Nitrates question?

rogergolf66

im an addict lol
Ok what happens to sps in higher nitrates but still super low po4? Po4 zero on Hanna but nitrates 10? If 10 is still low enough what should happen is nitrates went to 20 or 30 or 40?

R we talking death if so RTN? Color brown?

Just wanting to learn what would happen

Alk, cal, mag, ph salinity all stable and in range for this question by the way
 
Good question. I think high P04 turns them brown. SPS can RTN for any reason, so that's hard to tell. Not sure what happens with high NO3 and low PO4. I think most people have high PO4 and low NO3 or both high PO4 and NO3.
 
Most people yes. I had very low nutrients causing some of my sps to lighten up more then I liked so I started feeding more, and changing filter sock every 2 days instead of ever day. My corals has gotten the color back nicely. Now I tested and my po4 Hanna was 0.00 still, but my nitrates salifert was 10. It's never been over 2 so figured I would ask. I know I can just start a carbon dosing vodka or something and lower nitrates but do I have to? I have also cut feeding back to some where in the middle of past and resent schedule. Also have started changing filter sock daily again that has always been the key to nitrates for me. I'm not worried was just wondering what would happen If I left it this way?
 
I'm curious now. I used a hanna and a api test last night and got a 0 reading on po4. I hooked up a denitrator because I can't get nitrates below 50, per salifert. I'm getting what I think is good growth and some of the colors are outstanding
 
Lowering nitrates is rather easy. Look up carbon source dosing. Vodka, vinagar, or bio pellets . Nitrates will go away
 
Just to add some input to this subject, my SPS corals (especially the montis) look best with NO3 in the 5 to 8 ppm range. When I strip out all of the nitrates my montis become pale.
 
Yes that what I had going on too. That's why I did what I did. I had expected my po4 to raise also but only trates did
 
Yes that what I had going on too. That's why I did what I did. I had expected my po4 to raise also but only trates did

I have the pale monti caps issue as well. Nitrates always zero but PO4 is typically around .06 with bio-pellets and GFO.

What food were you able to add that was able to keep your PO4 at zero while bringing up your Nitrate? I want to do the same thing but I find that increasing the feedings too much raises PO4 too high. At one point I took PO4 from .06 all the way up to .25 while my nitrate stayed <5.

I'm considering liquid nitrate (used for planted tanks) and dosing that because it is PO4 free. Another option I'm considering is dosing amino acids/vitamin C. I'm open for suggestions!:beer:
 
with that amount of nitrates in your tank, nothing will happen to your sps, they might even darken up or i meant color up, the lower the nutrients there are in your tank, the paler the corals look, oh and low nutrients and high PO4 turns corals green, specially yellow ones, good luck

sana
 
I have the pale monti caps issue as well. Nitrates always zero but PO4 is typically around .06 with bio-pellets and GFO.

What food were you able to add that was able to keep your PO4 at zero while bringing up your Nitrate? I want to do the same thing but I find that increasing the feedings too much raises PO4 too high. At one point I took PO4 from .06 all the way up to .25 while my nitrate stayed <5.

I'm considering liquid nitrate (used for planted tanks) and dosing that because it is PO4 free. Another option I'm considering is dosing amino acids/vitamin C. I'm open for suggestions!:beer:

I was feeding same food as always just more often. Frozen every other day. But after food thaws I rinse food in Rodi water before adding to tank. Other day they get a quarter sheet of nori. I change my filter sock every day.
 
I was feeding same food as always just more often. Frozen every other day. But after food thaws I rinse food in Rodi water before adding to tank. Other day they get a quarter sheet of nori. I change my filter sock every day.

Roger, That's good to know and thanks for the feedback. In my case, I feed frozen every day and don't do nori at all because I have small wrasses, blennys, and a clownfish. I feed a lot so PO4 keeps going up and my GFO has to be changed out often when I do that. I'll give the nori a try and see if they like it.

On a similar note, there is a great thread about dosing Calcium Nitrate to bring up your nitrate without raising your PO4. Its a good read and you can find it at http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21325935#post21325935 in case anyone is interested. :celeb2:
 
with that amount of nitrates in your tank, nothing will happen to your sps, they might even darken up or i meant color up, the lower the nutrients there are in your tank, the paler the corals look, oh and low nutrients and high PO4 turns corals green, specially yellow ones, good luck

sana

Sana, Are you replying to me or someone else? What ranges of nitrate and PO4 are you referring to?
 
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