In my experience nitrate dosing brought back the color to my pale corals. Just go slow and be patient.
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Now PO4 is undetectable
- Thread starter lmm1967
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I would tend to agree at this point. Some type of bacteria in that new rock. Maybe before you do the next water change you could blow the rocks down again with a pump recirculating tank water then suck and/or net as much of that snot stuff out.
If you're still detecting NO3 on the test kit at 3ish there's plenty of that in the system. It's the PO4 you need to get slightly up. Sea Chem has a Phos product and I think I have some. I'll check when I get home.
I didn't do any testing Monday night. Jin was coming over and I thought I have him help me with the test but when he got there it was a little later and he had the family with him so I didn't ask about doing the NO3 test. With Nat in Chicago I've got to have someone over to do that one. Hopefully I'll be able to do it soon.
If you're still detecting NO3 on the test kit at 3ish there's plenty of that in the system. It's the PO4 you need to get slightly up. Sea Chem has a Phos product and I think I have some. I'll check when I get home.
I didn't do any testing Monday night. Jin was coming over and I thought I have him help me with the test but when he got there it was a little later and he had the family with him so I didn't ask about doing the NO3 test. With Nat in Chicago I've got to have someone over to do that one. Hopefully I'll be able to do it soon.
yesterday afternoon - NO3 test stayed completely clear. I'm sure it's partially due to the water change I did (50 or gallons out of about 135 total volume) - I went ahead and dosed 10ml of the Sodium Nitrate solution I had mixed up - according to calculators that should have added about 3 ppm.
I'll see in the next day or so where it's at.
I also ordered another Red Sea Algae Pro test kit - I had one in the past and liked it - I think I threw it away though. I prefer it's measurements to the kit I have right now.
I'll see in the next day or so where it's at.
I also ordered another Red Sea Algae Pro test kit - I had one in the past and liked it - I think I threw it away though. I prefer it's measurements to the kit I have right now.
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My bad bro. I can swing by later today if that works for you. My little ones do my testing so they could've helped with the nitrate testing at the time
Update.
Brand new Red Sea Algae Pro test kit.
I've dosed NaNO3 twice - both times enough to add between 2.5 - 3 PPM NO3 per Randy Holmes-Farley calculators.
Skimmer has been running 24 hours (not willing to chance O2 depletion due to bacteria blooming), did a very heavy coral feeding 2 nights ago - Reef Roids at double dose & Reef Chili at double dose.
Today:
NO3 is at 4 ppm
PO4 is at .02
I did both tests twice and results were the same.
Brand new Red Sea Algae Pro test kit.
I've dosed NaNO3 twice - both times enough to add between 2.5 - 3 PPM NO3 per Randy Holmes-Farley calculators.
Skimmer has been running 24 hours (not willing to chance O2 depletion due to bacteria blooming), did a very heavy coral feeding 2 nights ago - Reef Roids at double dose & Reef Chili at double dose.
Today:
NO3 is at 4 ppm
PO4 is at .02
I did both tests twice and results were the same.
It's cool, I wasn't really feeling it by then anyway. I went and hung out with Uno till 4am on NYE and pretty much veged all day on the 1st, now I'm paying for it. As it stands right now I have no idea when Nat is coming back and I have a whole house to clean, plus a ton of other crap to get done. Time just isn't on my side right now, I just hope I can keep the tank from suffering because of it. If you feel like coming by I could use the help with testing. I'm also thinking about trying Chaeto again but I need to get a Black Box to put over the Fuge chamber.My bad bro. I can swing by later today if that works for you. My little ones do my testing so they could've helped with the nitrate testing at the time
That looks pretty good. Now the key is not letting either rise too high cause your right in the sweet spot.
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Oh Boy - I "MIGHT" have just found something....
So - I haven't walked into my sump closet for a few days, which is not normal. I'm normally in there at least 1 or 2 times a day looking at or doing something. It's been since at least Monday. Today, I turned on the light and walked in just to glance at everything - see how close my skimmate was to top etc, and I immediately could smell NoPOx. Weird - I'm not dosing any, no spills on the floor, nothing seems out of place or out of the ordinary. Then I see the 3/4 full 5l jug of NoPOx.
I have used it in the past - it's what I used to feed my denitritor when it was online. I did so by dosing 10 - 12 ml per day with a dosing pump - to do so I had drilled a hole in the top of the 5l jug of NoPOx for the dosing tube. I had the bottle in my cabinet in the garage for a while and a couple weeks ago I moved that along with a few other things back into my sump closet. The top still has an unsealed hole.
I'm wondering - if I've been inadvertently carbon dosing via evaporation / aerosol transfer.
I've removed the container from the sump closet and will see if my bacteria bloom goes away in a few days. In the past anytime I had overdosed a carbon source and had a bacterial bloom it self resolved in a matter of a couple days.
I might have a 3/4 full 5l bottle of NoPOx to give away in a couple days.
So - I haven't walked into my sump closet for a few days, which is not normal. I'm normally in there at least 1 or 2 times a day looking at or doing something. It's been since at least Monday. Today, I turned on the light and walked in just to glance at everything - see how close my skimmate was to top etc, and I immediately could smell NoPOx. Weird - I'm not dosing any, no spills on the floor, nothing seems out of place or out of the ordinary. Then I see the 3/4 full 5l jug of NoPOx.
I have used it in the past - it's what I used to feed my denitritor when it was online. I did so by dosing 10 - 12 ml per day with a dosing pump - to do so I had drilled a hole in the top of the 5l jug of NoPOx for the dosing tube. I had the bottle in my cabinet in the garage for a while and a couple weeks ago I moved that along with a few other things back into my sump closet. The top still has an unsealed hole.
I'm wondering - if I've been inadvertently carbon dosing via evaporation / aerosol transfer.
I've removed the container from the sump closet and will see if my bacteria bloom goes away in a few days. In the past anytime I had overdosed a carbon source and had a bacterial bloom it self resolved in a matter of a couple days.
I might have a 3/4 full 5l bottle of NoPOx to give away in a couple days.
I guess anything is possible but unless the bottle had some kind of heat source to warm it up a little I don't know how much could evaporate out of a little in the top.
There were likely low level fumes in the closet, since you could smell it. Does the NO3POX have an 'alcohol like' smell to it? I'm just not familiar with that specific product.
it's essentially ethanol, vinegar, and water.fwiw, many organic solvents have sufficient vapor pressure at room temp to evaporate.
Just try leaving a container with a little vodka out and see
it's not a full blown science experiment for sure - and I agree that I'd be surprised if someone told me a bottle of NoPOx at room temperature, in a closed up closet with the sump might be a stray carbon source that could cause an effect similar to overdosing vodka or sugar.
However - the timing is about right - and if after a day or 2 I suddenly find myself not battling a bacterial bloom - you can be sure I'll be making damn sure I never leave NoPOx (or any source of carbon) open to air near a tank. Even if it's just a 1/8" hole in the lid of a container.
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