nitrate and phosphate...too low or too high?

[malawian]

So using a very accurate test kit (Red Sea ultra low range) I thought perhaps the use of GFO and biopellets might have resulted in too low of a phosphate and nitrate reading. I got a conc. of .04 ppm for PO4 and 0 on NO3. The phosphate kit has a resolution of .02 ppm and the nitrate has a resolution of .125 ppm, so a reading of 0 really means 0.

 

Too low? of course the little bit of bryopsis still growing in the tank is pulling up some nutrients and the clam is pulling some out as well. Should I increase my feeding schedule to get higher nutrients or do I need to work on getting PO4 even lower? If I can feed more thats probably always a good thing since the clam is young and could use the food but maybe I shouldnt push that PO4 concentration any higher. Its hard to find a straight answer on this.

 

TY clam gods!

[Subsea]

Clams like high nutrients. Specifically nitrogen. Your phoshates are low enough. Consider dosing with ammonia if you want to grow the clam.

[ZephNYC]

Clams like high nutrients. Specifically nitrogen. Your phoshates are low enough. Consider dosing with ammonia if you want to grow the clam.

Sure clams need nitrogen and phosphorus, but they need sooo little that any measurable trace is more than enough. I like to keep nitrates around 2 ppm, and I like to keep measurable phosphates of at about 0.1. Think of these micronutrients like vitamins for humans. Of course we need them to live, but they are needed in such small amounts and are secondary to macronutrients such as organics (carbon). If you really want to feed you clams forget the phyto and feed what they really require through carbon dosing ( sugar, vodka, or ascorbic acid). If you really want to be a clam god on earth carbon dioxide injecting is the ultimate carbon source for all photosynthetic organisms.