Bacto-Balance not maintaining levels - phosphates increasing :(

[majeric]

so, i've managed to bring my phosphates back down and my bb dosage up to 4ml.

I'm hoping that 4ml will maintain my levels where they are......

 

[exnisstech]

I've been using BB for a bit over a year on a new tank. Also using MB7 and zeo bac biweekly . My PO4 is also rising, yesterday it was 0.14. I should have researched more. I don't feel like bouncing back and forth between the products so I think I'll stop. I just can't wrap my head around why I should dose one product that raises it then another to lower it. Feels like tail chasing to me.

 

[Pod_01]

I've been using BB for a bit over a year on a new tank. Also using MB7 and zeo bac biweekly . My PO4 is also rising, yesterday it was 0.14. I should have researched more. I don't feel like bouncing back and forth between the products so I think I'll stop. I just can't wrap my head around why I should dose one product that raises it then another to lower it. Feels like tail chasing to me.

Hmmm…. So what is wrong with PO4 being at 0.14? Are the corals telling you they are suffering?

Is the target you are aiming for perhaps the problem and not the actual value you have?
My reef tank was running at values of 0.2-0.5 and all was good.

From my experience if you want to peg your PO4 to some value you need to take measurements before feeding or long after any feeding. Food will swing your PO4 especially coral food “Reef Roids”, frozen foods, phyto etc… With these there is no method that will keep your PO4 flat and you will always be chasing your tail.
Using high quality pellet fish food can help.

Carbon dosing is not instant, it feeds bacteria that in turn consumes NO3 and some PO4. It is biological process that needs time and if the input is unstable the result will be unstable as well.

 

[exnisstech]

Hmmm…. So what is wrong with PO4 being at 0.14? Are the corals telling you they are suffering?

Is the target you are aiming for perhaps the problem and not the actual value you have?
My reef tank was running at values of 0.2-0.5 and all was good.

From my experience if you want to peg your PO4 to some value you need to take measurements before feeding or long after any feeding. Food will swing your PO4 especially coral food “Reef Roids”, frozen foods, phyto etc… With these there is no method that will keep your PO4 flat and you will always be chasing your tail.
Using high quality pellet fish food can help.

Carbon dosing is not instant, it feeds bacteria that in turn consumes NO3 and some PO4. It is biological process that needs time and if the input is unstable the result will be unstable as well.

Oh I don't have a problem with 0.14. My nicest tank runs 0.3 and higher. The issue I have is I was under the impression that BB would keep things pretty stable and it's not. PO4 is on a slow continuous rise and now I read I'm supposed to use another product bring it in line. Shame on me for not researching enough. I took what I read to mean use the Elimi and other products to get N and P in line and use BB to maintain them and that isn't how it's working for me. I'm just not interested in dosing one product that raises it and then going back to BB which did not keep it stable to begin because I figure it will just end up BB Elimi rinse and repeat. That's the reason for my tail chasing comment. I tend to run things simple and this just doesn't seem simple if I'm still chasing numbers because they do not remain stable. Hope that makes sense?

 

[Reef.]

I've been using BB for a bit over a year on a new tank. Also using MB7 and zeo bac biweekly . My PO4 is also rising, yesterday it was 0.14. I should have researched more. I don't feel like bouncing back and forth between the products so I think I'll stop. I just can't wrap my head around why I should dose one product that raises it then another to lower it. Feels like tail chasing to me.

All methods need adjusting, no method of po4 removal will keep your po4 exactly where you want it, Bacto no different.

 

[exnisstech]

All methods need adjusting, no method of po4 removal will keep your po4 exactly where you want it, Bacto no different.

Much easier to toss a couple spoons of gfo in with my carbon once in a while than to dose this and that daily. Not knocking the product I just had different expectations. Shame on me.

 

[Hans-Werner]

The issue I have is I was under the impression that BB would keep things pretty stable and it's not.

Stability will always be a relative stability by the "heavy in, heavy out" of adding nutrients and organic carbon at the same time. In chemistry and physics this is called a dynamic equilibrium.

Of course this relative stablility can be overwhelmed.

 

[exnisstech]

Stability will always be a relative stability by the "heavy in, heavy out" of adding nutrients and organic carbon at the same time. In chemistry and physics this is called a dynamic equilibrium.

Of course this relative stablility can be overwhelmed.

Thanks. While the tank isn't thriving it's coming along and nuisance algae is mostly gone. I'm not too sharp on many things and talking it out here and getting responses helps bring me back in line sometimes. I had totally forgotten that I had my skimmer cup draining into the reefmat because I was testing 0 N and P a while back :face-with-hand-over-mouth: It's back online now I will keep up the BB and the biweekly addition of MB7 and zeobac