Angry Phosphate Man: Mitigating High Phosphates In Your Reef Aquarium

[X-37B]

I am only seeing DRS ez carbon overseas and in euros, is there an US supplier?

Deltec

 

[Klaas]

I dose nitrate, the phosphates then drop, never could keep nitrates up enough to naturally consume it.

what do you use for dosing Nitrate? My nitrate is near 0 but my phosphates are relatively high. Thanks For your help.

 

[rfungkf]

My phosphates is always low so i need to dose NeoPhos every few days to keep it from zero out.

 

[Smite]

I rarely tested phosphates. I'd seen too many nice sps tanks that don't worry about phosphates, other than being too clean. But my heart skipped a beat when I tested my 180 and few monhts back and it read .47. I had little to no algae, I'd have to clean my glass everyday to every other but at that point there was no real nuisance algae. I was curious if it was hindering my sps' growth so I brought it down with rowaphos to .15 over a few weeks. Some pieces just didn't look as happy and I found myself chasing a number, which to me means another parameter that is constantly changing = not stable. I'd see it climb near .2 then bring it back down. I decided to pull the rowa and go back to just running light carbon and my chaeto reactor. My tank went back to being colorful, deep coloration.

I've recently downsized and move rock and pieces over. Some pieces seem stress so I'm monitoring it but that's just to see if it's changing. I don't plan on adding anything like gfo this go around. I've added my chaeto reactor and I'll just watch to make sure it finds a "happy" spot and if needed manipulate it by the reactors photoperiod, naturally.

Some pictures from my 180g. 25-30 ppm .35-47 phosphates under AB+ g5 blue spectrum

 

[scabbedwings616]

Test this once a month and right before water changing. It says between. .02 and 1.2ppm

 

[reefviper101]

Today let's talk about.......Mitigating High Phosphates In Your Reef Aquarium...dum dum dum!

Angry Phosphate Man

The first thing we need to get out of the way is that fact that phosphates is not something that can be avoided. It can't be avoided but it can certainly be minimized. Why is that important? Well if you like uncontrollable algae then you need not worry about your level of tank phosphates. BUT if you're like most reef aquarium hobbyists then you want a clear, beautiful and nuisance algae free tank! So if phosphates can't be avoided then how do you mitigate it in your aquarium? Let's talk about it!

1. What can you do to keep phosphates under control and at levels that you are comfortable with? What are some things YOU do?

2. What is a comfortable level of phosphates for you in your aquarium?


image via @ReefNerd

I have a softies tank so i run .03 to.05 ppm i found a pad that is rechargeable and works great at removing ammonia phosphate and all heavy metals love it

 

[Fragzilla]

It doesn’t matter what your phosphate levels are provided you balance the rest of the element levels in your tank. I have found over the 8 and half years of obsessive reefing that phosphate control is the real killer, and Corals actually thrive in phosphate rich environments, nitrates are the main issue with growing Corals, saying that provided you have enough phosphate high Nitrate can be negated. After starting off 8 years ago and being lead down a path of LNS and ULNS I now enjoy watching everything in my tank grow at phenomenal rates. My nitrates are 20-25 ppm (higher than I want), phosphates are steady at 1.6ppm. My phosphates are low for my Nitrate level and it’s not quite balanced but nothing dies, alk runs over 14DKh sometimes, calcium is still about 450. Mag, who knows I don’t trust any kits and adding mag has always had a detrimental effect to my lps. I do a 10% water change once a month, use a skimmer only set medium dry and have a small amount of foam filter in a other wise empty reactor, the sponges are washed in tank water, cleaning in fresh water would cause a mini crash. Having low phosphate causes bleaching and pastel colours in Corals, it’s been proven than low phosphate actually limits calcification and that Nitrate is in fact the element that limits calcification not the phosphate. I also have the benefit of reducing pests like Vermatids as hydroids as I don’t need to “feed the tank” I just feed the fish pellets and the Corals are almost 100% reliant on photosynthesis, the colours I get are sick!! Don’t believe the ULNS bull**** nothing likes it, especially sps!!!!!!!

 

[stAlphonzo]

I’m very concerned but for a different reason. I use the Salifert test to test and I can’t get a reading. I read zero and this is after dosing almost a full Bottle of phosphate From brightwell. Ugh

I fell into that trap as well. After getting 0 ppm with API, I grabbed a Salifert kit which also read 0 ppm. I started dosing some Phosphate, thinking my issues were from such a low level. After a few days of that and no movement in the readings, I bought the Hanna ULR Phosphorous kit, I realized my mistake. Since then, I've been having a hard time bringing the level down to something reasonable

 

[Thales]

I tested mine yesterday.

Phosphate - .72
Nitrate - 75

 

[Sherrya62]

I fell into that trap as well. After getting 0 ppm with API, I grabbed a Salifert kit which also read 0 ppm. I started dosing some Phosphate, thinking my issues were from such a low level. After a few days of that and no movement in the readings, I bought the Hanna ULR Phosphorous kit, I realized my mistake. Since then, I've been having a hard time bringing the level down to something reasonable

Oh crap! Lol. Makes sense I’m going to to get the checker. I’ve been thru one bottle of neophos so far. Thanks!

 

[Abhishek]

I tested mine yesterday.

Phosphate - .72
Nitrate - 75

I just can’t get enough of your post on such a hot topic

BTW if anyone doubts , this is @Thales tank

Rich Ross - Home Tank - guess the phosphate

Current numbers Phosphate - .72 Nitrate - 75 From today, not everything is awake yet (Iphone vid, no filter) and growing baby corals from the April and May spawn (Iphone pic, disco blue lights and theatrical gel) What a disaster these systems are with these levels!

www.reef2reef.com

And before you comment - remember he breeds acropora for a living ( sort of )

 

[Super Fly]

timely post... I keep mostly softies and tank's been thriving with NO3 around 5-10 and PO4 0.10 but recently PO4's been hovering around 0.16 to 0.18 so was trying to lower it. However after reading many of the responses who have healthy tanks at higher PO4 levels, I'm going to leave my PO4 alone and monitor since all livestock seems happy, which they are. Thx for the post.

 

[jda]

I think that it might be good for everybody to understand that there are some big-time differences between some of the tanks that people flippantly post about. I have corals that would not live and thrive in tanks with higher phosphate levels, but I also have plenty that would not care at all. Depending on what people want to keep, there can be a huge difference... not better or worse, just different. I would not be happy at all growing only the type of corals that are thriving in some of these tanks, but this is just me and I don't expect anybody else to feel the same way that I do.

I would lose half my acropora, probably, under .72 P and 75 N, but plenty would live too... the same kinds that are in that tank. Again, not better or worse, just different.

Let's don't apples to apples this stuff. Somebody might want one kind of tank or another and it is important to point out the differences.

 

[Abhishek]

what about acropora babies ? They surely shouldn’t be alive in that sewage ...

 

[GillMeister]

I'd had traces of nitrate and .09ppm phosphate. Today, 0 nitrate and .05ppm phosphate. It looks like I'll need to start dosing a little pollution in my tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

1. What can you do to keep phosphates under control and at levels that you are comfortable with? What are some things YOU do?

Skimming and I run ChemiPure elite which controls Phos and Nitrates

2. What is a comfortable level of phosphates for you in your aquarium?

.04

 

[BurgerFish]

0.028 thanks to chaeto fuge with intense light.

 

[Thales]

I think that it might be good for everybody to understand that there are some big-time differences between some of the tanks that people flippantly post about. I have corals that would not live and thrive in tanks with higher phosphate levels, but I also have plenty that would not care at all. Depending on what people want to keep, there can be a huge difference... not better or worse, just different. I would not be happy at all growing only the type of corals that are thriving in some of these tanks, but this is just me and I don't expect anybody else to feel the same way that I do.

I would lose half my acropora, probably, under .72 P and 75 N, but plenty would live too... the same kinds that are in that tank. Again, not better or worse, just different.

Let's don't apples to apples this stuff. Somebody might want one kind of tank or another and it is important to point out the differences.

Flippantly?

The rest I agree with and is kinda why I post to threads where the the overriding assumption is that low phosphate is needed/desired

 

[jda]

I think that posting about what a "disaster" that obviously happy tanks with higher P levels is pretty flippant. "Pollution" or "sewage" is along the same lines. If you seriously meant that your tank and others are a disaster and that you wish that it was different with respect to the phosphate level, then let me know and I will apologize. It did not seem serious to me.

For the record, I don't like the flippant comments or assertion that somehow natural levels are Ultra Low or that tanks that are natural somehow are death sentences either. I hate it both ways.

I desire and need P nearer to NSW to keep what I keep. I don't make any kind of statements that this is better, cleaner or more pure. It just is what it is. I would rather spend my time explaining the differences to people so that they understand how to care for what they have.

I do point out some of the things that lower P can do and spend a lot of time explains phosphate binding to aragonite, which should be pre-req to having a tank. I also explain that P is a building block, not fuel and that nothing in their tank eats it like food. I do not recall ever saying that lower or higher was better in general, but one or the other might be good in some circumstances. These circumstances cannot really be discussed if have a flippant attitude towards tanks on either side.

 

[Thales]

I think that posting about what a "disaster" that obviously happy tanks with higher P levels is pretty flippant. "Pollution" or "sewage" is along the same lines. If you seriously meant that your tank and others are a disaster and that you wish that it was different with respect to the phosphate level, then let me know and I will apologize. It did not seem serious to me.

For the record, I don't like the flippant comments or assertion that somehow natural levels are Ultra Low or that tanks that are natural somehow are death sentences either. I hate it both ways.

I desire and need P nearer to NSW to keep what I keep. I don't make any kind of statements that this is better, cleaner or more pure. It just is what it is. I would rather spend my time explaining the differences to people so that they understand how to care for what they have.

I do point out some of the things that lower P can do and spend a lot of time explains phosphate binding to aragonite, which should be pre-req to having a tank. I also explain that P is a building block, not fuel and that nothing in their tank eats it like food. I do not recall ever saying that lower or higher was better in general, but one or the other might be good in some circumstances. These circumstances cannot really be discussed if have a flippant attitude towards tanks on either side.

oh - you are talking about my build thread, not this thread?

I figure the amount of published articles and talks I have going into great detail about that stuff is easily findable, and is buried in the build thread, so sometimes I like to poke fun at the idea that most people think my levels mean what people think it means. I have talked about it a lot, so that kind of post happens some times