I just can't win with Nitrates

[brad65ford]

Here is my light scedule. I will try and get PAR readings posted prob won't be till Sunday

Cool. I would like to comment but again my apologizes what is your goal, what are trying to achieve differently now with your system. You believe your no3 is the cause for algae? Try lowering your light schedule to 8 hours.

 

[kissman]

Zero Cyano, zero grape Caulerpa, zero Aiptasia, healthy corals and healthy tank

 

[brad65ford]

But you titled it "can't win high nitrate". Those are not said results for high no3 since I'm higher then you and I have none of what you have.

How long has the tank been setup?

 

[kissman]

Lowering nitrates and pulling grape Caulerpa will help get rid of it.

 

[CStrickland]

I like how long this thread is because someone with the same problem can read through it and can learn a lot of diff ideas for lowering nitrates, and also see what you have tried already. But I guess being so comprehensive, it is a lot to catch up on if someone is just jumping in now. Too bad you can't like, edit stuff into the first post or something to make it easier for people to get caught up cause answering the same Q's over and over makes the thread even more cluttered like a vicious cycle.

 

[brad65ford]

I like how long this thread is because someone with the same problem can read through it and can learn a lot of diff ideas for lowering nitrates, and also see what you have tried already. But I guess being so comprehensive, it is a lot to catch up on if someone is just jumping in now. Too bad you can't like, edit stuff into the first post or something to make it easier for people to get caught up cause answering the same Q's over and over makes the thread even more cluttered like a vicious cycle.

+1 totally agree, so what has been learn in this thread?

 

[mindi]

Here is my light scedule. I will try and get PAR readings posted prob won't be till Sunday

That is very low light... my Photon 48 is double that on blue and 80% of the same on white approx in the natural profile on the Photon site

 

[JPMagyar]

I hope everyone will forgive me because I know this is going to come across as mean but I feel quite strongly about the issue of short light duration as it's one you see frequently espoused on the forum and one that is so very wrong.

Corals can, in fact, do fine with low intensity light of 12 to 14 hours, and depending on how intense your highest intensity is corals can easily handle 8 or 9 hours of max light per day. Actually, if one were to use TOTM averages it appears corals do best with about 8 or so hours of intense light and at least another hour or two of dawn/dusk.





This TOTM runs 9 hours of max with 1 hour of dawn/dusk for a total of 11 hours.

This TOTM runs 9 hours of three 400 watt metal halides plus 10 hours of blue LEDs.

Here is my tank at it's peak when it had four 400 watt metal halides and 8 110 watt VHOs with the metal halides running 10 hours a day and the VHOs running 16 hours a day.

Today I run 16 hours of super actinics 10 hours of aquablues and 8 hours of metal halide and I would put my colors and growth up against the best of them.

Point is don't reduce your lighting. It's fine.

 

[brad65ford]

All depends on the system and if there is food for the corals to handle that amount of light and duration.

 

[mindi]

Yep great tanks agree... more light..more light....less phosphates most important and then less nitrates ( i do this with a marine pure block but thats my call) ...strangling nutrients with very disciplined feeding and strong denitiification much better model than reducing light. To each his own. Beautiful tanks JPMagyar.

You can feed corals without NO3 or PO4 contribution with supplements...one example NOPOX combined with Reef Energy A and B.... and I am sure Red Sea is not the only Mfr with a combination program like that..Seachem..? Brightwell.? Kent..?

 

[brad65ford]

Yep great tanks agree... more light..more light....less phosphates most important and then less nitrates ( i do this with a marine pure block but thats my call) ...strangling nutrients with very disciplined feeding and strong denitiification much better model than reducing light. To each his own. Beautiful tanks JPMagyar.

You can feed corals without NO3 or PO4 contribution with supplements...one example NOPOX combined with Reef Energy A and B.... and I am sure Red Sea is not the only Mfr with a combination program like that..Seachem..? Brightwell.? Kent..?

Absolute statements like this (low n03 and p04 are needed) are not true since it all depends on multiple variables, here is an example of high po4 and seriously great success from Richard Ross that knows what he is doing, his system is running at 1.8ppm which is said in the hobby to be voodoo. Starts at 2:30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRIKW-9d2xI There is another video discussing no3 and how some have found better success with dosing potassium nitrate. Only reason i jumped in this thread was not because of lightning it was because I say the title stating "can't get nitrates down"

 

[mindi]

yeah but the most practical way for most of us mortals to control algae is to control nutrients, thats my point.

 

[brad65ford]

yeah but the most practical way for most of us mortals to control algae is to control nutrients, thats my point.

Heck yeah totally, that i agree with especially with smaller system since we dont have huge tangs to graze with. Just saying that people are shooting for perfection with numbers when the subject at hand could be something else.

 

[kissman]

WOW I need to read through the last few posts but I said I would post some pics of some growth. You can see the Cyano on the back glass.

I thought I put this coral in in Feb when was actually March

March 9, 2015

April 9th, 2015

May 6, 2015

 

[kissman]

March 9th, 2015

May 6th, 2015

 

[kissman]

March 9, 2015

May 6

 

[kissman]

March 9

May 6

 

[brad65ford]

Looks like your having success, congrats. Damn please don't tell me that's all aptastisa all in the rocks? You started with dry rock right?

 

[kissman]

Yep I started with dry rock and that's aiptasia! Hence why I bought an aiptasia eating file fish and if I can catch this damn six line wrasse and Royal Gramma I will add a bunch of peppermint shrimp to eat it. I would love to know where it came from

 

[brad65ford]

Yep I started with dry rock and that's aiptasia! Hence why I bought an aiptasia eating file fish and if I can catch this damn six line wrasse and Royal Gramma I will add a bunch of peppermint shrimp to eat it. I would love to know where it came from

That is just crazy i never know aipstasia was like a weed/seed/algae and stays dormant, I've always thought they needed to stay alive.