Nutrients question

[Dhoggs]

Before I go on with my question, I would like to provide a brief description of my system for insight.

My current system(125 gal total water volume) has been up and running for 4mos now. The rocks were cured for 7mos, I bought new sand and the initial water came from my old system. I did not use the rocks and sandbed from the old system as I did not want to stress my livestock/corals while the new tank cycles. My filtration consist of filter socks which I replace every 4th day, skimmer (Vertex Alpha 200), 1/4 cup of gfo and a chaeto in my refugium. I feed daily 1 cube of frozen brine shrimp, 1 cube of frozen mysis and 2x rotation of pellets via AFS. 1 gal water change daily via AWC. I have mostly sps in the tank which all came from my old system.

About 3mos in, I started testing for nitrate using Redsea Coral Pro tester. Both phosphate and nitrate were undetectable so I increased my feeding. Which brought PO4 lvl to .01 the first week. Nitrate remained undetectable. After the first week, PO4 became undectactable once again. Nitrate remained undetectable so I decided to dose KnO3 2 weeks ago which brought my nitrate up to 2-3ppm. I tested every other day since then and the level didnt change.

My question is, why does the nitrate level not go down 2 weeks after I dosed. Could some of the nitrate come from what I feed the tank?

2nd question is....with the amount of food that I am feeding the tank, why does the PO4 level stay at 0ppm (via Hanna Phosphorus ULR). I checked everyday before lights on. Should I take my GFO offline?

I do see some cyano growing on the sandbed and I have to clean the glass once a week due to film algae. Rocks in the DT are pretty clean. Chaeto in the refugium barely grows.

Any suggestions or recommendations on how I can bring balance to my system will be greatly appreciated.




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[mcgyvr]

Yes if you want to increase phosphate levels then remove the product used to specifically lower it...
I always say GFO is for those with an elevated phosphate level and problem associated with it and don't run it unless you have that.
I do not think it should be used as "general equipment" in all tanks as it can cause more harm than benefit.. Its pretty powerful stuff..

As to why your nitrate level stayed the same.. not sure..
But it seems like you have a very good/sufficient bacterial population that is handling everything very well..

 

[Dhoggs]

Thanks for the response! I was advised by other reefers not change anything at the moment and let the system take its course. The cyano, which If I'm not mistaken, shows up if there is an imbalance in nutrients OR could be a new tank syndrome. Im hoping it latter and should disappear as the tank matures. For now, i will just test and observe. Thanks again!!


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[Geeray]

Thanks for the response! I was advised by other reefers not change anything at the moment and let the system take its course. The cyano, which If I'm not mistaken, shows up if there is an imbalance in nutrients OR could be a new tank syndrome. Im hoping it latter and should disappear as the tank matures. For now, i will just test and observe. Thanks again!!


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While not changing too many things at once and letting things take their course is generally good advise if you are concerned that low PO4 might be causing issues then you need to remove the GFO.

 

[mcgyvr]

I also fully agree that you shouldn't go making a bunch of adjustments as your tank is new..
Time will be your friend and yes remove the GFO.. You don't seem to need it but likely have it because you fell into the belief that you must run it to have a successful tank I assume..

Siphon out the cyano during water changes and just keep monitoring..
I find that people that buy "live sand" have more cyano issues early on than those that don't.. "live sand" has lots of "dead" in it from sitting on a warehouse shelf....
But even with dry sand cyano can be fairly common in a new tank and is typically the last of the "ugly stages" (diatoms.. then green hair/film algae,etc.. then cyano)..

 

[Dhoggs]

I also fully agree that you shouldn't go making a bunch of adjustments as your tank is new..
Time will be your friend and yes remove the GFO.. You don't seem to need it but likely have it because you fell into the belief that you must run it to have a successful tank I assume..

Siphon out the cyano during water changes and just keep monitoring..
I find that people that buy "live sand" have more cyano issues early on than those that don't.. "live sand" has lots of "dead" in it from sitting on a warehouse shelf....
But even with dry sand cyano can be fairly common in a new tank and is typically the last of the "ugly stages" (diatoms.. then green hair/film algae,etc.. then cyano)..

I have decided to take your advice....gfo reactor is now offline. I will monitor nutrients everyday to ensure that PO4 does not creep up. Once again, thanks for the assistance!


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