nitrate problems in a 75g reef - Page 4

Keelo · 08/26/2016, 10:36 AM

My nitrite reading is 0ppm bertoni

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bertoni · 08/26/2016, 06:11 PM

Okay, zero nitrite is a good sign. Nitrite will confuse most or all nitrate test kits.

Keelo · 08/26/2016, 07:20 PM

Hopefully I can begin dosing on Monday! Bertoni I have a quick question for you once I begin dosing a carbon source should I also run gfo or would that compromise the effects of dosing ?

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bertoni · 08/26/2016, 08:31 PM

Some tanks are fine with GFO and carbon, and others need to have the carbon removed. The carbon dose likely will export nitrate and phosphate at a fairly fixed ratio, but each tank could have a somewhat different profile. The nitrate consumption alway will be much higher than the phosphate consumption.

Keelo · 08/26/2016, 09:14 PM

Okay well I'll have to see how it goes for me. Is a low nutrient environment something to be concerned about when dosing ? I don't really want to keep any sps as of yet mainly what I have now in lps and soft coral is what I prefer. I was thinking is there a way to keep nitrates at around 5 ppm ? Or what would ideal parameters be for those type of coral, Bertoni?

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tmz · 08/27/2016, 09:00 AM

IME, NO3 around 1ppm with PO4 around 0.05ppm provides for vibrancy in those types of corals and sps with minimal nuisance algae. The issue is more about nitrogen availablility than NO3 per se ; in a fed tank with fish other undetectable nitrogen sources like traces of ammonium might meet that need even when nitrate is undetectable. As much as 5ppm NO3 along with PO4 around 0.15ppm might be ok for a tank with a lot of herbivores and some macro algae.

Keelo · 08/27/2016, 05:03 PM

Sounds good thanks tmz, lets see if I can get my levels down first. As of now that's just wishful thinking on my part. I'll hopefully begin dosing Monday and see how fast my levels can taper off from there.

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Keelo · 08/30/2016, 03:33 PM

thanks to sil40sx i got my hands on some red sea no3 p04 x. i began dosing yesterday night and i dosed 10ml. nitrate readings are still the same however i did notice that my tank is cloudy, possibly from the bacteria bloom. Does anyone have any advice on what i should do, cut dosing by half or keep it the same?
For anyone following this thread, this will be week 1 of dosing and i will update nitrate readings after every week. I will continue my regular water change regime the same 20 gallons every 2 weeks. Im not running activated carbon or gfo.

Keelo · 08/30/2016, 03:35 PM

it seems that apart from the cloudiness there is also a white film on the glass.In the image you can see where the film is gone from cleaning with the magfloat.
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sil40sx · 08/30/2016, 05:40 PM

Never had a cloudy water when I was dosing.

Try 2.5ml in the morning, and 2.5 at night. Make sure you dump it to high flow area.

Check you no3 and po4 in 2 days.

Keelo · 08/30/2016, 08:37 PM

Alright will do I noticed one thing now that I got home my skimmer is in hyperdrive it is foaming like crazy. Is that also normal I expected this to take a while to kick in but things seem to have kicked in a lot faster. Should I dose the recommend amount or just stick to 5ml per day?

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bertoni · 08/30/2016, 08:53 PM

As long as there's some cloudiness or other signs of bacterial growth, I'd consider dropping the dose a bit.

Keelo · 08/30/2016, 08:55 PM

Hey bertoni! Should I drop it by say 3ml ? I dosed 10ml last night should I just do 7~9ml today ?

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bertoni · 08/30/2016, 09:35 PM

I'd try 7 ml to see how that works.

Keelo · 08/30/2016, 09:39 PM

Alright I already dosed 4 ml so I'll do 3ml later on tonight. Is it normal that my skimmer started pulling much more even after one day ? I read many threads and people said that their skimmers started producing more skimmate around week 3 of dosing.

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sil40sx · 08/30/2016, 10:23 PM

Yup, getting more skim is good sign.

Usually people say to go a little lower that recommended dose. Then gradually increase

Keelo · 08/30/2016, 10:25 PM

Okay sounds good ill decrease it to 7ml today and go from there. I have a quick question should I slowly see a decrease in nitrates or will it occur suddenly ? I ask this because I wonder how I can determine wether to dose more or less

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sil40sx · 08/30/2016, 10:39 PM

IME, no3 went 80 to 40 in 3 days (approximately), then I believe around 10 after a week.

I dont remember my po4 numbers, but it went down for sure though.

Keelo · 08/30/2016, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sil40sx

IME, no3 went 80 to 40 in 3 days (approximately), then I believe around 10 after a week.

I dont remember my po4 numbers, but it went down for sure though.

wow thats extremely fast !! hopefully my numbers take a fall like that. Ill keep everyone here posted on my nitrate readings, im going to test again on friday.

sil40sx · 08/31/2016, 09:42 AM

No3 is easy, but po4 not so much. LOL

I think mine stayed at 0.11 (0.26 before dosing), I was able to lower it to 0.03 by using a media reactor. I mixed carbon and gfo in the reactor. Now I only turn it on for a couple days after a water change.

Keelo · 08/31/2016, 12:47 PM

Yea I think phosphate is much easier to control with gfo and a reactor. Im hoping my phosphate levels drop a little

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sil40sx · 09/02/2016, 05:11 PM

Its been couple days, how are your numbers?

Keelo · 09/02/2016, 08:53 PM

I'm barely going to be around the tank tonight I will upload my results tonight or tomorrow morning.

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Keelo · 09/03/2016, 11:43 AM

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Keelo · 09/03/2016, 11:44 AM

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08/26/2016, 06:11 PM	#77
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Okay, zero nitrite is a good sign. Nitrite will confuse most or all nitrate test kits. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

08/26/2016, 08:31 PM	#79
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Some tanks are fine with GFO and carbon, and others need to have the carbon removed. The carbon dose likely will export nitrate and phosphate at a fairly fixed ratio, but each tank could have a somewhat different profile. The nitrate consumption alway will be much higher than the phosphate consumption. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

08/27/2016, 09:00 AM	#81
tmz ReefKeeping Mag staff Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Seneca NY Posts: 27,691	IME, NO3 around 1ppm with PO4 around 0.05ppm provides for vibrancy in those types of corals and sps with minimal nuisance algae. The issue is more about nitrogen availablility than NO3 per se ; in a fed tank with fish other undetectable nitrogen sources like traces of ammonium might meet that need even when nitrate is undetectable. As much as 5ppm NO3 along with PO4 around 0.15ppm might be ok for a tank with a lot of herbivores and some macro algae. __________________ Tom Current Tank Info: Tank of the Month , November 2011 : 600gal integrated system: 3 display tanks (120 g, 90g, 89g),several frag/grow out tanks, macroalgae refugia, cryptic zones. 40+ fish, seahorses, sps,lps,leathers, zoanthidae and non photosynthetic corals. Last edited by tmz; 08/27/2016 at 09:19 AM.

08/30/2016, 03:35 PM	#84
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	it seems that apart from the cloudiness there is also a white film on the glass.In the image you can see where the film is gone from cleaning with the magfloat. [IMG][/IMG]

08/30/2016, 05:40 PM	#85
sil40sx Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 686	Never had a cloudy water when I was dosing. Try 2.5ml in the morning, and 2.5 at night. Make sure you dump it to high flow area. Check you no3 and po4 in 2 days. Last edited by sil40sx; 08/30/2016 at 05:48 PM.

08/26/2016, 10:36 AM	#76
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	My nitrite reading is 0ppm bertoni Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/26/2016, 07:20 PM	#78
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	Hopefully I can begin dosing on Monday! Bertoni I have a quick question for you once I begin dosing a carbon source should I also run gfo or would that compromise the effects of dosing ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/26/2016, 09:14 PM	#80
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	Okay well I'll have to see how it goes for me. Is a low nutrient environment something to be concerned about when dosing ? I don't really want to keep any sps as of yet mainly what I have now in lps and soft coral is what I prefer. I was thinking is there a way to keep nitrates at around 5 ppm ? Or what would ideal parameters be for those type of coral, Bertoni? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/27/2016, 05:03 PM	#82
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	Sounds good thanks tmz, lets see if I can get my levels down first. As of now that's just wishful thinking on my part. I'll hopefully begin dosing Monday and see how fast my levels can taper off from there. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/30/2016, 03:33 PM	#83
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	thanks to sil40sx i got my hands on some red sea no3 p04 x. i began dosing yesterday night and i dosed 10ml. nitrate readings are still the same however i did notice that my tank is cloudy, possibly from the bacteria bloom. Does anyone have any advice on what i should do, cut dosing by half or keep it the same? For anyone following this thread, this will be week 1 of dosing and i will update nitrate readings after every week. I will continue my regular water change regime the same 20 gallons every 2 weeks. Im not running activated carbon or gfo.

08/30/2016, 08:37 PM	#86
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	Alright will do I noticed one thing now that I got home my skimmer is in hyperdrive it is foaming like crazy. Is that also normal I expected this to take a while to kick in but things seem to have kicked in a lot faster. Should I dose the recommend amount or just stick to 5ml per day? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/30/2016, 08:53 PM	#87
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	As long as there's some cloudiness or other signs of bacterial growth, I'd consider dropping the dose a bit. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

08/30/2016, 08:55 PM	#88
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	Hey bertoni! Should I drop it by say 3ml ? I dosed 10ml last night should I just do 7~9ml today ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/30/2016, 09:35 PM	#89
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I'd try 7 ml to see how that works. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

08/30/2016, 09:39 PM	#90
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	Alright I already dosed 4 ml so I'll do 3ml later on tonight. Is it normal that my skimmer started pulling much more even after one day ? I read many threads and people said that their skimmers started producing more skimmate around week 3 of dosing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/30/2016, 10:23 PM	#91
sil40sx Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 686	Yup, getting more skim is good sign. Usually people say to go a little lower that recommended dose. Then gradually increase

08/30/2016, 10:25 PM	#92
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	Okay sounds good ill decrease it to 7ml today and go from there. I have a quick question should I slowly see a decrease in nitrates or will it occur suddenly ? I ask this because I wonder how I can determine wether to dose more or less Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/30/2016, 10:39 PM	#93
sil40sx Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 686	IME, no3 went 80 to 40 in 3 days (approximately), then I believe around 10 after a week. I dont remember my po4 numbers, but it went down for sure though.

08/31/2016, 09:42 AM	#95
sil40sx Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 686	No3 is easy, but po4 not so much. LOL I think mine stayed at 0.11 (0.26 before dosing), I was able to lower it to 0.03 by using a media reactor. I mixed carbon and gfo in the reactor. Now I only turn it on for a couple days after a water change.

08/31/2016, 12:47 PM	#96
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	Yea I think phosphate is much easier to control with gfo and a reactor. Im hoping my phosphate levels drop a little Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

09/02/2016, 05:11 PM	#97
sil40sx Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 686	Its been couple days, how are your numbers?

09/02/2016, 08:53 PM	#98
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	I'm barely going to be around the tank tonight I will upload my results tonight or tomorrow morning. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

09/03/2016, 11:43 AM	#99
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	[IMG][/IMG]

09/03/2016, 11:44 AM	#100
Keelo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: So cal Posts: 299	[IMG][/IMG]