- Joined
- May 7, 2019
- Messages
- 111
- Reaction score
- 79
I've been battling high phosphates (and resultant alga) for three months now and have been unable to decipher the cause of such. On Saturday I do a weekly 10% water change, vacuuming the gravel and blowing off the rocks, yet my phosphates are still at 0.3. Yesterday (Wednesday, mid-week) I also did a 15% water change while vacuuming out the sump - thought there might be some detritus in there that is causing the problem. Yet today my phosphates are still at 0.3!
I've been feeding the same amount of the same frozen food for the past two years, so I don't think that's the issue. The only other variable I can think of is a small piece of rock I had placed in the tank a few months ago. So I'm thinking that maybe it's leaching phosphates into the tank???
So I'm considering testing the rock for phosphate leaching:
1. Put some newly mixed salt water in a bucket and test it for phosphates (with Hanna ULP Checker).
2. Put the rock in question in the bucket of salt water, wait 5-7 days, and test it again for phosphate (again, with Hanna ULP Checkeer).
Does this make sense? I know there are a myriad of ways to lower the phosphate, but I'm really trying to find out what the source of the high phosphate levels might be!
I've been feeding the same amount of the same frozen food for the past two years, so I don't think that's the issue. The only other variable I can think of is a small piece of rock I had placed in the tank a few months ago. So I'm thinking that maybe it's leaching phosphates into the tank???
So I'm considering testing the rock for phosphate leaching:
1. Put some newly mixed salt water in a bucket and test it for phosphates (with Hanna ULP Checker).
2. Put the rock in question in the bucket of salt water, wait 5-7 days, and test it again for phosphate (again, with Hanna ULP Checkeer).
Does this make sense? I know there are a myriad of ways to lower the phosphate, but I'm really trying to find out what the source of the high phosphate levels might be!