Losing color in Sps due to Nitrate

[jarrett shark]

So after looking at your tank daily you start to forget when there is a issue until a buddy comes over and tells me my color is way off.. well my issue is nitrate went up to .50mg/L when tested using Salifert test kit when I checked last night and now I don't know how to fix it. The last month or so was around .15/20mg/L..
I vodka dose daily and I am afraid to go any more since I already add .39ML a day and afraid of killing fish with no oxygen since happy already when I first started.. I was always adding around .34-.39ML
What else can I do?

PO4 = .01-.03
Alkl= 9.0
Calcium = 460
Tank is 400gal
System total 550-600gal

Should I maybe invest in a Nitrate Reactor?
Need something that will stick with tamk for long term not short term
I only feed 3-4 times a week because if this issue

 

[organism]

0.39 ml of vodka in a 400 gallon is the same thing as 0ml of vodka... My 100 gallon gets 10ml a day. Before investing in a nitrate reactor you may want to recheck the vodka dosing article imo

 

[slavetonet]

I don't know how to tell you this. Your colours are off not because of your nutrients.
It is because your trace elements are down by alot.
Hit the trace elements hard and watch the colours come back.
Look at my tread to see what I mean.

 

[jarrett shark]

0.39 ml of vodka in a 400 gallon is the same thing as 0ml of vodka... My 100 gallon gets 10ml a day. Before investing in a nitrate reactor you may want to recheck the vodka dosing article imo

I have a feeling what you going but I just think adding 50-60 ML can kill

 

[jarrett shark]

I don't know how to tell you this. Your colours are off not because of your nutrients.
It is because your trace elements are down by alot.
Hit the trace elements hard and watch the colours come back.
Look at my tread to see what I mean.

Can you send me link/thread ?

I sure missing something.'

 

[Rakie]

I have a feeling what you going but I just think adding 50-60 ML can kill

But adding less than 1 ml does nothing.

 

[Potatohead]

But adding less than 1 ml does nothing.

I think he means 39 although he typed .39. He also typed .50 for his nitrate.

 

[Rakie]

I think he means 39 although he typed .39. He also typed .50 for his nitrate.

That's what I thought for a minute but decided to be literal *just* in case. After re-reading it, I think you're right for sure.

 

[bif24701]

I have a feeling what you going but I just think adding 50-60 ML can kill

Kill? How? Why? Carbon doseing is safe, increase it slowly until you start to see the nitrates come down. When you get it to where you want it reduce by half and increase/decease daily amount as your Nitrates rise or fall. You certainly are not adding enough to make any impact that's for sure.


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[organism]

I have a feeling what you going but I just think adding 50-60 ML can kill

It can if you add it all at once right off the bat, which isn't how you carbon dose. Vodka dosing doesn't just start out all at once though, it's incremental and you slowly dose more until you get to a level that works for your tank. At that point you might very well be adding 50-60+++++ ml. There's no knowing until you get there since it's different for every tank. I'd recommend carefully reading over this article and going from there.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/

 

[jda]

Give us some tank info. You should not have nitrate issues in a reef tank. Is the tank new? What kind of sand and how much? What kind of rocks and how much?

BTW - organic carbon dosing can certainly kill. It can kill fish by growing bacteria that can consumer all of the oxygen. It can kill coral by growing bacteria that eat all of the food (N and P). You have to be really careful in a reef tank once you start to get close to zero either N or P since the bacteria will outcompete the dinos in the coral.

 

[Greg 45]

Jarrett take a look at Aquarium Engineering / I have one of there sulfur denitrators and works like a charm . Give Bill a call tell him I recommended you . You wont be disappointed.

 

[bif24701]

It can if you add it all at once right off the bat, which isn't how you carbon dose. Vodka dosing doesn't just start out all at once though, it's incremental and you slowly dose more until you get to a level that works for your tank. At that point you might very well be adding 50-60+++++ ml. There's no knowing until you get there since it's different for every tank. I'd recommend carefully reading over this article and going from there.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/

Exactly, if I added all my Kalk at once it would probably kill my tank, vodka is like anything else. When used correctly it is one of the few supplements in our hobby that have true quantitative, observable, and documented results. It works.


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[bif24701]

Give us some tank info. You should not have nitrate issues in a reef tank. Is the tank new? What kind of sand and how much? What kind of rocks and how much?

BTW - organic carbon dosing can certainly kill. It can kill fish by growing bacteria that can consumer all of the oxygen. It can kill coral by growing bacteria that eat all of the food (N and P). You have to be really careful in a reef tank once you start to get close to zero either N or P since the bacteria will outcompete the dinos in the coral.

Many things in our hobby can kill if misused. LED lighting can kill and kills more often than carbon use. If used properly with good gas exchange and NO3/PO4 monitoring it is considered completely safe as O2 depletion is difficult to achieve with a skimmer, good flow, and open top. NO3 and PO4 depletion can be harmful but rarely deadly especially if monitored so there is time to react. I have experimented extensively with over dosing carbon together with several highly respected contributors here and we found that over dosing carbon actually has great benefits. With the size of his system, continuos skimming and good flow I would have no problem adding 50ml of vodka from the go. You would have some cloudiness and snot like stuff growing but not deadly.


Anyway! I recommended you start at 7ml daily and double it every 5-7 days until your Nitrates start dropping then continue that does until you reach your goal and cut the dose by half and adjust as needed. Some increase every 3 days. If you get a lot of cloudiness and snotty stuff you can back off a little until it clears up. This will drop your Nitrates and you will find once it's complete and the tank is clear that every thing will get and immediate boost in vitality and vigor.


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[Mr.Fishtank]

I would start doing 20% water changes every 2-3 days till the no3 is in the 20's. Then I would start the carbon dosing per vodka dosing 101. You will also need to lower your alk down to 8 or below or you might burn some corals.

 

[slavetonet]

Can you send me link/thread ?

I sure missing something.'

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24898187&postcount=95

 

[crawlerman]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24898187&postcount=95

Can you expand on this:
"Trace elements dosing have been steady - I have create a professional version and have been testing it for over 3 months since the normal version was created 6 months ago."