Hardware store phosphate sources?

[Jonathan Troutt]

Hey guys been doing some reading and came across some information that said when trying to lower nitrates if phosphates are undetectable then nitrates will not come down.

I have been experiencing super high nitrates for months now. My p04 is undetectable. I have been carbon dosing for 2 months now with no reduction in nitrates.

So I want to try some phosphate dosing. Does anyone know what I can buy from the grocery or hardware store to raise my phosphate levels and in what amount to use it.

My tank is a 40 breeder with 29gal sump. Really close to 60gal total volume

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Why not just order some dry ferts from a reputable source like green leaf aquatics

That was my go to for my planted tanks

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

Why not just order some dry ferts from a reputable source like green leaf aquatics

That was my go to for my planted tanks

Well honestly because I didnt want to have to wait. I want to start dosing asap if that is truly the reason why my nitrates are not dropping.

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Well honestly because I didnt want to have to wait. I want to start dosing asap if that is truly the reason why my nitrates are not dropping.

Could always feed more

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

Could always feed more

True but I would like to only add phosphates.

 

[Jonreefer]

I bought the trisodium phosphate at Lowe’s for $4 for 1lb. From the planted tank calc I added .77g to 500ml and dosing 1ml adds .01ppm to my 35g tank.
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm
According to Randy using trisodium is stronger then potassium phosphate so if the calculator says use 1g of potassium phosphate it’s .77g trisodium
https://www.lowes.com/pd/TSP-Deck-Cleaner/3014064

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

I bought the trisodium phosphate at Lowe’s for $4 for 1lb. From the planted tank calc I added .77g to 500ml and dosing 1ml adds .01ppm to my 35g tank.
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm
According to Randy using trisodium is stronger then potassium phosphate so if the calculator says use 1g of potassium phosphate it’s .77g trisodium
https://www.lowes.com/pd/TSP-Deck-Cleaner/3014064

Yes sir thank you. I discovered that TSP would work. I now have a box of it. My nitrates are stupid high 100ppm. Where do you think I should bring my phosphates up to

 

[Jonreefer]

I dont have an answer for that. I started dosing nitrate and phos because no matter what i did i could not get any reading above 0
I am only dosing to get my phosphates to around .03 but I am only dosing and holding my nitrate at around 3ppm

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

I dont have an answer for that. I started dosing nitrate and phos because no matter what i did i could not get any reading above 0
I am only dosing to get my phosphates to around .03 but I am only dosing and holding my nitrate at around 3ppm

Ok I will start slow then. And slowly increase them see what happens.

 

[KrisReef]

What you are doing is trying to add the missing fuel to get the fire going. Add a very small amount of Phosphate today, and retest your nitrates tomorrow to see if they have decreased as a result. If the addition goes well and nitrates come down, repeat the addition to slowly move nitrates to a lower level. You should check Phosphate along the way, but if you never detect the addition but lower nitrates then you are adding the missing fuel for the microbial degradation of nitrates.

If low phosphate isn’t the issue, adding additional will not impact nitrates as you desire. Adding Phosphate will probably help, but it might not.

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

What you are doing is trying to add the missing fuel to get the fire going. Add a very small amount of Phosphate today, and retest your nitrates tomorrow to see if they have decreased as a result. If the addition goes well and nitrates come down, repeat the addition to slowly move nitrates to a lower level. You should check Phosphate along the way, but if you never detect the addition but lower nitrates then you are adding the missing fuel for the microbial degradation of nitrates.

If low phosphate isn’t the issue, adding additional will not impact nitrates as you desire. Adding Phosphate will probably help, but it might not.

Thanks man for taking the time to reply. I am going to shoot for .05ppm and see where that takes me.

I purchased some NoPox and chemipure blue today. But got to reading a little more in depth about phosphates and such especially since I am dosing 3.5ml a day of vodka and now seeing a reduction. Not even seeing a stable level. Just a steady increase.

I am going to hold off on the NoPox and chemipure for now. But it’s one my arsenal of need be

Thanks again I will report back tomorrow

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I recommend food grade sodium or potassium phosphate over hardware store grades.

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

I recommend food grade sodium or potassium phosphate over hardware store grades.

Yes I would rather have that as well but before I commit I figured I could see if that was my problem. If in fact I need to start dosing PO4 then I will buy some food grade.

Ok that being said. I dosed to bring my PO4 up to .05ppm last night. I feel like I have had a 1/4in of algae on the glass of my tank in less than 24 hours. Nitrates have always dropped.

That algae in the first picture was barely there last night and I’ve never had an issue with algae on my glass like this.

The growth on my overflow happened overnight as well

 

[Jonreefer]

my dosing I am having to clean my glass about twice a day but its not hair algae its the typical film we get. My situation was different I couldnt get anything above 0 for nitrate or phos. I will say I am ok with it because my SPS are already showing signs of very bright color spots that were never there before.

 

[JeepinReefer]

In addition to algae growth you may notice higher daytime pH as well. I can almost tell when my tank has become nutrient limited because my pH doesn't get as high during the day when it is limited. Good luck

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It costs less than $7 from amazon, so I personally can’t see a reason to use a lower grade, even for a test.

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

It costs less than $7 from amazon, so I personally can’t see a reason to use a lower grade, even for a test.

Honestly Randy it is because I didn’t want to wait on it. I know that’s a poor excuse. But at this point the food grade or ordered.

I ordered food grade TSP.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Honestly Randy it is because I didn’t want to wait on it. I know that’s a poor excuse. But at this point the food grade or ordered.

I ordered food grade TSP.

Ok, I understand that. [emoji3]

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

Ok, I understand that. [emoji3]

Thank you for chiming in. I really appreciate you taking the time to do so!