Increasing nitrate
- Thread starter svreef
- Start date
H2OPlayar
Supporting Member
Bolick's 55gal mixed reef
Sounds like you need to dump some cheap dried flakes and pellets in! Haha Edit: nope, its more frozen food you need, I knew I got it backwards
www.bareefers.org
We were just having the exact same discussion here
@Bolicks what are you and @svreef doing? Feed more, lol
H2OPlayar
Supporting Member
Agreed, there are lots of videos coming out in the last 6 months to a year going into detail on the ratios and what they do in the tank, but your answer to feed more frozen food seems to be what the thought leaders are settled on.
SPS are not happy at all - STN and RTN for a couple of weeks now. Phosphate is undetectable as well.
I ran PhosBan for a couple of weeks to get rid of algae - and that worked.
My system has always had high nitrates - in the 20s - what reduced them? I don’t do water changes either
I ran PhosBan for a couple of weeks to get rid of algae - and that worked.
My system has always had high nitrates - in the 20s - what reduced them? I don’t do water changes either
Bolicks
Supporting Member
I agree with @H2OPlayar, a successful long term strategy could be to feed more of foods with high N/P.
Short term N dosing seems like a decent fix though, with few documented downsides, as long as P stays low as well. I've been using Brightwell NeoNitro.
I like the idea of using a refugium as a general N and P consumer, where you can dose N or P to lower the other, rather than using a medium to strip one or the other.
Short term N dosing seems like a decent fix though, with few documented downsides, as long as P stays low as well. I've been using Brightwell NeoNitro.
I like the idea of using a refugium as a general N and P consumer, where you can dose N or P to lower the other, rather than using a medium to strip one or the other.
Yikes.
So to me, that does sound like starving corals.
Do you have Chaeto or something in the sump?
If not, it can only be 2 things dropping Nitrates. Corals and anaerobic bacteria inside the live rock.
Opinion: Feed quite a bit of good frozen and fresh coral food.
Short term Nitrate addition might be a good plan also. Almost anything is fine. Calcium/Sodium/Potassium Nitrate.
But be careful!
Also, do some large water changes.
There are so many other things that you cannot measure.
No water changes is risky.
thesassyindian
Supporting Member
I have this exact issue right now too!
Phosphates are at 0.10ppm
Nitrates undetectable by Red Sea.
If I feed more, I risk raising phosphates even higher.
I would have gone the GFO route, but it’s nondeterministic. What are y’all’s thoughts on phosphateE?
After a 40% water change, the phosphates only dropped to 0.08ppm. (Apparently WC’s don’t drop phosphates as much as they do nitrates)
My undetectable nitrates could also be a “false” reading due to the sheer number of corals in my tank, and only 4 small fish+1 shrimp.
Phosphates are at 0.10ppm
Nitrates undetectable by Red Sea.
If I feed more, I risk raising phosphates even higher.
I would have gone the GFO route, but it’s nondeterministic. What are y’all’s thoughts on phosphateE?
After a 40% water change, the phosphates only dropped to 0.08ppm. (Apparently WC’s don’t drop phosphates as much as they do nitrates)
My undetectable nitrates could also be a “false” reading due to the sheer number of corals in my tank, and only 4 small fish+1 shrimp.
Last edited:
I dose Brightwell NeoNitro when my nitrate is too low and phosphate 0.1 ppm or higher, which is my most common imbalance scenario. Easy, safe, you don’t need a doser you can just dose manually since small spikes in nitrate level don’t cause issues as far as I know. My goal is nitrate 1-5 ppm and phosphate 0.02-0.10 ppm.
Most things in this hobby are nondeterministic, not sure why that is the deal breaker for GFO for you
Most things in this hobby are nondeterministic, not sure why that is the deal breaker for GFO for you
thesassyindian
Supporting Member
Oh I meant that with a liquid like PhosphateE, a measured quantity can remove a specific ppm of phosphates.I dose Brightwell NeoNitro when my nitrate is too low and phosphate 0.1 ppm or higher, which is my most common imbalance scenario. Easy, safe, you don’t need a doser you can just dose manually since small spikes in nitrate level don’t cause issues as far as I know. My goal is nitrate 1-5 ppm and phosphate 0.02-0.10 ppm.
Most things in this hobby are nondeterministic, not sure why that is the deal breaker for GFO for you
From what I’ve heard about GFO, it’s more of a trial and error to get the quantity correct, where if too much is used, we risk bottoming out the phosphates.
I bough some Sodium Nitrate from loudwolf. If you need some send me a pm.
Sodium Nitrate
www.loudwolf.com
As far as I know, Phosphat-E is just lanthanum chloride. This is a pretty advanced (read: lots can go wrong) approach to lowering phosphates, and a large discussion unto itself. The Brightwell directions for that product are not good, and lots of horror stories online of people following them and killing stuff. Also, their claims of a specific effect with a specific dose are oversimplified.
