I'm Confused About This?

[StartingATank]

So, I just bought NeoPhos, and this is to help me get rid of diatoms. I was told I need to raise my phosphates levels to .1 PPM, and I am not dosing yet because I need some other dosings to go with this. It says on the bottle, word for word, "Apple NeoPhos as directed below to attain a minimum phosphate concentration of ~0.02 ppm. Do Not Exceed .04 ppm!" I don't know if this means that I shouldn't go over .04 but I need to, or not to add more than .04 phosphate at a time. It gives me calculations about how much I should put in if I want my phosphates at a certain level, and I would need to raise my phosphates by .09 ppm. The livestock I have is 2 Clownfish, 2 Astraea Snails, 1 Trochus Snail, 1 Emerald Crab, and 1 Hermit Crab. My Tank Is A Red Sea Nano Xl. My Lights Are Currently Turned Off. So, Should I Add Enough At Once For It to be .1 ppm, Or Should I Add At Most .04 At A Time Until It Gets There.

 

[tbrown]

Add half of the dose needed to get to 0.09, give it 15-20 minutes, and test again. Then, tomorrow do the same thing. I'd do the same thing a third day, then let it rest 4-5 days, test again, see how much it dropped, divide that by 4 or 5 (however many days you let it go) and that's your daily usage.

If you have new rocks or sand, there's a possibility that you're losing a lot of phosphates to those as they're trying to equalize.

 

[tbrown]

New rock and sand could make that drop overnight and you may have to just keep adding the dosage for a week or two everyday until you hit equalization.

 

[Science/G]

Adding phosphates is probably going to just feed the Diatoms. As long as they are not zero, you're ok. Shoot for .06-.1

 

[StartingATank]

I have had my tank for 4 months

 

[Lavey29]

I have had my tank for 4 months

Diatoms are normal in a new tank and go away on their own in a few weeks. If they persist then you have silicates in your RODI.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

NeoPhos as directed below to attain a minimum phosphate concentration of ~0.02 ppm. Do Not Exceed .04 ppm!"

Is diatoms a typo? Do you mean dinos?

Folks do not typically dose anything to help get rid of diatoms.


On the phosphate level advice, I recommend higher levels than Brightwell.

 

[StartingATank]

I was told at the store they were both an algae and annoying, but the tanks they have at the store have nothing it it, only purple algae, and he said that this is what they dose to keep it away, so yeah

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I was told at the store they were both an algae and annoying, but the tanks they have at the store have nothing it it, only purple algae, and he said that this is what they dose to keep it away, so yeah

If you really mean diatoms, just wait it out. Dosing is not helpful. They will slowly run out of silicate in the water, as long as you are using RO/Di. They are typically not a problem in established tanks.