Neo Phos help needed please

[Diane]

New nano tank 75L, 9 weeks old, completed cycle with TMC eco rock, dr Tim’s bacteria and ammonia. Skimmer, carbon, siporex.
Amm 0
Nitrite 0
Ph 8.2
Kh 10
Sg 1024
Calcium 420
Mag 1325

I have a baby clown and a young, yellow striped cardinal. Three snails and three hermits.
A couple of zoa frags, a hammer frag and a Duncan frag. (All small)

Nitrate slowly been dropping after cycle, using nitrifying bacteria and small amount Chaetomorpha on reverse cycle and phosphate never been above 0.01.

In the last three days I am just starting a light diatom bloom and a very few short tufts of brown hair algae on glass. Lighting at 25% white, 35% blue leds for 8 hours, peak for 4 hours.


Nitrate has been nicely settled on 2 but phos dropped to zero. I tried increasing feeding, cutting back on chaeto amount by half and reduced the chaeto lighting time to 8 hours, but no change from zero to phos but nitrate went up to 4. Used first dose of NeoPhos to increase to 0.02. 

Tested 24 hours later and nitrate down to 2 and phosphate still 0. 

#4 on the instructions says if nitrate decreases without needing addition of a carbon source keep adding NeoPhos to maintain phosphate levels until nitrate falls to 3-5, 

My problem is the nitrate is already below 3-5. 

So now what do I do?

Thanks you knowledgeable folks!

[Tamberav]

You may need to dose both nitrate and phosphate.... basically life uses both in a ratio and right now you are limited on PO4. So when you dosed it...it used that up as well as some Nitrate hence the Nitrate drop.

[Diane]

Ok, that makes sense! I’d best order some, thanks😀

[mcarroll]

On 10/13/2019 at 1:47 PM, Diane said:

carbon

 

On 10/13/2019 at 1:47 PM, Diane said:

siporex

On 10/13/2019 at 1:47 PM, Diane said:

Nitrate slowly been dropping after cycle, using nitrifying bacteria and small amount Chaetomorpha on reverse cycle and phosphate never been above 0.01.

On 10/13/2019 at 1:47 PM, Diane said:

Nitrate has been nicely settled on 2 but phos dropped to zero.

 

You're setting up to have a beautiful dinoflagellate bloom if you continue in that direction. 

• If "carbon" is anything other than "activated carbon" ditch it.  No organic carbon dosing!
• I'd prolly remove activated carbon too, if that's what it means, but only because it's not needed, not because it could be hurting anything like carbon dosing.
• Ditch the excess bio-media.
• Ditch the chaetomorpha.

It's a good thing you've been paying attention to phosphates....what made you think to do that? 

Use your NeoPhos to keep PO4 above 0.03 ppm no matter what.   

 

Higher is fine, you can't really overdose, so if you want to shoot for 0.10 or 0.20 ppm to make sure it's enough, feel free and don't worry.  Daily testing and dosing is the alternative, until things self-correct.

 

Once you remove all that unnecessary filtration that should be the end of the craziness and your tank can get on with its business!