Keeping nitrate and phosphate balanced is an important part of saltwater aquarium keeping. Not only are these two parameters essential for coral health, but they are linked to how algae will grow in your aquarium. Have a read on ideal water parameters here.
Nitrate and phosphate behave a bit like a see-saw - we want to keep them in the right ratio - if one is low, and the other is high, the higher one will continue to rise as the bacteria which breaks them down needs both in the water column to work. Some algaes thrive when your nutrients are imbalanced, so fixing them will lead to a cleaner looking tank. Read more about alage ID here.
If nitrate is above 20ppm, and phosphate is above 0.12ppm...
...we can bring them both down using Red Sea NO3PO4. Start dosing 1ml per 100L of tank water daily, and keep watching your nutrient levels. If this isn't working after 10 days, bring your daily dosage up to 2ml per 100L.
If nitrate drops below 10ppm, or phosphate drops below 0.08ppm, you'll need to stop, or lower, NO3PO4 dosing, as it can feed other bacterias in your tank which will make your water cloudy, or lead to milky white slime on your glass and in your sump.
If your phosphate level is above 0.2ppm, use RowaPhos phosphate remover alongside the NO3PO4. Wash it first in RO, then place in a reactor or a filter bag somewhere with good flow in your sump.
If you have high nitrate and phosphate at or below 0.08ppm...
...water changes will help bring your nitrate down. Try and do 10% at least twice per week. If your phosphate is 0.04ppm or lower, we'll need to bring your phosphate up to help bring your nitrate down. Try manually dosing phosphate into the tank using liquid phosphate. Start on a low dosage, keep checking your phosphate daily and try to keep it at 0.08ppm.
If you have high phosphate, but nitrate which is at 15ppm or lower...
...RowaPhos phosphate remover will bring it down. Wash it first in RO, then place in a reactor or a filter bag somewhere with good flow in your sump.
If you have low nitrate, but phosphate which is in range...
...try adding some more fish to your aquarium (if you have room).
Try and increase how much your fish are fed, and increase (or start) dosing Red Sea Energy AB+ daily.
If these aren't holding your nitrate as high as we need, or pushing up phosphate too much, try using some RowaPhos phosphate remover at the same time.
If this isn't working for you, consider dosing liquid nitrate into the tank. Always start on the smallest dosage, and check levels daily. Adjust the dose as necessary.
If you have low phosphate, but nitrate which is in range...
Try and increase how much your fish are fed, and increase (or start) dosing Red Sea Energy AB+ daily.
If these aren't holding your phosphate as high as we need, try dosing liquid phosphate into the tank. Always start on the smallest dosage, and check levels daily. Adjust the dose as necessary.
If you have low phosphate and low nitrate...
...try adding some more fish to your aquarium (if you have room).
If you get ICPs once per month, you can stop doing water changes for now.
Try and increase how much your fish are fed, and increase (or start) dosing Red Sea Energy AB+ daily.
If these aren't holding your nitrate or phosphate as high as we need, try dosing liquid nutrients into the tank. Always start on the smallest dosage, and check levels daily. Adjust the dose as necessary.