Dr Reef mentioned Lanthanum Chloride. Don’t make this more complicated. Read up on it, it is an easy way to remove phosphates. Your running your tank fallow, but don’t lower your PO4 levels too quickly your corals may not like it. If you think the new rocks are leaching phosphates put them in a separate bucket with fresh SW and measure the PO4 levels of the water in the bucket before and after you add the rocks.
Best way to lower phosphates?
Nathan Milender
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You cannot remove it from the rock. It leaches out via diffusion and you then remove it from the water. I would scrub the rock with a toothbrush to get the algae off. Do a big water change and measure PO4. Recheck in one week. That will give you some idea how much you are dealing with. The steeper the diffusion gradient, the faster it will leach. If you have no corals turn off your lights (as stated earlier). Phos binders will remove it from the water, but the will deplete fast. If you have a sump, put a grow light down there 24/7 and maybe the algae will be easier to clean.
If you think this is just a couple of new rocks, or a bunch of new rocks with nothing living on them, put them in buckets with RO water. You do not even need salt. Change the water once or twice a week and put it back in the tank when the ro water has little phos after a week in it. Changing the water keeps the gradient steep for faster leaching. Do not use your tap water if it has phosphate as this can load the rock more, use RO.
It is also possible that something died in your tank and is feeding your tank or that it is not algae that is blooming and could possibly be diatoms, cyano, or some other bacteria.
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