Help for Phosphate, Nitrate, Calcium, PH

[jeswin1.jose]

Hello Friends,

My Tank is now 11 months old.
It has fishes, anemones, live rock, corals. All are doing good.

I need help to bring my below parameters optimum which is not good today.
Phosphate - 4 PPM
Nitrate - 5 PPM
Calcium - 520 PPM.
PH - 7.8

Below parameters are good
KH - 179 PPM
Ammonia - Zero
Nitrite - Zero
Temperature - 24 to 25 degrees
Salinity - 1.025 - 1.026 SG

Used API Reef and Marine Test kits.

I have below supplements with me
1) Carib Sea Buffer Plus - to stabilize PH and raise carbonate hardness
2) Redsea Algae Management Nitrate Phosphate control
3) Aquaforest Phosphate -, used in a canister filter
4) Reef Kalkwaswer


But for me only Phosphate reduction and Calcium reduction is required and need to raise PH also.
And Nitrate value is good. So I am not sure which all supplements should I use, such that nitrate is not affected and phosphate only can be reduced.

And without Impacting values of Calcium and Carbonate Hardness how can I raise PH.

 

[CasperOe]

Forget about all your additives, supplements and chemicals for a minute!

What's your water change schedule? You're quite clearly adding nutrients to your tank that is not taken up by anything- so cut back on feeding also..

What goes in must come out, either through your livestock using it, filtration or dilution (water change).

 

[jeswin1.jose]

Water change is monthly once 30%.
Tank size 3.5 feet and 320 litres.
Feed only given daily 1 time , 2-3 small pellets per fish ratio.
Ammonia, Nitrite is zero always.
In addition to sump filtration

 

[gbroadbridge]

Hello Friends,

My Tank is now 11 months old.
It has fishes, anemones, live rock, corals. All are doing good.

I need help to bring my below parameters optimum which is not good today.
Phosphate - 4 PPM
Nitrate - 5 PPM
Calcium - 520 PPM.
PH - 7.8

Below parameters are good
KH - 179 PPM
Ammonia - Zero
Nitrite - Zero
Temperature - 24 to 25 degrees
Salinity - 1.025 - 1.026 SG

Used API Reef and Marine Test kits.

I have below supplements with me
1) Carib Sea Buffer Plus - to stabilize PH and raise carbonate hardness
2) Redsea Algae Management Nitrate Phosphate control
3) Aquaforest Phosphate -, used in a canister filter
4) Reef Kalkwaswer


But for me only Phosphate reduction and Calcium reduction is required and need to raise PH also.
And Nitrate value is good. So I am not sure which all supplements should I use, such that nitrate is not affected and phosphate only can be reduced.

And without Impacting values of Calcium and Carbonate Hardness how can I raise PH.

Your parameters are all okay apart from Phosphate.

I'd suggest getting a better phosphate test, perhaps get an LFS to test for you but make sure they are not using API test kits which are useless for reef tanks.

If the phosphate is indeed very high, you can use Seachem Phosguard to bring it down as it works very well in canister filters. Aquaforest Phosphate Minus is GFO which can be used in a canister but does not work as well.

Don't worry about pH. 7.8 is fine.

You should do 10% water changes weekly until this is under control

 

[jeswin1.jose]

Your parameters are all okay apart from Phosphate.

I'd suggest getting a better phosphate test, perhaps get an LFS to test for you but make sure they are not using API test kits which are useless for reef tanks.

If the phosphate is indeed very high, you can use Seachem Phosguard to bring it down as it works very well in canister filters. Aquaforest Phosphate Minus is GFO which can be used in a canister but does not work as well.

Don't worry about pH. 7.8 is fine.

You should do 10% water changes weekly until this is under control

I have tried using Seached Phosguard and also did water change weekly. But the Phosphate remains at 4-5 PPM. Any suggestion in this regard ?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I have tried using Seached Phosguard and also did water change weekly. But the Phosphate remains at 4-5 PPM. Any suggestion in this regard ?

If phosphate is really 4-5 ppm, any binder will rapidly be depleted. If there is good flow though it, it will be depleted in much less than 1 day.

I rarely suggest lanthanum dosing for phosphate removal, but in a case of 4 ppm phosphate, it is likely warranted and the most effective way to go. Binders such as GFO and phosguard (aluminum oxide) will work well, but will be much more expensive.