High phosphates - what's the issue?

[kilnakorr]

I have been really busy lately, and have not focused much on my tank in general.
I finally got time to do some testing last night, and both nitratee and phosphate was pretty high (have been for half a year).

NO3: 24.x
PO4: 0.4

Nitrates have gone down from 37, and phosphate has been somewhere between 0.2 and 0.6 (Hanna phos max).

But what are the issues running with these higher than 'normal' numbers?

Fish are healthy, corals growing etc.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Phosphates will turn your SPS brown. It will grow and everything else. It will just be blah brown.

 

[kilnakorr]

Phosphates will turn your SPS brown. It will grow and everything else. It will just be blah brown.

But the few acros I have are not brown.
Colors are ok, but I'm not really into acros anyway.

 

[Waters]

If everything looks good and continues to look good I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Phosphate has a long history of being blamed for bad stuff when elevated. It may or may not play a role in some of these issues, relative to levels such as 0.05 ppm, but some great tanks with very colorful and thrivign corals have 1+ ppm phosphate.