FarmerTy

I'd tackle it before as well. I'll rent out my copperband butterfly fish for a small fee. He'll destroy everything in there in about a month I'm sure.

Nevermind, I see the problem was the initial documenting of the ratio in the first place. The Redfield Ratio is 16:1 for nitrogen to phosphorus, not 16:0.1. In that case, we're looking at 3.125 PPM of phosphate for my 50 PPM of nitrates currently in the tank. Yeah, not going to let my phosphate get that high. So, my target concentration of phosphate at 0.03 PPM will yield me a nitrate level of 0.48 PPM. Basically, if I can keep my nitrates hovering at 0.5 PPM using only bacterial or macro algae uptake, then my phosphates should stay roughly in the 0.03 PPM range. Now I can understand why some users of biopellets or macro algae as an export medium for phosphate and nitrate can effectively keep levels in desired ranges without any other technologies (i.e. GFO) while others cannot. The one's that CAN keep their systems in desired ranges have a ratio of nitrate to phosphate very similar to the Redfield ratio of 16:1, therefore they are not nitrate or phosphate limited and their export method (via bacterial or macro algae uptake) can reduce levels down to desired targets (0.03 PPM phosphate and 0.5 PPM of nitrates). If there is an imbalance in your system, say you had more phosphate than nitrate in your system, once you introduce either carbon dosing (bacterial uptake) or macro algae, you will be nitrate-limited and will end up with a higher amount of residual phosphate. The opposite would be true too. If you have a much higher concentration of nitrate to phosphate (for example, currently in my system where I have 50 PPM nitrate to 0.05 PPM phosphate), then it would be phosphate-limited and natural methods of removal/uptake will not occur, leaving me with the 50 PPM of nitrate I have currently. If I were able to increase the level of phosphate in my system, the bacteria or macro algae would have enough phosphate again to continue to grow/divide as my system wouldn't be phosphate limited anymore. I know I'm looking at a simplistic view of a biological process that has many other complex processes involved in it. It does help me to understand how my nitrates could have gotten so high while my phosphate stayed so low, especially when I am using GFO to depress the concentration of phosphate even lower than naturally possible. So, after all of this blabbing, what's your conclusion Ty? Well, my conclusion is my current nitrate and phosphate removal strategy is currently phosphate limited as I have depressed it unnaturally with GFO. Shutting off the GFO will allow for my phosphate levels to rise, thus removing the phosphate-limited condition in my tank and allowing my bacterial populations via my biopellet reactor and my macro algae to effectively remove my nitrates and my phosphates in the system at roughly the Redfield ratio of 16:1 nitrate to phosphate. My target goal is to lower my phosphate concentration down to 0.03 PPM and according to the Redfield ratio, will leave me with 0.5 PPM of nitrates in my system, which is reasonable level in the tank. If I can achieve that, then essentially, I won't need GFO anymore. Wheww... my brain is worn out! Please feel free to poke holes in my theories. I don't claim to be error free.

You mean I only owe you $1.20 for the red field calculation? Please send me your invoice immediately so I can pay it. I'd rather not pay your hourly consulting rate for a Hydrogeologist III or whatever your designation is these days! Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Once the biopellets hit a saturation point with the bacterial population, I plan to add just enough GFO to remove the residual PO4 down to an acceptable level for SPS, my target being between 0.03-0.05 PPM.

Did I lose a decimal somewhere? Wouldn't it be 0.3 PPM? Can't trust my calculations these days since I left consulting. Not that I'm going to let my PO4 get to 0.3 PPM but I'd like to let it go up a little so that the bacteria won't be PO4 limited in their growth.

I can't wait until my whole tank is in balance again! I miss having it in cruise control like the last tank!

Quick update: Who would have thought feeding ridiculous amounts of food and taking your biopellets offline for a little more than a month would cause your nitrates to sky rocket? Haha. Uh, duh! Total rookie mistake! I figured out why it's taking my SPS so long to color back up. I measured yesterday and it was 50ppm, from what I could tell from the color chart. Yikes! Did one water change last night and doing another today to bring it down to a less toxic level and then kicking back up my biopellets. I'll vodka dose for a little bit in the interim until the bacterial population gets ramped up in the biopellet reactor and feed a little less for a bit. Good thing I turned that center chamber in my sump into a refugium the other day... that should help out some. Also took my GFO reactor offline to allow for a better ratio of PO4 and NO3 so that the bacteria can thrive. In my reasoning, with the GFO still running, the environment would be too PO4 poor to allow the bacteria to thrive. They need PO4, NO3, and a carbon source to thrive (biopellets). So I have shut down the GFO reactor and then when the biopellets are ramped up and at full throttle, I'll reintroduce GFO if needed.

You lost me! I used up all my pokemon knowledge to make that joke. I'm just a pokemon poser! Doh!

Pending

I have an unopened package of BRS biopellets for sale. First $20 gets it. Thanks! -Ty

You can try cyclopeeze or oyster eggs. Though feeding it everyday like it needs will probably cause a nutrient issue in your tank. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

The diatoms you see each water change is definitely silicates and hopefully your test kit will confirm that in your RO water. I'm sure the algae itself was caused by the blockage. It will basically concentrate the nutrients in your DT and not allow it to be processed by your ATS and media reactors in your sump allowing it to just fester in the DT. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Censored! Only 18 and over allowed to look at my tank. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

I must mention that I am currently running a naked tank, no pants and no shirt (i.e. no skin on the stand and no canopy). Now I will be just running the led sump light and once skinned, the whole tank (hood and sump) will be vented outside via a bathroom vent fan controlled via my Apex. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Trading out hawkins echinatas for feather caulerpa? That'll be the day!

Like I said, why fight nature? I really liked having the frag system down there but the chamber grew algae so naturally that I went with what my system gave me and converted it to a refugium instead. When life gives you lemons... or should I say... when life gives you an accidental turf scrubber... Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Look at my new toy I won at C4. This thing is crazy porous! It kind of just worked out that it was the same height as my skimmer stand I built. I didn't even have to adjust the skimmer, it worked as a direct swap out. Thanks for the idea Jestep. I went a different direction with my sump. I originally had the center chamber as a giant frag rack with a 250-watt MH over it. With the way I setup my baffles, I ended up with an accidental algae turf scrubber on both panes of glass. Then with the flow down there, it encouraged algae to grow on the frag rack and tons of pods inhabited it. So, why fight nature? I got a giant ball of chaeto from Richard L, picked up a LED sump light from mrshall, and removed the frag rack and all frags from the sump. Look what I have, a real live refugium. I haven't had one since my nano cube days. So, what's going to happen to all my frags you ask? Well I just ordered two magnetic frag racks from our new sponsor, ReefCreators, and I will place them behind by two large rock mounds in the DT. They are out of view unless you are specifically looking for them. I will be selling off some frags as I start to decide which pieces I will be keeping and which I will remove to make space for new corals. I hope to have everything nice and stable over the next couple of months. It's grow out time!

Hooray! Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Good thing I know a good Realtor...

Aww dang, and you know where I live too! First rule of dealing, don't let the junkies know where you live! Fail!

No, that's the ice fire echinata. Been coveting that one for awhile now!

Jeez, that net module is like $100 by itself! Great deal!

I have taken all the training from my pokemon days and use my honed skills of collecting now on corals. Gotta catch 'em all! They just never emphasized QT'ing practices on the show so I had to learn that trick myself. Imagine one pokemon getting the rest sick and and then you loosing your whole collection! Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Awesome! Thanks Jestep! I'm pretty excited to try it out in my system and it will look much better than the eggcrate skimmer stand I made anyway. At least I know I can just throw it right in since ol aggie went for the wild man approach and nothing happened. Haha. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Hell of a steal! That mental picture is awesome Jeremy! I'm sure someone will jump on it. It's got a a power actuated lift! GLWS! Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk