Can't wait until I figure out what that key to a successful tank is lol.Fair enough, but the reality is, the majority of successful tanks don't have low nutrients. Plenty do, but just as many don't.
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Can't wait until I figure out what that key to a successful tank is lol.Fair enough, but the reality is, the majority of successful tanks don't have low nutrients. Plenty do, but just as many don't.
I do 25 gal water changes monthly. I'm experimenting with carbon dosing bc it apparently works for many people and would be far less labor intensive and costly than doing that much water changing. A water change would mess with all my parameters, some of which I don't wish to reduce, phosphate for instance.
Can't wait until I figure out what that key to a successful tank is lol.
Im not sure what you heard or exactly what you are questioning, but it is an established and well known, published scientific fact that bare calcium carbonate surfaces reversibly bind phosphate. The higher the concentration in the water, the more binds. When you try to lower the concentration in the water, some of the bound phosphate will come off again to establish a new equilibrium amount of binding.Thanks for the detailed response. I do have two aspects of that I'd like to comment on. Firstly I've been told it's untrue that rock leaches the phosphate you've dosed back into the system. Do you have any documentation for that? Secondly, I made the questionable decision to start my tank 18months ago with dry rock. After encountering dinoflagellates about three months in I began introducing biodiversity through multiple forms of bottled bacteria, AF Lifesource mud, pods, tons of phyto., dirty water, rock and coral rubble from my 30yo FOWLER tank. At this point I could add some live rock but don't feel the benefit outweighs the risks. Attached are biome reports on my tank from about nine months ago, and last month. Although I'm aware these tests have their limits it does seem like a significant improvement.
I use the principle to reduce phos in my tank here;I'd like to see some experimental evidence
Accordingly it would seem if I can maintain a steady level where I want it to be for long enough the substrate will reach equilibrium with that level and tend to maintain it. Within reason, should the water level try to go up or down the substrate would release or reabsorb as needed to maintain that level.I use the principle to reduce phos in my tank here;
Desorbing phosphate from sand with lanthanum.
Finally got around to a hap hazard test for desorbing sand with lanthanum. The sand has been churning around in my fluidised media reactor for a week on a tank currently measuring 0.6 ppm. From previous measurements in the Aragonite adsorption thread, Dan-P kindly calculated my sand had adsorbed...www.reef2reef.com