Help with nitrates

[xenon]

I've was struggling with keeping my phosphates bellow 0.06 and nitrates under 10 ever since I setup my system 8 months ago.

I kept hearing good things about Red Sea NO3:PO4-X so I decided to give it a try. From my understanding its a complex mix of carbons like vodka, sugar and vinegar. They don't tell you exactly whats in the bottle but they do say that it contains methanol. I also smell vinegar but the rest is a mystery.

I never dose anything to my tank other than cal/alk/mag/potassium/iodine and food so I was pretty sceptical about trying this.

My results speak for themselves.

Test kits used:
NO3 Salifert (brand new)
PO4 Hanna HI 713 Low Range

Day 1:
NO3: 10
PO4: 0.06
Dose: 12ml (Stated NO3:PO4-X @ the recommended 2ml/25gallon per day)

Day 2:
NO3: 4
PO4: 0.02
Dose: 6ml (I cut back by 50% because I was shocked how fast it was working)

Day 3:
NO3: 4
PO4: 0.01
Dose: 8ml (increased by 2ml to get my nitrates lower)

Day 4:
NO3: 4
PO4: 0.00
Dose: 12ml (no longer scared to dose the recommended amount)

Day 5:
NO3: 2.5
PO4: 0.00
Dose: 12ml

Day 6:
NO3: 1
PO4: 0.00
Dose: 6ml (I am getting close to my goal so I reduced by 50% to try and maintain)

Day 7:
NO3: 0
PO4: 0.00
Dose: 3ml (cut my dose by 50% again to see if its enough to maintain)

Never once did my corals SNT/RTN. The only side effects I noticed was better coloration and polyp extension.

I was so pleased that I ordered two bottles of Red Sea Reef Energy A/B to compliment NO3:PO4-X.

[makana]

Wow. Is that something you have to keep dosing? Do you have to dose every day?

What about ditching the sand and going barebottom? You won't immediate results in the first day, but as you turkey base your rocks prior to doing a WC, it will slowly disappear.

Or vice versa, replace your sand with new sand.

[xenon]

Originally Posted by makana

Wow. Is that something you have to keep dosing? Do you have to dose every day?

Yes. Just like dosing vodka, sugar, vinegar.

Once I determine my maintenance dosage, I will hook it up to a dosing pump so that its fully automated.