The REAL Truth Behind Nutrients in Our Reef Tanks. | BRStv Master Series: Nitrate & Phosphate

Do we really understand the role of nitrates and phosphates in our reef tanks? Today, join Ryan as he dives deep into nutrients in our saltwater aquariums, covering everything from pest algae to feeding techniques for our coral and saltwater fish. Join us here to change the way you think about reef tank nutrients!
#BRStv

00:00 - Master Nutrients (NO3 & PO4)
00:05 - Pests and Algae
10:16 - Coral & Zooxanthellae
19:36 - Nutrients Vs. Nutrition
24:34 - Ocean Vs. Aquarium
32:05 - Magic Ratios
37:46 - Food Imbalance
43:05 - Stages
50:04 - My Beliefs
56:13 - Feeding Techniques
01:01:58 - The Three Filters
01:12:10 - Changing Water?

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*Legal Stuff*
The purpose and content of this video is to provide general information regarding the products and their applications as presented in the video. Aquatic sales solutions, Inc. And its officers, directors, employees and agents disclaim all express or implied warranties, in any way, related to the products and their application as presented in this video, make no representation or warranty regarding the products and the application as presented in this video and shall not be liable for any direct or indirect losses or damages of any type, including but not limited to punitive damages, or from personal injury or death resulting from or in any manner related to the video, and the products in and contents of the video. The viewer expressly agrees that aquatic sales solutions, inc. And its officers, directors, employees and agents shall not be liable for any damages or losses related to the products in and content of the video and hereby agrees to hold the foregoing harmless from any such losses or damages.

[BRStv]

Ready to get your binge on?! We stitched all 11 episodes of Ryan's Master Nutrients series into one full episode. ENJOY! 😊

[mattb]

I feel like I should have to pay a subscription fee to watch this 😂. Super high quality and you consistently answer all of my “why?” and “what if?” questions. Always blown away by your content.

[MoeReefs]

Let me sum this up for some new reefers as I can see this video confusing a lot of people. Aim for 100:1 nitrate to phosphate and not 10:1. Personally I prefer 5ppm nitrate to ~.05 phosphate. Test your nitrate and phosphate weekly, not monthly. Early stages of your tank (less than 6 months) you might want to test even more especially right after your cycle. After 6 months to a year it will be easier and you can test less. Get your filtration adequate so you are dropping levels and never increasing - this way you have the opportunity to dose nitrate and phosphate and have better control of your levels. Do not feed your coral more than once a week and keep up with your clean up crew population. You dont need to do weekly water changes, especially on tanks larger than 50 gallons. What ever husbandry you do to your tank you must be consistent as your tanks biological filtration will depend on that consistency. Lastly, GET AN ICP TEST DONE at least every 3 months as you are more likely than not dropping or overdosing dangerous levels of elements no matter how good you think you are. Good luck peeps.

[jacobmills]

I always look forward to new BRSTV content. I have been able to start my journey into reef keeping because of this channel and in return, I shop BRS for most of my supplies. Thank you for your contribution to hobbyist like me!

[aisians]

Would love all of the BRS master series to be stitched together like this. Great if you need a refresher course without having to scout out videos one by one and missing vital info. Easily the best and easily digestible resource for this stuff.

[Reeferjay]

These need to make a come back. I love these series and always come back to them when my tank starts showing signs of something. Fairly new to the SW hobby. Keep up the good work.

[Cheezled]

Just started this video, but the part about Dinos is spot on. I got rid of mine by increasing my dosage of Reef Chili. I sprayed the Dinos with the Reef Chili each morning and within a week it was all gone and haven't had it since. My Nitrate and Phosphate was 0, now my 20 gallon long sits at or around 10 Nitrate and .2 Phosphate. Love your videos, thanks for your continued help!

[brettbarrett]

BRS... What can I say?
You have always been trying to put out the most relevant information you can. Understandably promoting your own products when it makes sense but NEVER afraid to recommend another option or better options. Even if those options are not sold by BRS.
I for one am grateful for what Ryan, BRS, and all they have added to our hobby. Always keeping things moving forward. Certainly always keeping the conversation open! Keep up these detailed informal videos.

[matmalette]

There's such a different feel to this video compare to other BRStv. Big fan of all the other but the vibe of this one is really fun to listen and has really good content for all levels of refer. Thank you for sharing, this was a joy to watch in full. I love to see product reviews but this didn't felt like a pressure on hobbyist to purchase something but just to be in tune with the reef they are creating at home. Ride the wave of this video Ryan!

[rja]

You guys at BRS have been a far better educational source of information than my LFS could ever offer. Thank you for your dedication to reefing

[billysprout]

love the production value!! y'all are so incredibly beneficial to the hobby. bless u

[ryanhaffey]

Ryan and his team are by far one of the best informative reefing channels not on just YouTube but period. Can’t thank you guys enough! I’m a few months into my endeavors and have had nothing but success! Big credit to you guys couldn’t have done it without you. Have enjoyed every video and looking forward to many more!

[danieleason]

My reef will be a year old this May, all thanks to BRS. Honestly has helped me with any challenges my tank and myself have provided. If I run into a problem I know I can, type in a few key words that I know because of you all, bam there’s my problem. Broken down several ways and explained in extreme detail from people with serious knowledge and experience.

[Thrice]

This is by far the most important video a beginner should watch after they figure out the initial cycle. I’ve been in the hobby for about 6 years and im finally just getting comfortable with controlling nitrates and phosphates. More so with adding them to the tank in a controlled manner. This video is the best resource I’ve come across that fully explains nitrates, phosphates and the role they play in our tanks. Thanks BRS for another outstanding lesson learned!

[tomcuneo]

Great series - you guys have done so much to the positive for reef keeping.

[dusk]

This is a fantastic discussion. Well done, Sir.
Though I'm just another enthusiastic hobbyist in my understanding of Marine Science. As someone educated in agricultural science, nutrient management, and conservation; I can only echo much of what you described here. Most of this was not anecdotal experience. No, your descriptions here match much of our scientific understanding, and explained in a way that makes them interrelated and usable to the hobby.
Again, well done. This is a great series.

The only part where I personally struggle, is the discussion on Ratio's. And I agree, we just don't know. From my own experience, broad ratio's work when discussing exponential growth organisms like bacteria. Again, keeping with Agriculture as the example, the Carbon to Nitrogen ratio will predictably determine how fast organic waste mineralizes (decomposes) in a setting like a compost pile. Or the specific Nitrogen to Phosphate ratio will determine how likely a natural body of water is to experience a micro-algae bloom. It's a function of the enormous number of individual organisms at scale, each being nearly identical to each other, and which reproduce at a near hourly rate.
Those ratios do not hold up if I extend it to most eukaryotic and complex organisms. It's more plausible that individual species would have a unique general ratio that may or may not match. However, what is suggestive is that they would have still evolved in an environment with a 16:1 ratio. That level of availability would have possibly shaped a species development, here you get into conversations like nature versus nurture.
And you're correct most plants do have a preferred ratio. But again, it's known to be species dependent. At a macro scale, a C3 plant does not often match a C4, or CAM plant's requirements (the 3 common types of plant photosynthesis). Even some plants within the same genus may have different demands. And even the same plant may have different needs when it's a seedling focused on root and shoot development, vice when it's an adult focused on reproduction (though to your credit, you did touch on this difference).

However, you framed the theory well; and I do think you were right to include the Redfield ratio here, as it has driven much of the conversation. But the right answer is still, we don't know. There are plausible arguments for and against it. But, given how vast and complex the natural system is (a literal Ocean), who knows...
A better theory to use in this case would be "Lebigs Law of the Minimum" which is a 150 year old agricultural principle, that describes a theoretical maximum growth rate in relation to the organisms most scarce required nutrient. It's better described today as, the limiting rate nutrient. Instead of just 2 elements in consideration, an average plant will have anywhere between 17 & 19 required elements. I suspect this theory would work very well when applied to corals, though the specific element demands would need to be adjusted.

Sorry for the side tangent, you just peaked my curiosity and got me thinking during that particular segment. But again, fantastic series.

[artistic_spaz]

This felt like a university level class on reefing and it was so informative but a bit overwhelming too. I'm less than a year into my first tank and have made mistakes and am trying to learn but am so discouraged (fighting dino outbreak for 2 months?) Reefing is a wonderful hobby but is also not for the faint of heart!!

[emailuser]

This video was pure brilliant. Thanks for the hard work, you guys. These videos don't come easy. It's work. Thank you.

[Brad.Hobbies]

I really enjoy this format, there is so much information packed in here I will likely watch this a multitude of times.

Thanks, Ryan.

[crazywidowmaker]

Just started Reefing 9 months ago but been reading for well over 2 years . And I have to say that this is a invaluable video and has made me want to research more. Fantastic video BRStv .