- No joke, if you have a proper understanding
of NO3 nitrate and PO4 phosphate,
you will be able to control dinoflagellates,
cyanobacteria, coral growth and coloration.
(upbeat music)
Well, howdy, howdy
to all of my fellow and future hobbyists out there.
My name is Matthew, your BRS beginner guru,
and this is episode 41, part B.
This is part two of four, all about advanced water testing.
If you missed episode 41, part A, check it out.
We'll put a link below.
We covered everything having to do with the nitrogen cycle.
But today we are tackling the big topic of the relationship
between nitrate and phosphate, how often to test,
and, more importantly, what those tests tell you
about your tank.
These are the two parameters, most useful,
most misunderstood,
and most frustrating out of all the things we test for
in our tank.
Understanding nitrate and phosphate
will help you tackle nuisance algae, cyanobacteria,
dinoflagellates, skimmers, GFO,
mechanical filtration, and coral coloration and growth.
So here is the super simplified overview of these two.
Nitrate, or NO3, is a great fertilizer for macroalgae.
It most commonly enters your aquarium
through livestock food, fish food, and fish waste.
If it's too high,
it can fuel nuisance algae growth in your tank.
But if it's too low, it can stunt coral growth.
And if it really bottoms out,
it can actually lead to a cyanobacteria
and, even worse, a dinoflagella outbreak.
Nitrate can really only be removed via water changes,
robust anaerobic bacteria and macroalgae.
And as reefers, especially those of you
who want to have corals in your tank,
we typically recommend a range of anywhere
between two and five parts per million.
But honestly, if it's a little bit lower,
but still readable, you're probably okay.
And I know plenty of hobbyists
that don't worry unless their nitrates
start approaching 30 parts per million.
Phosphate, or PO4 is a another great algae fertilizer,
and it's very similar in NO3 in the ways
that it can be removed and in the things that it causes.
Way too much phosphate is gonna cause
a lot of nuisance algae growth,
and too little phosphate can stunt coral growth
and lead to things like dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria.
But we have one extra tool in our arsenal
to remove phosphate, and that is GFO,
or granular ferric oxide.
Let's talk first, before we get into our scenarios,
about how to prevent NO3 and PO4.
first up is a protein skimmer,
but you need to understand something,
and that is protein skimmers don't actually remove
NO3 and PO4, but they can remove organics
before those organics have a chance to break down
and turn into NO3 and PO4.
Another way of preventing NO3 and PO4
is to use a gravel vacuum to siphon out detritus
in your substrate.
Again, you're probably not removing much NO3 and PO4,
but you're removing a whole bunch of organic material
that won't have a chance to break down.
The third way to prevent nitrate and phosphate
is to switch from pellet foods to frozen foods.
When you use pellet foods,
you are five to 10 times more likely to overfeed,
and that's because pellet foods are five to 10 times
more nutrient dense by weight when compared to frozen foods.
And the fourth way to prevent from getting into your tank
is just don't put in too many fish.
So you have NO3
and PO4 in your tank.
How do you remove it?
Well, the following methods
will reduce both nitrate and phosphate.
First up, you've got water changes.
Second, macroalgae.
That can be macro algae in a refugium,
in a hang on the back container,
in a reactor, or in your display tank.
And thirdly, a robust biological filter
will remove nitrates and phosphates,
but it's important to know that it will remove nitrates
and phosphates in a ratio of 16 part nitrates
to one part phosphates.
So while it will work to remove nitrates,
it really doesn't do much for phosphates.
So we just covered the ways to remove nitrate
and phosphates together,
but what if you just have a nitrate problem?
How do you lower that?
And really, we're talking about carbon dosing, sugar dosing,
vodka dosing, and biopellets,
all of which are a form of carbon dosing.
I don't want to go into it here.
I do not recommend these methods for beginners.
I have tinkered with them in the past
and they have sort of worked, but if you do it incorrectly,
you can crash your tank.
So, forget I even mentioned it,
because there are easier ways and safer ways
to reduce nitrate in your tank.
Okay, so you don't have a nitrate problem,
but you do have a phosphate problem.
How can you just lower phosphate?
This one's super easy.
You use a product called GFO, or granular ferric oxide.
You can use this in some sort of media bag
or more commonly and more effectively,
you can use this in a reactor.
I'm not gonna go into details here,
but just know if you do use GFO,
you have to use it sparingly, 'cause if you use too much
and bottom out your phosphate levels,
that does often lead to cyanobacteria
and dinoflagella outbreaks,
and it can also stunt your coral growth.
All right, moving on to our scenarios.
Scenario, number one, nuisance algae is growing
in your tank.
Nuisance algae, especially the dreaded GHA
or green hair algae uses light, nitrates,
and phosphates to grow.
If you have nuisance algae growing in your tank,
that likely means either your nitrates
and phosphates are too high,
or that you have your light on for too long,
or it's too strong.
If you test your NO3 and PO4 frequently
like twice a week at least,
you will likely see your nitrates
and your phosphates slowly start to creep up
before you get nuisance algae growth.
But at some point as those nitrates and phosphates creep up,
the nuisance algae will take hold.
And you might not notice it right away,
but eventually your NO3 and PO4,
at least the NO3 and PO4 that you're testing for,
will slowly start to fall.
Your test results will lull you
into a false sense of security,
and you'll think that somehow your nitrates
and your phosphates are just magically disappearing
from your tank, when, in fact, what's probably happening
is the nuisance algae, whether you see it or not,
is growing rapidly and consuming the nitrates and phosphates
in the water column.
So you may think you have no nitrates and phosphates,
when, in fact, you have a lot of nitrates and phosphates
that are just being consumed by the macroalgae.
Then one day you'll start to notice patches of algae.
So you'll get out your test kit and you'll test,
and you'll get zero nitrates and zero phosphate.
And you'll sit there and you'll scratch your head
and your brain will start to hurt.
And the first thing you're probably gonna think is,
well, my test kit must be bad.
So you'll go and you'll get another test kit,
or you'll bring in a water sample to your local fish store.
They'll test it.
You'll spend more money, and you'll get zeros, zeros again.
And you will have no idea what the problem is.
But as long as your lights are set up correctly,
and if you need a refresher,
remember episodes 26, 27 and 28,
we go into detail about how to set up your lights correctly,
but if they are set up correctly,
meaning the correct photo period and the correct par,
then you have a nutrient problem.
Even if your tests are reading zero nitrates
and zero phosphates, trust me,
you have a nitrate and phosphate problem.
So while this video isn't about
how to get rid of nuisance algae,
you're gonna have to start by getting your nitrates
and phosphates under control
to starve out the nuisance algae.
And scenario number two,
when we're talking about nitrates and phosphates
is cyanobacteria and dinoflagella outbreaks.
These two things usually pop up
when one of two things happens in your tank.
The first is you just finally won the battle
against nuisance algae.
Things seem to be settling in,
and, bam, one of the two appears out of nowhere
once the nuisance algae disappears,
or you've never had nuisance algae,
and, in fact, you're terrified at getting nuisance algae.
So you make sure to keep your nutrient levels,
specifically your nitrates and your phosphates,
as close to zero as possible.
Biddy bee boop bee boop.
Then one day you notice a brown, mucusy,
snotty looking algae with a little bubble at the tip,
causing it to stand upright,
pointing to your lights.
Now where you were so proud of yourself
for preventing nuisance algae growth,
you have caused a much bigger problem, dinoflagellates.
Here's the gist.
We don't know exactly what causes cyanobacteria
or dinoflagellates to grow in your tank.
They're probably always there,
but almost always kept at bay due to various circumstances.
Over the past decade,
hobbyists have started to anecdotally notice
a few characteristics.
They've seen that when your PO4 and your NO3 are at zero,
you tend to have a higher chance of getting
a cyanobacteria outbreak or a dinoflagella outbreak.
This has led many hobbyists to opine
that when your nitrate and phosphate levels are too low,
this gives cyanobacteria and dinoflagella a greater chance
to outcompete the beneficial bacteria in your tank,
meaning that dinos and cyano are just better scavengers
than the beneficial bacteria.
So when there's just not enough there for anybody,,
cyano and dinos are gonna win.
Moral of the story, test frequently.
Make sure your nitrates and your phosphates
are always readable, never at zero.
But we are gonna end that video right here
and leave you on the edge of your seat
waiting for the next episode,
or if you're watching this like a week later
or two weeks or even a year later,
then you just got to go to the next episode on the playlist.
In part B, we're gonna continue with our nitrate
and our phosphate scenarios and testing tips,
as well as tackle the complicated,
and it is so complicated, the complicated relationship
between calcium, alkalinity, pH, and magnesium.
Links to my personal preferred test kits
are in the description below.
And as always, everybody, thanks for watching.
Happy reefing, be well.
We'll see you next time.
(upbeat music)