Best Method to lower phosphates for my tank

[Fish Fan]

Could I ask, does GFO also potentially lead to HLLE? I thought the concern was with carbon only. Is it any fine media in the water? Thanks!

 

[Reef Wizard]

Could I ask, does GFO also potentially lead to HLLE? I thought the concern was with carbon only. Is it any fine media in the water? Thanks!

I asked a while ago here is that thread https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hlle-causes.1083459/

TLDR: No evidence if it does or doesnt.

But my theory is yes it can if not added to a system carefully

HLLE and Carbon is due to the dust from carbon. GFO also has dust

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’ve not heard of GFO being linked to hlle. Even clean carbon like ROX 0.8 does not seem to be.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Late to the party again, but I used Tropic Marin Elimi-Phos. It's a lanthanum chloride based product but didn't bother my Tangs. The trick is to establish a dosage that lowers the phos a little each day and dose it every day. It will take a while to remove all the phosphate in the system, but it will eventually drop phos levels to whatever you want. Careful though. It will lower phos a lot if not dosed in very small quantities. 10ml dropped the phos level in my 100 gallon system about .05-ish ppm. Initially, it would rise right back up due to the bound phosphate in the substrate, but eventually it started to stay down and slowly drop.

 

[Bruttall]

I just cannot help myself. lol

It is lanthanum trichloride, not tri-lanthanum chloride.

In this case it's not a big issue since there is no such thing as tri-lanthanum chloride, but getting the number indicator (the "tri") in the wrong place literally means a different chemical and in some cases, it is a real but different thing than intended.

Example:

Dinitrogen oxide is laughing gas.
Nitrogen dioxide is toxic and can be lethal if inhaled in sufficient quantity.

That is why you are The REEF CHEMIST! And also why I posted the link to the exact product I have been using for nearly 2 years now. TY Randy.

 

[salty joe]

I'd rinse any GFO to remove fines.

Would a thorough tap water rinse followed by a RO rinse be OK?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Would a thorough tap water rinse followed by a RO rinse be OK?

You can skip the ro if you want, but yes.

 

[Reef Wizard]

Maybe more light?

Mine needs to be harvested almost weekly. I grow ulva, but have grown chaeto and caulerpa in the past.

So just an update on this. I upped the lighting to 16 hours and it has been loads better with chaeto growth and bubble algae.

Not much bubble algae in display so thats good.

Follow up question is there a post anywhere on proper LC dosing? I have some tropic marin elim phos.

 

[salty joe]

Maybe more light?

Mine needs to be harvested almost weekly. I grow ulva, but have grown chaeto and caulerpa in the past.

What advantage does ulva have as an ezporter?

 

[Nano_Man]

Struggled with phosphate for years. But just put a Phospate reactor plumbed in and after 2 weeks from 1+ to 00.03. I have tryed lithium but I don't truly trust it. It works well but makes me nervous. The reactor I have far more control imo

 

[Reef Wizard]

Struggled with phosphate for years. But just put a Phospate reactor plumbed in and after 2 weeks from 1+ to 00.03. I have tryed lithium but I don't truly trust it. It works well but makes me nervous. The reactor I have far more control imo

I got a 10 micron soc to dose into. In going to 3D print a bracket for the sock to go on and filter right down into the skimmer intake so hopefully that suffices

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What advantage does ulva have as an ezporter?

Grows fast, and my yellow tang and foxface love to eat it. Is it better than chaeto? Not sure. I added some chaeto recently and it did not survive. The ulva also out competed gracilaria of various types and other macroalgae I tried.

 

[Luisn17]

Hey,

I have dosed phosphate E into the middle of my Reefmat for months with no issues. I have multiple tangs and this is how I maintain it. Well, I did. Once I started using kalk my phosphate started to drop and today I have 0.00, I guess this is why tidal gardens said tanks just run better with kalk. And I saw post of people saying I have to dose phosphate and I was so confused why???

Like you, I only feed frozen and was going crazy trying to keep phosphate under control. I vodka dose but it never impacted phosphate, the only recent change was the kalk. My high was 0.20-.0.32

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I wish we had a good understanding of the lanthanum issues with tangs, and how to be sure to prevent it.

 

[salty joe]

Once I started using kalk my phosphate started to drop and today I have 0.00,

I wish that did the trick for me.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I wish that did the trick for me.

It may have some effect, but it’s not usually a big change.

 

[GHayes]

What do you do if you have a 32g Coralife Biocube AIO tank and your phosphate is 0.25 to 0.33 using the Hanna ULR phosphate checker? I only have mushrooms, zoas, Duncan, Blasto welsii, and clove polyp. I also have a BTA. I can't run a skimmer right now with my setup as the lid covers the back chambers. I am working on a plan to replace my lid with a mesh lid over the display tank area and leave the back chambers open. I have also thought of using a 10-gal tank I have sitting around empty to make a sump. Then I could add a small protein skimmer and some macroalgae.

My lid was retrofitted with two Fluval Nano Wing Marine lights. So, I do not have the brackets to remove the lid. I keep it elevated in the front to allow for more air flow.

I really want to add a Monti. But I need to get my phosphate levels down. My nitrate is running about 20-25 right now. Testing with the Salifert Nitrate test kit. Wanting to upgrade to Hanna for the nitrate as well.

My tank is over a year old. I bought it set up and moved it to my home before setting it back up. BTW, if you zoom in and look at the digital thermometer readout, I have checked that thermometer against two glass thermometers and another one. It reads about 3.5 degrees F high. So, the temp is really about 78+/-. And that window AC does not work. The landlord just wants to leave it in the window so we don't have to repair the siding on the outside.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What do you do if you have a 32g Coralife Biocube AIO tank and your phosphate is 0.25 to 0.33 using the Hanna ULR phosphate checker? I only have mushrooms, zoas, Duncan, Blasto welsii, and clove polyp. I also have a BTA. I can't run a skimmer right now with my setup as the lid covers the back chambers. I am working on a plan to replace my lid with a mesh lid over the display tank area and leave the back chambers open. I have also thought of using a 10-gal tank I have sitting around empty to make a sump. Then I could add a small protein skimmer and some macroalgae.

My lid was retrofitted with two Fluval Nano Wing Marine lights. So, I do not have the brackets to remove the lid. I keep it elevated in the front to allow for more air flow.

I really want to add a Monti. But I need to get my phosphate levels down. My nitrate is running about 20-25 right now. Testing with the Salifert Nitrate test kit. Wanting to upgrade to Hanna for the nitrate as well.

My tank is over a year old. I bought it set up and moved it to my home before setting it back up. BTW, if you zoom in and look at the digital thermometer readout, I have checked that thermometer against two glass thermometers and another one. It reads about 3.5 degrees F high. So, the temp is really about 78+/-. And that window AC does not work. The landlord just wants to leave it in the window so we don't have to repair the siding on the outside.

Do you need to do anything?

 

[GHayes]

Do you need to do anything?

I just feel like my corals, other than my mushrooms, are not growing well. I have had several of my zoas for about 4 months or more and they are still the same size. No new heads. They aren't dying, just not growing. After I do water changes, the next day or two, they look more vibrant.

I was trying to slowly raise my alkalinity in the tank as it runs about 7.7 the day following a water change. Through the week it will drop down to around 7.2. I am wondering if my coraline algae might be part of this as it is growing well in the tank. Sometimes too well. I have to clean it off of the front and sides of the tank. I dosed for a week and a half using baked baking soda solution. 10g of baked baking soda in 1-L of RODI water. It started going up slowly like planned for about 4 or 5 days. Then the day before the water change, it spiked from 7.7 to 9.7. Then after the water change, it went back to 7.7dKH. Really ticked off my Duncan and Blasto. Stopped dosing and bought a dosing pump. I have to set it up before using it. But I want my alkalinity to stabilize first also. The color on my zoas popped. After a week, my Duncan and Blasto accepted my apology. The zoas went back to the way they were.

I am using a mixture of Red Sea Blue Bucket and Red Sea Coral Pro salts. I have used a 75% BB to 25% CP for the past two water changes. I am planning on doing a 70-30 mix this week to slowly bring my alk up. My magnesium runs around 1350 average. My calcium runs about 450 +/-. My pH was running low at 7.7 before I dosed. It went up to 8.0. I haven't checked it after the last water change. I am sure it is going back down since I stopped the alk dosing. I run my salinity at about 1.024-1.026 and the temp about 78F.