Quote:
Originally Posted by warriorcookie
Well, it was a bit of an experiment for my tank and I'm only a few weeks in but the results came quick. My issue was my NO3 was undetectable, and my PO4 was too as long as I used GFO. As soon as I ran out of GFO my PO4 would skyrocket fast but NO3 would stay at 0.
Wish I had more time to go further in depth, but start with the basics: weekly/bi-weekly water changes including vacuuming the sand and blowing off the rocks, good skimmer, don't let uneaten food sit, rinse food before feeding, good cleanup crew, etc.
It appears that an imbalance between nitrates, phosphates, and carbon will cause cyano as it was a constant fight in my tank.
First I started feeding the fish and corals a lot more than ever. PO4 raised quickly (over .2ppm) and eventually finally NO3 slowly started coming up. Then I resumed dosing carbon and bacteria. I use prodibio. I'm sure MB7 or the like with vodka or sugar would work too. Make sure you read on the proper way to dose carbon before you start.
Then I started to dose NaNO3 to bring up my NO3 to around 2ppm. As soon as it got high enough I had a bacterial bloom and the next day my PO4 was .02ppm without GFO! All I've had to do is keep my NO3 between 1-2ppm and it keeps the PO4 down.
I'm hoping I can keep this balance moving forward without having to dose NaNO3 on a regular basis, but we'll see. It is extremely cheap if I do end up having to dose.
The idea is bacteria need to consume nitrate, phosphate and carbon. I was putting plenty of bacteria in the tank, giving them lots of carbon and phosphates, but they were starved for nitrates. As soon as I gave them more nitrates they gobbled up the phosphates. Then my skimmer started pulling out some pretty thick and stinky skimate!
|
Good write up with some useful advice, it's a fine balance we run with our tanks, and they let us know when we're not in check, like cyano or algae and other blooms.
I agree that siphoning with a gravel cleaner about 1-2" of the top layer every week is going to help lots with getting those phosphates and nitrates down. Just do a small section every week. Also before doing wc blast a section of rock with powerheads and return off then let it settle on the sand bed and siphon out, as long as you don't blast the coral itself it should be fine, sps can take a blasting. I use a maxijet 600 with hose on it to get into the rockwork to blow the crud out, although I have bare bottom whatever settles can be pooled in the back and is easily siphoned out.
Good luck keep on it and give us updates...
You mentioned the tds and no3 on your rodi, how often do you change the prefilters on it? Also do you change the di resin frequently?
I only run carbon and ro on mine as some have said di is not needed, also the water here in Vancouver is quite clean. I changed my prefilters every 8 months but now have been changing it every 6 months.