hence the need to add Potassium back. Phosphate removal is just performed by the bacteria like many other carbon dosing systems.
A lot of emphasis in Zeovit is on how much Zeolite to use and how fast to flow water through the Zeolites. The stones themselves are a great growth location for bacteria as the amount of these trace elements at the stone itself is high and it makes for ideal conditions for the bacteria to grow. Flow too fast or use too much and too much of the trace elements leach into the tank and STN occurs.
To be clear, I am not trying to push Zeovit, I just find the similarities between the systems to be very interesting.
I think all these systems come down to the same basic requirements to keep bringing down phosphate:
Bacteria
Carbon
Slight excess of Nitrate
Iron and possibly Manganese
Efficient skimming to remove the bacteria.
Probably a similar effect could be generated by dosing small amounts of iron and manganese along with mixture of vinegar and nitrate - broken up into small doses per day would be ideal.
To look at the analysis yourself:
http://www.teichratgeber.de/meerwasser/index2.html
Click on the "Analyse 7: ..." link then navigate to the Zeovit tests to see the elemental analysis. Its easier if you feed it through google translate.
The system consists of Zeolites in a reactor, and daily doses of a "Carbon source" called ZeoStart. You also dose bacteria daily when the stones are first set up, then a couple of times per week for maintenance later.
Anyhow, what I have discovered is that Zeostart is both a carbon and nitrate source. The carbon is very concentrated, possibly glacial acetic acid or acetate or a combination of both, and the nitrate is very concentrated as well(approx 500ppm). The system only requires a very small addition(~2ml/250Gallons per day) so it has the same effect of adding small amounts of nitrate in a carbon dosing tank.
Now about the Zeolites - An analysis was done on the stones to see what they adsorbed. That analysis was very interesting, it shows that the stones appear to leach Titanium, Manganese, Rubidium, Sulphur, and Strontium in small amounts and leach Iron and Calcium in larger amounts. As discussed here on this thread, Iron and Manganese may be two important elements to get bacteria to grow that people overlook. The analysis also shows that the stones don't adsorb Phosphate, but do adsorb a bit of Potassium, hence the need to add Potassium back. Phosphate removal is just performed by the bacteria like many other carbon dosing systems.
A lot of emphasis in Zeovit is on how much Zeolite to use and how fast to flow water through the Zeolites. The stones themselves are a great growth location for bacteria as the amount of these trace elements at the stone itself is high and it makes for ideal conditions for the bacteria to grow. Flow too fast or use too much and too much of the trace elements leach into the tank and STN occurs.
To be clear, I am not trying to push Zeovit, I just find the similarities between the systems to be very interesting.
I think all these systems come down to the same basic requirements to keep bringing down phosphate:
Bacteria
Carbon
Slight excess of Nitrate
Iron and possibly Manganese
Efficient skimming to remove the bacteria.
Probably a similar effect could be generated by dosing small amounts of iron and manganese along with mixture of vinegar and nitrate - broken up into small doses per day would be ideal.
To look at the analysis yourself:
http://www.teichratgeber.de/meerwasser/index2.html
Click on the "Analyse 7: ..." link then navigate to the Zeovit tests to see the elemental analysis. Its easier if you feed it through google translate.
Bilk
New member
It's pretty clear Zeovit isn't magic in a bottle. It's managing water parameters via the elements that are critical to the inhabitants and pretty much what anyone needs to do to have a thriving ecosystem. However it doesn't allow the user to understand what the heck they're doing with those little blue bottles.
I'm sure those bottles are filled with everything we test for and or needs to be supplemented because of depletion. However what the system doesn't allow for is understanding. Add a drop or subtract a drop. A drop of what? One get's no understanding of what it is they're dosing and then needs to visit their forum where someone with inside info tells you what to increase or decrease. I wasn't comfortable with that.
I tried it and it does work. However I dropped it because with no understanding of what the substances are, it's all to easy to set things out of whack with a minor, but improper dosage as the regents/supplements are concentrated. JMO
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
I have heard the same sentiment lots of times and I guess I only partially understand it. People want to know what is in the bottles exactly. The same thing, however, is not expected of other manufacturers. For example, my b-ionic 2-part lists trace elements that are in the solution, but not the amounts, nor does it specifically state whether the alkalinity is from sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or a mixture of both. Red Sea discloses that NO3-PO4-X contains methanol, but wont say what else. I did a quick google search for "What is in NOPOX" and got almost nothing as far as people being curious, much less upset about red sea not disclosing.
I also understand why Zeovit keeps the ingredients close to the vest. I started the system because I have seen way too many great tanks that use it, i can afford the materials, and I thought it would be interesting. That being said, when I tested the Zeostart and found it was a combination nitrate and carbon source, I immediately thought "I can make this". If i knew exactly what the carbon source was(most likely glacial acetic acid is one part of it) I could make it, and for a cheaper price.
Imagine if Zeovit said "Contains glacial acetic acid, calcium nitrate, sodium acetate and ethanol" or something similar. There would be DIY recipes here in 5 minutes. Zeovit's market would be severely impacted. Some reefers would mix up DIY batches with improper amounts then claim that the "Zeovit system failed", further impacting their ability to sell a product. I don't have a problem with them protecting their intellectual property.
No one forced me to buy their stuff, and i do hope that figuring out how it works leads to DIY improvements. I like experimentation, probably too much for my own good Frankly, I've been thinking about how to deliver a controlled dose of iron through a porous media to mimic what the zeolites are doing, but without requiring replacement....hmmmm
I also understand why Zeovit keeps the ingredients close to the vest. I started the system because I have seen way too many great tanks that use it, i can afford the materials, and I thought it would be interesting. That being said, when I tested the Zeostart and found it was a combination nitrate and carbon source, I immediately thought "I can make this". If i knew exactly what the carbon source was(most likely glacial acetic acid is one part of it) I could make it, and for a cheaper price.
Imagine if Zeovit said "Contains glacial acetic acid, calcium nitrate, sodium acetate and ethanol" or something similar. There would be DIY recipes here in 5 minutes. Zeovit's market would be severely impacted. Some reefers would mix up DIY batches with improper amounts then claim that the "Zeovit system failed", further impacting their ability to sell a product. I don't have a problem with them protecting their intellectual property.
No one forced me to buy their stuff, and i do hope that figuring out how it works leads to DIY improvements. I like experimentation, probably too much for my own good
Frankly, I've been thinking about how to deliver a controlled dose of iron through a porous media to mimic what the zeolites are doing, but without requiring replacement....hmmmm
I don't really want to encourage another zeo debate or discourage folks who enjoy using that system and have success with it or turn this into another zeovit thread.
Some of the similarities are interesting ;but, there are differences:
You have to put your trust in a manufacturer and follow numerous generalized dosing routines for their numerous and costly products wtihout actually knowing what's in them to strip down elements and then put them back. Those generalized dosing regimens may not suit every tank;there are lot's of variables.
Routine dosing of the manufacturer's bacteria are required. I prefer relying on bacteria indigenous to the aquarium .If the zeo bacteria were seeding the tank or truly viable in the aquarium there would be no reason to keep dosing them.
Zeo stones provide surface area ;there are many alternative ways to do that with or without a reactor. There are plenty of the elements claimed to leach in foods and salt mixes.
I was rcently dosing small amounts of iron manganese daily for several months without discernible effect to PO4 reduction or coral color since I stopped a month ago . I've tried this several times over the years.
Overall, I think small doses of iron are a good thing when it tests low but it does encourage algae.
I'm not sure a" slight excess of nitrate" is beneficial in many aquariums or that iron magnese is needed or useful for sucessfull organic carbon dosing in terms of controlling orthophosaphte. I think those hypothosese will take some time to prove out one way or the other.
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
I think that there is a sweet spot when it comes to Iron. In the spring last year I changed my tank setup to run all the overflow water through a large skimmer. After a couple of months of running like that I couldn't get any carbon dosing system to reduce phosphate. I was adding nitrate to keep the level at about 1-2ppm, and tried Vinegar, Vodka, VSV, and biopellets. I had even tried to dump large amounts of vinegar in to the tank to trigger a bloom.
I got nothing. Nitrate would reduce but phosphates started to slowly rise. At the height of this the phosphate value was 0.3!. A the same time, no green algae...some brown algae and very occasionally some cyano. There was some small amounts of bacterial fuzz on the undersides of rocks but not much.
I started dosing Iron citrate and the bacteria started blooming. I saw cloudy water after large doses of carbon, and saw the phosphate values start to drop. I was so excited and so naturally I over-did it. I dosed Iron Citrate daily and things started getting weird - I started seeing big bacterial slime strings in the tank, the skimmate was this dark, nasty gunk and I was getting a lot of it. Then I started having white band wasting away and STN of acroporas. I stopped dosing iron and after a couple of weeks, I was having problems with carbon dosing working again.
My theory is that the skimmer was way too effective at stripping the water of nutrients, and based on my experience, one of the elements that was depleted was Iron. Obviously, adding too much was not a good thing, but I have no doubt that in my tank, some base level of Iron is needed. When the Iron level is high, the bacteria will grow like crazy but when its high the corals suffer. I think that if you could provide a restricted zone where the iron level is high and where bacteria can reproduce, you could maximize carbon dosing's effect. I think that is what the zeolites are doing in the Zeovit or NeoZeo systems.
As for Zeovit, i only brought it in to the discussion because it is truly "Dosing Nitrate to reduce Phosphate". I think that keeping a little bit of nitrate in the system is not only helpful for reducing phosphate, but I also can visually tell when there is no Nitrate at all in the tank- the corals become visibly pale. A couple of times last year I noticed that the corals were pale and started testing the basic water parameters. Each time the nitrate test showed absolutely zero. I do absolutely believe in maintaining a slight Nitrate value is essential in carbon dosing systems, no more than 1 or 2ppm.
I got nothing. Nitrate would reduce but phosphates started to slowly rise. At the height of this the phosphate value was 0.3!. A the same time, no green algae...some brown algae and very occasionally some cyano. There was some small amounts of bacterial fuzz on the undersides of rocks but not much.
I started dosing Iron citrate and the bacteria started blooming. I saw cloudy water after large doses of carbon, and saw the phosphate values start to drop. I was so excited and so naturally I over-did it. I dosed Iron Citrate daily and things started getting weird - I started seeing big bacterial slime strings in the tank, the skimmate was this dark, nasty gunk and I was getting a lot of it. Then I started having white band wasting away and STN of acroporas. I stopped dosing iron and after a couple of weeks, I was having problems with carbon dosing working again.
My theory is that the skimmer was way too effective at stripping the water of nutrients, and based on my experience, one of the elements that was depleted was Iron. Obviously, adding too much was not a good thing, but I have no doubt that in my tank, some base level of Iron is needed. When the Iron level is high, the bacteria will grow like crazy but when its high the corals suffer. I think that if you could provide a restricted zone where the iron level is high and where bacteria can reproduce, you could maximize carbon dosing's effect. I think that is what the zeolites are doing in the Zeovit or NeoZeo systems.
As for Zeovit, i only brought it in to the discussion because it is truly "Dosing Nitrate to reduce Phosphate". I think that keeping a little bit of nitrate in the system is not only helpful for reducing phosphate, but I also can visually tell when there is no Nitrate at all in the tank- the corals become visibly pale. A couple of times last year I noticed that the corals were pale and started testing the basic water parameters. Each time the nitrate test showed absolutely zero. I do absolutely believe in maintaining a slight Nitrate value is essential in carbon dosing systems, no more than 1 or 2ppm.
Bilk
New member
You're correct in that other mfg.'s do the same in not reporting what the concentrations of elements are in their supplements. I don't use those either. Don't get me wrong. I am guilty of using them in the past, but have also suffered the consequences as a result. Now I make my own supplements or purchase those that do state what's in their magic bottle. Continuum Aquatics is one product I use because they do state the concentrations of substances in their supplements. I use their iron supplement because it's easier than sourcing the ingredients to make it. Their numbers are spot on.I have heard the same sentiment lots of times and I guess I only partially understand it. People want to know what is in the bottles exactly. The same thing, however, is not expected of other manufacturers. For example, my b-ionic 2-part lists trace elements that are in the solution, but not the amounts, nor does it specifically state whether the alkalinity is from sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or a mixture of both. Red Sea discloses that NO3-PO4-X contains methanol, but wont say what else. I did a quick google search for "What is in NOPOX" and got almost nothing as far as people being curious, much less upset about red sea not disclosing.
I also understand why Zeovit keeps the ingredients close to the vest. I started the system because I have seen way too many great tanks that use it, i can afford the materials, and I thought it would be interesting. That being said, when I tested the Zeostart and found it was a combination nitrate and carbon source, I immediately thought "I can make this". If i knew exactly what the carbon source was(most likely glacial acetic acid is one part of it) I could make it, and for a cheaper price.
Imagine if Zeovit said "Contains glacial acetic acid, calcium nitrate, sodium acetate and ethanol" or something similar. There would be DIY recipes here in 5 minutes. Zeovit's market would be severely impacted. Some reefers would mix up DIY batches with improper amounts then claim that the "Zeovit system failed", further impacting their ability to sell a product. I don't have a problem with them protecting their intellectual property.
No one forced me to buy their stuff, and i do hope that figuring out how it works leads to DIY improvements. I like experimentation, probably too much for my own good
There are certainly very beautiful systems using Zeovit and those that developed it, obviously put a lot of research into it. I just didn't understand what the heck I was doing and especially so when an issue would arise such as an algal bloom. The stone provided another element of consequence. Too many, too little, too much flow or too little. Just another facet to micromanage and having to get information from a third party to correct the problem.
It's my impression, but certainly not the rule I'm sure, but I think the Zeovit system is for people who want a plug and play process and don't want to have to necessarily understand what's happening. Not the rule of course, but in my observation, people that have gravitated to it, were not successful with doing it on their own in a traditional manner or getting the results they wanted to see on their own with traditional husbandry methods. Again, not the rule, but I think it's safe to say that's the demographic of the user of that system. Same goes for other systems such as Probidio, RSP coral colors and others. They're all fine I guess, but I don't believe they can account for each variance in each tank. The Triton method probably comes closest and maybe the Zeovit system does with their forum support.
Great post. Very informative.
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
There certainly was an element of wanting more of a plug and play element when I set up the Zeovit system. I wanted a complete system with a lot of experience behind it for sure. I am, however, a complete tank nerd and have been since my first reef tank I set up in 1991. Where other people get annoyed running a test or cleaning something, or dosing an additive in the reef, I say "Yes please". I love having a system I can tweak and monitor and mess with, yes I am not normal:lolspin:.
Given some time and experience with this twist on Carbon dosing, I will probably try something else, just because I can. I still haven't found a perfect system for the reef tank, but I think that reefers who ask the questions and do the experiments are getting closer to one. There is a great thread here on Reef Central about dosing ammonia rather than nitrate - just like this one there were many naysayers at first too, but it seems that the technique works. I'd like to help advance the body of knowledge of reefkeeping in any way I can.
Bilk
New member
Agreed on all counts
The thread in the large tank forum started by Glennf is something to look at if you have not already. It's probably close if not exactly what you're looking for. However even there, there's nothing magic about it. All it really provides for is maintaining the balance of elements in the system. But what it does do, is provides a simplified basis from which to work.I'm using his spreadsheet, but have adjusted it for the supplements I use that I either make or purchase - those that report their concentrations - because the calculations in the spreadsheet work off of the concentrations in the supplements. I'm getting pretty good results so far. But again, there's no magic to it. Just supplementing what is depleting base on the known constituencies in NSW and elevating those that appear to complement nutrient export, coral health and stability - i.e. slightly elevated Mg and NO3 from NSW. His system looks like a hybrid of Zeovit and Triton, but it is up to the user to implement based on testing. Unlike his methodology, I still do small daily water changes.
Edit:
I saw in another thread you use ESV salt mix. Makes sense based on your MO
Me too. Tried RSP and really hated it. Still have a bunch, but not using it. Used ESV before and really don't know why I tried another in with this new tank. Again, seeing what's going in and knowing at the very least there's no binders and other junk, is good enough even if they don't state the concentrations on the labeling.
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
I saw in another thread you use ESV salt mix. Makes sense based on your MO
Tee Hee
Yep when I saw I could weigh out the components down to the gram I was in hog heaven!!!
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
As far as Glennf's thread, I read all of it a while back and am very impressed with his system. Once again, its another system where a bit of nitrate is essential. My only issue with it is that my own system is very highly stocked. Glenn doesn't have to do much to keep phosphates in check with his very large system and comparitively light bioload, but i need a bit more aggressive approach. BTW I believe that Triton was a commercialization of his system by a fellow user, where now you take your water to them and have it tested and they tell you how much of this and that additive to add.
I'm curious whether additional parameters will be added to the mix of what is tested in the future. There are other components of seawater, such as sulfate, which are not tested for(no test yet) and not controlled that may be out of whack and may be the cause of problems. A test I'd like to see would be for sodium and chloride ions, to spot imbalances caused by unequal 2-part dosing.
But getting back to the original topic of the thread, I am curious if dosing nitrate is more or less effective than dosing ammonia. neoyhng's thread on dosing ammonia(http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2363362) is very interesting to me. I am wondering now if the bacteria that consume the nitrate and phosphate are more or less effective at their jobs than those that consume ammonia and phosphate - or are they the same bacteria and his system just has to wait for Ammonia to be converted to Nitrate?
I'm curious whether additional parameters will be added to the mix of what is tested in the future. There are other components of seawater, such as sulfate, which are not tested for(no test yet) and not controlled that may be out of whack and may be the cause of problems. A test I'd like to see would be for sodium and chloride ions, to spot imbalances caused by unequal 2-part dosing.
But getting back to the original topic of the thread, I am curious if dosing nitrate is more or less effective than dosing ammonia. neoyhng's thread on dosing ammonia(http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2363362) is very interesting to me. I am wondering now if the bacteria that consume the nitrate and phosphate are more or less effective at their jobs than those that consume ammonia and phosphate - or are they the same bacteria and his system just has to wait for Ammonia to be converted to Nitrate?
Bilk
New member
Light bioload? Are we looking at the same thread? LOL Have you seen how he feeds the fish and corals? I also don't think that tank can be considered "lightly stocked". I think the way he feeds would present a PO4 issue if it weren't managed the way he is doing it.
There seemed to be an obvious connection between Triton and what he's doing, so I'm not surprised there's something there.
I'm not sure it's "just another system" where nitrate is essential. It's more likely that nitrate is essential in a low range of quantity. Doesn't Zeovit prescribe a min/max range for it, and not zero?
I've been following the thread you mention and I think there's merit to it. It wasn't done irresponsibly IMO. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if one of those little blue bottles you have as some ammonia in it. My guess is Phol's Extra :lol:
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Nah, I think Pohls xtra is vitamin B. That's what it smells like anyway
I said glennf's tank was comparitively lightly stocked-
I will come clean and say now "my name is Matt and I'm a fish hoarder"
I have a 36"X28"x22" tank with a working volume of around 80 gallons before counting rocks and sand. I currently have the following fish:
1 green chromis
2 stubby snowflake percula clowns
1 percula clown
1 leopard wrasse
1 pajama cardinal
2 scooter Blenny
1 ochre stripe cardinalu(apogon compressus)
1 blue throat trigger
1 Swallowtail angel (Genicanthus melanospilos)
2 bellus angelfish
1 red tail tamarin wrasse
1 hippo tang
1 Copperband butterfly
1 yellow Ora cleaner goby
1 blue cleaner goby
1 indigo dotyback
1 green clown goby
1 adorned wrasse
1 exquisite wrasse
1 gray head wrasse
1 yellow coris wrasse
I feed them twice a day, and I'd find a new home for any of them if they were stressed or if they had issues.
My current nitrate value is 2ppm and my phosphate measures 0.03.
I am able to keep this many fish because of my experience and because I spare no expense to get whatever equipment or component is needed, and because the tank is my obsession. Several of the fish have been there from the first week of the tank over a year and a half ago, the rest were added over a year ago. The fish don't get sick, my few losses werere jumpers. I hope to upgrade the display to a much larger tank in a couple of months and keep the fish load the same. Things will get easier then
I said glennf's tank was comparitively lightly stocked-
I will come clean and say now "my name is Matt and I'm a fish hoarder"
I have a 36"X28"x22" tank with a working volume of around 80 gallons before counting rocks and sand. I currently have the following fish:
1 green chromis
2 stubby snowflake percula clowns
1 percula clown
1 leopard wrasse
1 pajama cardinal
2 scooter Blenny
1 ochre stripe cardinalu(apogon compressus)
1 blue throat trigger
1 Swallowtail angel (Genicanthus melanospilos)
2 bellus angelfish
1 red tail tamarin wrasse
1 hippo tang
1 Copperband butterfly
1 yellow Ora cleaner goby
1 blue cleaner goby
1 indigo dotyback
1 green clown goby
1 adorned wrasse
1 exquisite wrasse
1 gray head wrasse
1 yellow coris wrasse
I feed them twice a day, and I'd find a new home for any of them if they were stressed or if they had issues.
My current nitrate value is 2ppm and my phosphate measures 0.03.
I am able to keep this many fish because of my experience and because I spare no expense to get whatever equipment or component is needed, and because the tank is my obsession. Several of the fish have been there from the first week of the tank over a year and a half ago, the rest were added over a year ago. The fish don't get sick, my few losses werere jumpers. I hope to upgrade the display to a much larger tank in a couple of months and keep the fish load the same. Things will get easier then
Here is an iPhone pic from today:
nice density of fish.
do you use ozone or UV ?
how do you cope with surplus no3 and po4
you guy's out there love those blue lamps........but taking good pictures with those lamps is a pain in the .....
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Hi glennf
Even though there are a lot of fish they are a mix of fish from different niches, so when they aren't begging for food a lot of them are down in the rocks and not visible.
No, I don't use ozone or UV, ozone is not used in the US as much as Europe in general. I did use ozone on my first reef back in 1991 but I probably wasn't adequately drying the air going in to it.
I have been using Zeovit recently for nutrient control but before that I did vinegar dosing. My reef has always been short on Nitrate, without dosing some in it will go to zero very quickly. Zeostart3 is my current nitrate/ carbon source. I use a large external skimmer to export nutrients as well.
My readings yesterday were nitrate:1-2ppm, phosphate 0.03ppm
The pic looks more blue than reality, the bulbs in there right now are 5 ati blue plus , 1 DD lagoon blue(white bulb), 1 ati coral plus, one DD Aquapink.
Even though there are a lot of fish they are a mix of fish from different niches, so when they aren't begging for food a lot of them are down in the rocks and not visible.
No, I don't use ozone or UV, ozone is not used in the US as much as Europe in general. I did use ozone on my first reef back in 1991 but I probably wasn't adequately drying the air going in to it.
I have been using Zeovit recently for nutrient control but before that I did vinegar dosing. My reef has always been short on Nitrate, without dosing some in it will go to zero very quickly. Zeostart3 is my current nitrate/ carbon source. I use a large external skimmer to export nutrients as well.
My readings yesterday were nitrate:1-2ppm, phosphate 0.03ppm
The pic looks more blue than reality, the bulbs in there right now are 5 ati blue plus , 1 DD lagoon blue(white bulb), 1 ati coral plus, one DD Aquapink.
Hi glennf
Even though there are a lot of fish they are a mix of fish from different niches, so when they aren't begging for food a lot of them are down in the rocks and not visible.
No, I don't use ozone or UV, ozone is not used in the US as much as Europe in general. I did use ozone on my first reef back in 1991 but I probably wasn't adequately drying the air going in to it.
I have been using Zeovit recently for nutrient control but before that I did vinegar dosing. My reef has always been short on Nitrate, without dosing some in it will go to zero very quickly. Zeostart3 is my current nitrate/ carbon source. I use a large external skimmer to export nutrients as well.
My readings yesterday were nitrate:1-2ppm, phosphate 0.03ppm
The pic looks more blue than reality, the bulbs in there right now are 5 ati blue plus , 1 DD lagoon blue(white bulb), 1 ati coral plus, one DD Aquapink.
Thanks for the info.
You migth try playing with the white balance in your camera setting.
Similar threads
