High phosphate, Lanthum Chloride into skimmer?

[Reef Puncher]

So i dont have filter socks, i use filter floss in a plastic cup. im worried that dosing lanthum might leech past the floss, its def not as dense as 5 micron sock. someone else suggested that i put it into skimmer. Does this work? Do i just take off the cup, and drop it down into the bubbles? Do it while its on right?

I feed the same amount every day, but cannot for the life of me understand why my phosphates spike sometimes. Im not talking large spikes, but they will jump from 0.06 to 1.16 in like a day sometimes. i do feed benepets a few days a week, and red sea AB+ a couple days a week. sometimes mix the two together. my only guess is thats what is spiking my phosphates?

 

[BryanM]

Seems benepets might be the cause from some quick reading.

Dosing LC, I bought a filter sock holder and dosed in to the filter sock. I do not trust that the skimmer will get it all. I've been cautioned that the filter sock might not either, but I've not had any issues.

 

[Dburr1014]

So i dont have filter socks, i use filter floss in a plastic cup. im worried that dosing lanthum might leech past the floss, its def not as dense as 5 micron sock. someone else suggested that i put it into skimmer. Does this work? Do i just take off the cup, and drop it down into the bubbles? Do it while its on right?

I feed the same amount every day, but cannot for the life of me understand why my phosphates spike sometimes. Im not talking large spikes, but they will jump from 0.06 to 1.16 in like a day sometimes. i do feed benepets a few days a week, and red sea AB+ a couple days a week. sometimes mix the two together. my only guess is thats what is spiking my phosphates?

Do you have any tangs?

 

[Reef Puncher]

Do you have any tangs?

yea 1 blue tang why?

 

[Dburr1014]

yea 1 blue tang why?

Some people experience issues with tangs and some do not.

Some say it is the Zebrasoma family.
Proceed with caution and do some homework.

 

[areefer01]

So i dont have filter socks, i use filter floss in a plastic cup. im worried that dosing lanthum might leech past the floss, its def not as dense as 5 micron sock. someone else suggested that i put it into skimmer. Does this work? Do i just take off the cup, and drop it down into the bubbles? Do it while its on right?

I feed the same amount every day, but cannot for the life of me understand why my phosphates spike sometimes. Im not talking large spikes, but they will jump from 0.06 to 1.16 in like a day sometimes. i do feed benepets a few days a week, and red sea AB+ a couple days a week. sometimes mix the two together. my only guess is thats what is spiking my phosphates?

Ignoring LC for a spell my suggestion would be to test phosphates daily, at the same time, collecting the water sample from the same location over a week or two in order to see the trend. I would also do 3 tests, back to back, again pulling fresh samples from the same location, and see how those results compare.

This way you are checking the hobbyist testing methods (by doing 3 tests back, to back) and the test kit consistency. Also you are collecting measurements at the same time daily and looking at the trend. Correlate that data to your daily aquarium actions like feeding or other tasks.

Data is important. Trends are important. Go from there. The hobby is odd in that phosphate numbers can be scary yet many forget we never tested for it 15 years ago. I'm not saying it is or is not important but a few of us have phosphate numbers that are high without any visible signs of algae or other issues. Mine peaked at 2.2 ppm and I have a mixed reef with large sps colonies.

TL; DR - collect some data. Also there is a long thread on the reef central archive that discusses LC dosing that is well worth a reed. Taking LC, diluting it, and dosing it into a high micron sock in front of the skimmer. Some also dose it directly into the skimmer. LC needs some reading up on those as it can cause other issues if not administered properly. As noted some tangs due to particulates or other.

 

[LPS Bum]

It can be hard on Tangs. As mentioned above, typically with Zebrasomas and Paracanthurus. Some people have big problems, and some have no problems at all.

I’ve always felt there were safer ways to lower phosphates than LC.

 

[Reef Puncher]

Ignoring LC for a spell my suggestion would be to test phosphates daily, at the same time, collecting the water sample from the same location over a week or two in order to see the trend. I would also do 3 tests, back to back, again pulling fresh samples from the same location, and see how those results compare.

This way you are checking the hobbyist testing methods (by doing 3 tests back, to back) and the test kit consistency. Also you are collecting measurements at the same time daily and looking at the trend. Correlate that data to your daily aquarium actions like feeding or other tasks.

Data is important. Trends are important. Go from there. The hobby is odd in that phosphate numbers can be scary yet many forget we never tested for it 15 years ago. I'm not saying it is or is not important but a few of us have phosphate numbers that are high without any visible signs of algae or other issues. Mine peaked at 2.2 ppm and I have a mixed reef with large sps colonies.

TL; DR - collect some data. Also there is a long thread on the reef central archive that discusses LC dosing that is well worth a reed. Taking LC, diluting it, and dosing it into a high micron sock in front of the skimmer. Some also dose it directly into the skimmer. LC needs some reading up on those as it can cause other issues if not administered properly. As noted some tangs due to particulates or other.

i gave in and just purchased a 5 micron sock, just to be safer. maybe one day ill get a gfo reactor but i heard those can strip it down to zero if your not on top of it. i do test from same spot, in roughly same time of day, every day when i get home from work around 6pm. right before i feed. i havent ever done back to back tests at same time tho. interesting idea. when i get my christmas bonus, and reviews come out, im really considering getting the maven. that will test my phosphates for me, as many times per day as i want. i just really hope the reviews are good for it. i hear mixed reviews on the trident np. that it wont even detect phsophates under 0.1, and its not accurate until about 0.3 and above.