High phosphate reading

[Blucllrmn]

Hello all . I’m new to being a refer . I do have prior fish keep experience though .
I decide to up my game and buy Somme decent test kits as will as the AI prime 16HD . I used the Hanna Checker ULR HI774 to check posthaste level .
Before water change it was 0.50 . I kind of panicked . Did the planed water change and re did the test immediately after work a 0.90 result. I found that I should’ve wait 8-12 hr after water change to test . Today test result is .84 . I don’t understand how it can be higher after a water change that before. The corals look great , I have only had them for about 2 weeks . I use a BRS 4 stage RODI system with 0 TDS . I sent a picture showing the corals .

 

[Blucllrmn]

 

[Boehmtown]

The first test , was your first test. So it might have been off. Or you may have stirred something into the water column. I found the Hanna's to be innacurate over time. Keep testing, that level won't kill anything. Keep testing and do another water change. Check your freshly mixed salt water.

 

[Blucllrmn]

The first test , was your first test. So it might have been off. Or you may have stirred something into the water column. I found the Hanna's to be innacurate over time. Keep testing, that level won't kill anything. Keep testing and do another water change. Check your freshly mixed salt water.

You put my mind at ease but tell me it won’t kill anything . Some of you suggested also came up using AI . I like that you confined those as well. Thank you for a prompt response. I appreciate that

 

[Blucllrmn]

There is also a accuracy of +/- 5% I’m not really a fan of that

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I always suggest to people to go to youtube and watch a video to make sure you're doing it right. Hanna has some funny quirks that if not dine correctly will skew the test.

 

[Boehmtown]

You put my mind at ease but tell me it won’t kill anything . Some of you suggested also came up using AI . I like that you confined those as well. Thank you for a prompt response. I appreciate that

Also if they still use the powder packets, there's a specific way to open them that allows every grain to get in the tube easily. They have YouTube videos. Also it uses light to read the result, it's theoretically sealed, but if you're using it in drastically different lighting scenarios it might read different. For the future if you need it, rowa phos is a tried and true phosphate absorber, use at 1/3 strength, take your time to move your numbers, even a month. Bottoming out your phosphate is infinitely worse than having high phosphate. Same thing goes with nitrate.

 

[DmitryB]

You put my mind at ease but tell me it won’t kill anything . Some of you suggested also came up using AI . I like that you confined those as well. Thank you for a prompt response. I appreciate that

Also if they still use the powder packets, there's a specific way to open them that allows every grain to get in the tube easily. They have YouTube videos. Also it uses light to read the result, it's theoretically sealed, but if you're using it in drastically different lighting scenarios it might read different. For the future if you need it, rowa phos is a tried and true phosphate absorber, use at 1/3 strength, take your time to move your numbers, even a month. Bottoming out your phosphate is infinitely worse than having high phosphate. Same thing goes with nitrate.

Yep still those preposterous packets. I can't believe anyone is a fan of those things.

 

[KrisReef]

Hello all . I’m new to being a refer . I do have prior fish keep experience though .
I decide to up my game and buy Somme decent test kits as will as the AI prime 16HD . I used the Hanna Checker ULR HI774 to check posthaste level .
Before water change it was 0.50 . I kind of panicked . Did the planed water change and re did the test immediately after work a 0.90 result. I found that I should’ve wait 8-12 hr after water change to test . Today test result is .84 . I don’t understand how it can be higher after a water change that before. The corals look great , I have only had them for about 2 weeks . I use a BRS 4 stage RODI system with 0 TDS . I sent a picture showing the corals .

Next time you mix up a water change, test that water and report back P levels. Something isn't working properly, for certain, and this step can help rule out contamination in your salt and RODI mixing process.

The huge results difference may have come from bad reagents, but it's impossible to know where the issue lies without isolating a few of the degrees of freedom

 

[drmor22]

The powder packets are horrible. If I do not get everything in there, I don't believe the results. Surely, they have this planned that some product is going to end up not in the tube. What is crazy, after three years of complete REEF success, I started testing water. Making corrections caused me to kill some of my best corals. I think weekly water changes and small supplements are the way to go. Chasing numbers other than PH, temp, salinity, and Alk. is waste of my time. But this is only my opinion. I had a tank for over 30 years 1981 - 2001. Wet dry's were in, ha. I have canister filters (no refuge, go figure) now and my corals are awesome. (thought I was going to Cichlids, no way.) I had a green serpent starfish for 17 years and and flame angel for over 10 back in the day. Always some new procedure, some new equipment, some new chemical. Just change the water and have good lighting. The salt change has everything. I know corals start to consume more as they grow. I see it. Just had a green bubble tip anemone split into two large ones. My Clam is doing wonderful and also my 5 different shrimps (molting non stop)

. I just think it is just as simple as weekly water changes. And I will leave my rant with that...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Also if they still use the powder packets, there's a specific way to open them that allows every grain to get in the tube easily. They have YouTube videos. Also it uses light to read the result, it's theoretically sealed, but if you're using it in drastically different lighting scenarios it might read different. For the future if you need it, rowa phos is a tried and true phosphate absorber, use at 1/3 strength, take your time to move your numbers, even a month. Bottoming out your phosphate is infinitely worse than having high phosphate. Same thing goes with nitrate.

In a test like this, getting the exact amount of reagent should not matter much. There is excess reagent since there needs to be enough to react with all phosphate ions, even at the max phosphate of the Hanna specification.

 

[BryanM]

You put my mind at ease but tell me it won’t kill anything . Some of you suggested also came up using AI . I like that you confined those as well. Thank you for a prompt response. I appreciate that

Can't guarantee you wont have some coral loss at those levels.

Confirming you're testing correctly with youtube videos is a good idea. After that, do a couple more tests to see where you're really at.

.5? yeah, that's a little high... .84/.9, or worse, .9 really means its likely higher than that since that's the top of that testers range.

Either way, bringing it down with GFO is probably your best option.

Know that there are plenty of successful "dirty" nutrient tanks out there... So one of the best pieces of advice here is to keep calm, watch the tank and let it tell you. Things look good in there now, so any changes should be careful and slow as to not shock things.

 

[Boehmtown]

Can't guarantee you wont have some coral loss at those levels.

Confirming you're testing correctly with youtube videos is a good idea. After that, do a couple more tests to see where you're really at.

.5? yeah, that's a little high... .84/.9, or worse, .9 really means its likely higher than that since that's the top of that testers range.

Either way, bringing it down with GFO is probably your best option.

Know that there are plenty of successful "dirty" nutrient tanks out there... So one of the best pieces of advice here is to keep calm, watch the tank and let it tell you. Things look good in there now, so any changes should be careful and slow as to not shock things.

I can't think of a single coral you would lose at the level. Please enlighten. I've run much higher than that and everything was flourishing

 

[KrisReef]

I'm thinking that these test cuvette's and cleaning them is the likely source of error. I have gotten much more repeatable results since i started rinsing 3X with RODI after each test, and storing the bottles filled with RODI, as was recommended by the crew here in a long forgotten thread somewhere. THis recent thread, that I just noticed, discusses the same situation, (I suspect?)

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/can-cleaning-of-sample-tube-with-citric-acid-affect-the-first-reading-with-the-hanna-ulr-phosphate-method-if-the-test-tube-is-not-cleaned-very-careful.1158660/

 

[c4haskett]

I recently went back to testing with a hanna phosphorus checker that I use once a week. Other than that weekly test, I use salifert as a daily tester. I use the hanna as more of a backup to make sure my salifert numbers are in line. When I use my hanna checker I always use rubber gloves so I do not get any fingerprints on the cuvette. I also use a microfiber cloth to wipe off the cuvette before each use. After testing I rinse it out and store it with RODI water until the next use. If you plan to use GFO, use less than the recommended amount at first because it will lower your phosphates quickly. As others have mentioned, test your RODI water to make sure no phosphates are getting in that way. The test results as you have stated, do have an accuracy of +-5%. Don't get fixated on the exact reading.

 

[Blucllrmn]

That everyone for taking the time to read and reply to my questions Crazy work week and I haven’t had a chance to read all the reply’s in as much detail as I would like . I well over the next few days . Thanks again everyone!