My Experience

[AJ]

I wanted to share my experience and also give thanks to Brian (Lazylivin) for his knowledge and expertise.

From Thanksgiving until I left for vacation before Xmas my tank looked AMAZING!!!  We left and came back and things started looking a bit worse.  I started losing some tissue on my smaller SPS frags.  Other SPS lost color and I noticed that growth was stunted.  I tested Alk, Calcium and Mag and everything looked perfect. After discussing with Brian, I decided I needed to test phosphates and nitrates.  I first tested Nitrates and found it to be zero or at least undetectable by the Salifert kit, so that was interesting.  I then tested phosphates and low and behold, they were high, around 0.19ppm. We decided that I was nitrate limited and that was why my phosphates were so high. It was decided that I needed to increase nitrates in order for my corals/chaeto to consume phosphates. At first I decided to turn off my skimmer and feed heavily to increase nitrates. This was a mistake, and actually increased my phosphates even more. I immediately resumed skimming and stopped feeding. I needed another method of introducing Nitrates. It was suggested by Brian to use Stump Remover, but without directions as he didn't use it. I researched online and determined that I needed Spectracide Stump Remover, as the MSDS states it is 100% pure KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate). I mixed it according to the directions online and started by dosing 10mL to my 75G tank. Finally! I had detectable Nitrates. After that I started maintaining Nitrate at 5ppm by testing and dosing on a daily basis.  My phosphates are no where near perfect, but they are now at 0.08ppm, which is much, much better.

[Steve]

Have you noticed any change in your corals AJ?

[AJ]

I had a few corals that lost a bit of tissue, they seem to be stable now and are starting to regrow that tissue. Color wise, I have never had an issue, so I don't know if it has had an effect.