Nitrates & Phosphates

[HighlandReefer]

Nice work Randy. That makes the data much easier to understand.

 

[Orr2003]

Great info Randy

I use Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef Flakes and have very healthy fish. I also feed a bunch of frozen brine shrimp which looks to be rather high in phosphorus. It seems it is time to replace some of the brine shrimp feedings with more Prime Reef Flakes.

I chose Prime Reef Flakes for the ingredients listed but had no idea how low in phosphorus it really is in comparison to other foods out there.

Randy

Do you have any info on Cyclop-eeze wafer in regards to phosphorus to protein ratio?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No, sorry, I don't have any other such info for hobby foods.

 

[StrategicReef]

so prime reef flakes is actually good stuff? I fed this stuff almost exclusively for 6 months and got a lot of algae problems..
now I use frozen food defrosted and rinsed in RO water

 

[bertoni]

Well, it's low in that particular ratio, but it might leach phosphate or simple organic phosphorus into the water column at a high rate. Hard to say.

 

[wooden_reefer]

The big difference is that nitrates are generated by livestock as the ammonia they produce is broken down. Phosphates come from stuff we put in the tank, either from the water if we don't use RODI or food.

Both can also be reduced with carbon dosing and algae scrubbing.

Nitrates can be removed by further bacterial action inside live rock. Phosphates won't undergo bacterial reduction.

You won't be able to remove nitrates chemically. Phosphates can be removed by chemical adsorption such as GFO.

Actually, both come from what we put into the tank.

Nitrate also comes from what we put into the tank as food. Nitrogen fixing from air is not significant, I believe.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Phosphates won't undergo bacterial reduction.

They are taken up by growing bacteria.

 

[jasony816]

So would you advise using zeovit or similar methods then?

 

[tmz]

I also use prime reef flakes in small amounts. Feeding flake food in a way that insures it is consumed in high percentages can be a little tricky though as compared to pellets or even some frozen foods. The flakes tend to float out and into the drains before the fish get at them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So would you advise using zeovit or similar methods then?

me?

I've not used zeovit, but I'm not sure I like the colors it gives to some corals. I use a variety of methods for nutrient export: growing macroalgae, skimming, lots of live rock for denitrification, a cryptic refugium, dosing organic carbon, GAC, etc.

 

[lakee911]

The flakes tend to float out and into the drains before the fish get at them.

Rather than just tossing in a few flakes, pinch them between you finger and thumb and hold them underwater for a few seconds before releasing them. They won't float away and down the drain then.

Jason

 

[Pfreytag]

Randy, I have a few corals that did brown out a while back and I'm now getting the nitrates under control. Will the corals colors come back at some point or are they stuck in the brown state? I have the phosphates down well too.

Pete...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If the browning was due to nutrient levels, then the colors may come back as the zoox levels in the corals decrease with reduced nutrients, yes. But the browning may have been due to lighting, and not nutrients, in which case the colors may not come back.

 

[Pfreytag]

thanks Randy.

Pete...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome.

Good luck.