Help with high nitrates and phosphate

[Bighauck]

I just got the Hanna checkers phosphate and nitrate testers. I tested and results are not what I expected.
Nitrates 75
Phosphate 0.90
Looking for the best way to reduce and maintain at proper levels.
I’m going to do a 10% water change and sock change today also Debating buying no3po4x
First question
How accurate are the Hanna checkers?
Best way to reduce and maintain?
No3 po4x
Bio pellets
Algae reactor

 

[joseserrano]

Stop feeding so much. Be careful with carbon dosing, but effective/ cheap

 

[REPOWER]

Multiple water changes within a few days apart and minimize feeding, monitor parameters. Try this first and then move on to other options. Do one option at a time.

 

[Coloredrock]

Do you have other test kits to compare.. I use Hanna also for phosphate. is it the ULR? when you press the button did you hold it down so you go the 3 min timer? (that was my mistake) ..

but the instruction on all testing can be lacking some times.

First time I used the NYOS nitrate I used a regent in each curve.. getting a reading of zero (duh) woke up at 3 am laughing at the idiot I was.. using other test kits knowing they needed 2 regents.

 

[Ohiostreetz]

Are you having issues with your system running that high of nutrient is the first question. Algae or corals dying? I run my phosphate at .08-.10 and my corals are their happiest. However my nitrate stays at 15-20.

 

[Bighauck]

Sps died
My lps and Zoa could be better

 

[Bighauck]

I did not hold the button for the timer on either

 

[coachellaReefer]

How big is your tank?
How much time has it been running with no issues?
Do you have a dozer or you doze manually?
Do you have a sump and what do you have in it?


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[Not an IT guy]

You can try seachem purigen I run in with my carbon dual reactor. I’d suggest only doing one plan if attack at a time.

 

[joseserrano]

Lots of differing opinions. Find someone who you want to replicate their results, and follow them.

 

[Bighauck]

How big is your tank?
How much time has it been running with no issues?
Do you have a dozer or you doze manually?
Do you have a sump and what do you have in it?


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This is the first time I have checked no3 and po4
Tank as been running alittle over a year
Was bear bottom till October then I add sand
I do not dose has not needed it yet
I have a sump with a reef octopus 110 skimmer
And some bio cubes and gems and a Little Rock rubble

 

[kadyooo]

Use rowa , it helps to control the phos very good for me

 

[Bighauck]

Was thinking about rowaphos
Can I just put it in a bag? In high flow
How often do you change it?

 

[Sakudo4]

Chaeto helps reduce both in dew time

 

[joseserrano]

Chaeto helps reduce both in dew time

Cheato does a 4 nitrate to 1 phosphate. Hard to dial tanks in with macro algae alone. Plus think he’s looking for a magic bullet, because at this point question has been extensively answered.

 

[Bighauck]

Cheating does a 4 nitrate to 1 phosphate. Hard to dial tanks in with macro algae alone. Plus think he’s looking for a magic bullet, because at this point question has been extensively answered.

Just weighing all options
Thanks to all of you guys I think I have a path to start on
1st step cutting feedings

 

[coachellaReefer]

This is the first time I have checked no3 and po4
Tank as been running alittle over a year
Was bear bottom till October then I add sand
I do not dose has not needed it yet
I have a sump with a reef octopus 110 skimmer
And some bio cubes and gems and a Little Rock rubble

Did you decide to check your nitrates and phosphates because your sps corals started to die or..? If the answer is yes I think your corals died do to low elements which you mentioned that you don’t dose unless you tested alkalinity,calcium, and magnesium


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[Bighauck]

Alk runs 8.6-9
Ca 420
Mag is a little low 1300

 

[Emac909]

This hobby is finding a good balance. One thing that works for someone may not even come close to working for you.
Read the corals. They’ll tell you more then any of us can.
Over the years of having several system I’ve fallen in love with large refugiums. For 2 reasons, one the can help reduce no3 and po4 in system, and two is a great place for pods and critters to populate. I like the flow to be more towards the slower side as it passes through the fuge. I like this cause it allow detritus to settle in the fuge and not just settle in the display. No lie my fuge is crawling with bristle worms cause so much detritus settles in the fuge.
So here’s my story. I just transferred all my live stock from a 150g to a 187 back at the end of September 2021. Tested everything when setting up the system. No3 was 0.25ppm and po4 0.06ppm with Red Sea pro kits. I setup the system almost the same exact way. Just had a larger water volume. I ran the fuge at 6 hours a night and that kept my no3 at about 0.50ppm and po4 at 0.04ppm. FYI I have 14 fish in the system and 6 are tangs that are alway hungry. I feed 3 or 4 times a day mostly pellets and like 3 times a week I’ll toss in a 2”X2” chunk of frozen.
Back in the end of October beginning of November I was having issues with sps slowly receding. So I sent in a ICP test and the results said I had elevated levels of heavy metals. But the one thing I did notice is my po4 levels had bottomed out at 0.00ppb. I was also getting 0.00ppm on the Red Sea kit.

So I put my fuge light to only run 2 hours a night. To stop the cheato from growing so fast. I was pulling a 5g bucket worth of cheato out every month. Sense doing this I’ve started to see a dramatic turn around in the health of all my sps.
Here’s the other think I only run my skimmer 6 hours a night and that only to help oxygenate the water cause I run a very large calcium reactor and the pH drops pretty low at night.
But like I said something that works for one tank may not work for another. Even if the it’s the same live stock that was in the same systems.
Here’s a pic of my 150g

Here’s a pic of the 187g

 

[drexel]

To add to Eric's post, there's no quick fix here and water changes will never get you to the point where things are normal (in the short term). Too many water changes can cause more harm than good.
I would take to using an actual refugium long term. This would include a deep sand bed along with chaeto or your macro algae of choice. Buy Ron Shimek's book "Sand Bed Secrets" on amazon and give it a read through. Using a DSB is the secret to long term nutrient control and biological diversity. One of my most successful tanks was my 15g/10g display/refugium in the 90's. It was powered by a 150w Iwasaki 6500k metal halide and was filled with corals and gorgonians. I only kept a handful of fish in there, one of them being a spotted madarin. It never ran out of food because of the refugium produced so much food (pods) that I kept a pipefish in there as well. But to my point, I never had algae problems, corals grew like crazy and that system thrived. I'm resetting my 90g now and I'm going to use a DSB in the sump. DSB work, but you need to set them up properly and leave it alone.
I will add this, buy a few bottles of PNS Probio and start using it weekly. Your nutrients will start to come down and your corals will thank you. Also, buy a bottle of PNS Yello Sno and use it once a week at half the recommended dose. This will provide food for your corals and also vitaman b12 for the bacteria to thrive and do its job. My PO4 was running too high in my tank and after using PNS Probio/Yello Sno it turned it around. The other thing you can do is use Eco-Balance, but split the dose up over the course of the week and not a one-time dose.
I know this is a lot to take in, but it took a long time for your nutrients to rise this high, so it's going to take that long to drop/reduce, as it should. I'm always a proponent of natural ways of running/maintaining a reef and I've never been one to use chemicals to do a job that nature can do on it's own. Chemicals work when they are absolutely needed, but they shouldn't be used all the time. I will also add, don't cut food drastically, but be aware of how much food you're adding when feeding your fish. Add smaller amounts over the course of the day if you can and also make sure that the food is eaten and not floating past your fish.