FLUKE GROSS OVER DOSE

Keen4

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Ok so I really really need some help. I would love some more suggestions. Luckily I haven't lost any live stock just a split of an anemone. I Fluke Gross over dosed my 91 gal system with disodium phosphates. Its been 2 weeks.

5 water changes. Elimi-Phos dosing daily.

And my po4 is still maxing out on the salifert po4 test @ 3ppm.

Im running po4 cubes from Brightwell.

Ive tried to shake the precipitate from the water column as best I could.
I cleaned out my sump of it all best I could, Next Im going for my UV and tubing connected to that. I think theres still a ton of this stuff everywhere just hiding and keeping my po4 really really high. Hopefully there are no fatalities. Im aware that there will be some algae blooms and etc. Please can someone give some guidance here without judgment or lecture? Thank you for your help.

Im almost to the point of just taking everything apart and cleaning it up and starting all over. However I dont believe its that serious.

#reefsquad
 
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SMSREEF

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I dosed lanthum into my overflow and had a 1 micron filter sock in my sump to catch the precipitate when I overdosed my PO4. Luckily I only had only overdosed the amount I could decrease in a single day. But that stuff really works. I used PhosphateRX and the instructions say “DO NOT LOWER YOUR PHOSPHATES MORE THAN .5ppm IN A 24-HOUR PERIOD.”

I’m just not sure that dosing a large amount every day is a good thing for your fish/coral. Hopefully others have experience with this.

What about doing another huge water change like 60-70 gallons at once. Your rocks are probably holding some PO4 that will leach back out. But at least you would get the level down to a measurable number (hopefully in the 1.0 range) and then you can bring it down a bit every day from there.

I agree with you that this is not a reason to start over. Once you get that phosphate down to a normal high reading, make sure to take things a lot slower in lowering.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Ok so I really really need some help. It seems like no one has real answers for me at this point. Luckily I haven't lost any live stock just a split of an anemone. I Fluke Gross over dosed my 91 gal system with disodium phosphates. Its been 2 weeks. 5 water changes. Elimi-Phos dosing daily. And my po4 is still maxing out on the salifert po4 test @ 3ppm. Ive tried to shake the precipitate from the water column as best I could. I cleaned out my sump of it all best I could, Next Im going for my UV and tubing connected to that. I think theres still a ton of this stuff everywhere just hiding and keeping my po4 really really high. Hopefully there are no fatalities. Im aware that there will be some algae blooms and etc. Please can someone give some guidance here without judgment or lecture? Thank you for your help.

Im almost to the point of just taking everything apart and cleaning it up and starting all over. However I dont believe its that serious.

#reefsquad

I'm not sure what you mean by "real answers". You've gotten lots of good advice. There is no easy solution. It takes time to drop phosphate so very far after a serious mistake.
 
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Keen4

Keen4

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your right. Thanks for your insights. I realize that what I mean to say is Im looking for more suggestions.
 
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Keen4

Keen4

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I dosed lanthum into my overflow and had a 1 micron filter sock in my sump to catch the precipitate and recycle the water back into the filtration. Luckily I only had only overdosed the amount I could decrease in a single day. But that stuff really works. I used PhosphateRX and the instructions say “DO NOT LOWER YOUR PHOSPHATES MORE THAN .5ppm IN A 24-HOUR PERIOD.”

I’m just not sure that dosing a large amount every day is a good thing for your fish/coral. Hopefully others have experience with this.

What about doing another huge water change like 60-70 gallons at once. Your rocks are probably holding some PO4 that will leach back out. But at least you would get the level down to a measurable number (hopefully in the 1.0 range) and then you can bring it down a bit every day from there.

I agree with you that this is not a reason to start over. Once you get that phosphate down to a normal high reading, make sure to take things a lot slower in lowering.
Thanks man- I can’t express how much of an idiot I feel like right now through this whole thing. The most I can water change right now is 25 gallons at a time. I did one last night. I’m about ready to just buy a giant Brute trash can and do a Giant water change as recommended then throw out the rubber trash can after I’m done. I live in a small apartment so no room for these giant brutes. I have 1 micron sock that’s 250micron that I’ve been using to siphon the precipitate. A couple of times I used the sock to to dose the elimi-phos which recommends not lower more than .1ppm in a 24hr period. I have tangs which the label also mentions to be cautious as some tangs are sensitive etc.
I agree that my rocks and substrate are holding some po4. I’m always concerned about my copepods being sucked up which I’m sure should be the least of my worries right now. Would you recommend I remove the Tonga rocks I have and dip/rinse them in new salt water mix? I already cleaned out my sump as best I could. What about the plumbing? UV? I think I want to take it apart tonight and clean it out as well. It looks foggy and the tubing looks dusty which makes me wonder about the plumbing system I built.
 
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SMSREEF

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Thanks man- I can’t express how much of an idiot I feel like right now through this whole thing. The most I can water change right now is 25 gallons at a time. I did one last night. I’m about ready to just buy a giant Brute trash can and do a Giant water change as recommended then throw out the rubber trash can after I’m done. I live in a small apartment so no room for these giant brutes. I have 1 micron sock that’s 250micron that I’ve been using to siphon the precipitate. A couple of times I used to to dose the elimi-phos which recommends not lower more than .1ppm in a 24hr period. I have tangs which the label also mentions to be cautious as some tangs are sensitive etc.
I agree that my rocks and substrate are holding some po4. I’m always concerned about my copepods being sucked up which I’m sure should be the least of my worries right now. Would you recommend I remove the Tonga rocks I have and dip/rinse them in new salt water mix? I already cleaned out my sump as best I could. What about the plumbing? UV? I think I want to take it apart tonight and clean it out as well. It looks foggy and the tubing looks dusty which makes me wonder about the plumbing system I built.
I think most of us have made dosing errors. It’s a learning experience.
I used PhosphateRX which is a liquid.
A giant brute is good to have on hand, but I understand the apartment situation.
I would not worry about pods. They find a way to live and when things get back on track, will multiply.
The tangs are tricky, I would hate to hurt them with lanthum, but I’m not sure what the actual problem is caused from, the lanthum, or the precipitate.

The sock I used was this Bag Filter, 155384, BP-420-1 Polypropylene 1 Micron, 4.5" x 20"

@Daddy-o had a thread on using lanthum that has a lot of good info.
 

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