Let's talk phosphate levels

[JonoH]

Loving this thread and the info being collated.
I have monitored my Phosphate levels over the last year, but havent really managed to get it below 0.1 (sometimes it bumping up closer to 0.2 depending on feeding corals as i have been using Reef Roids).

SPS seem to be loving it, growth has been good and steady - however not all the corals show polyp extension all the time.
Couldnt keep Favia alive, so that could have been perhaps due to the higher nutrients...or just a bad batch perhaps also?
Leather corals grow like weeds!

Tests from this weekend just gone -

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If I liked a tank that used a Zeovit system which happened to use zeolites, would I also have to use those stones? Maybe I don’t believe those had an effect to their results.

What do you think about this scenario?

I see nothing wrong with electing any part of any system you want and not others, as long as you have an idea of what that left out part will do.

In this case, I think of the zeolite as a place bacteria grows, and shaking them up releases bacteria that feeds particulates to corals. If you are not otherwise replacing that food source with something (phyto, bacteria grown elsewhere, etc), then there’s a risk of corals not getting adequate N and P.

 

[Miami Reef]

Thank you. I like to knead my activated carbon and I recently started adding phyto. I found an alternative that fits my values.

I don’t like zeolites because I don’t have space for a reactor, changing the stones is very messy, and they remove potassium, which requires you to test and dose another parameter.

Do zeolites add pollutants to the tank? For example, phosguard releasing aluminum?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thank you. I like to knead my activated carbon and I recently started adding phyto. I found an alternative that fits my values.

I don’t like zeolites because I don’t have space for a reactor, changing the stones is very messy, and they remove potassium, which requires you to test and dose another parameter.

Do zeolites add pollutants to the tank? For example, phosguard releasing aluminum?

I doubt the specific ones used for zeovit are adding significant amounts of pollutants, but I do not know for sure.

 

[Troylee]

I was afraid of getting made fun of.

I’ll ask a simpler version


If I liked a tank that used a Zeovit system which happened to use zeolites, would I also have to use those stones? Maybe I don’t believe those had an effect to their results.

What do you think about this scenario?

Plenty of tanks run them including mine. Idk if they do anything besides give a surface area to grow bacteria thou haha.. my tank is so stable I’m actually scared to pull them off line.

 

[BR260354]

After dosing AmBicarb and DIY Phosphates, my PO4 decided to rise quickly. PO4 was hovering around 0.01-0.06 doing 4ml a day since around Christmas, then I climbed to 6.0, backed off dosing to 2ml, then 1ml. Now I'm at 0.52 for PO4. I stopped doing phosphates at this time.

My observations so far are my branching hammer and a couple of frogspawns are not as full. Same for the blastos. Other SPS and torches seem to be fine.

BTW, my NO3 is at 11.5. Just trying to get my balance.

Hopefully, backing off phosphate dosing will settle things in. After that, I will restart TM BactoBal.

 

[PR_nano]

Saving to read on later. I just started dosing.

My P04 over the last 2 months.

 

[Luminous74]

My phosphate level (PO₄) has never been above 0.2 ppm. However, what I can say is that I lowered my levels from 0.2 ppm to 0.03 ppm. I achieved this through improved tank maintenance and the use of carbon sources such as vodka and similar methods.

The reaction of my corals, especially my Acanthastrea, was negative. They responded poorly and still looked unhealthy even after three weeks.

My Observations:

My corals thrive best with PO₄ levels above 0.05 ppm.

Within the range of 0.05 to 0.2 ppm, I observed neither negative nor positive changes. From my perspective, this range does not seem to affect the well-being of the corals.

 

[euphlife]

Had a weird experience.
Friday po4 .10
Saturday changed out my plumbing, old pvc that ran 3 returns (2 eductors and 1 extra) and added an extra pump, each eductor powered by its own pump. One pump at 75% (~2500 gph). Now 2 at 70% for 4754 before the eductors. Not the rfg, true eductors.
Sunday po4 .01

Really strange because I fed multiple times today also and my sump is virtually still. It use to bubble a lot from the overflows but now it’s very quiet.

When I changed the plumbing and added extra flow the clams (1 squa 2 max) got a lot happier for some reason.

Kind of stumped

 

[Subsea]

Had a weird experience.
Friday po4 .10
Saturday changed out my plumbing, old pvc that ran 3 returns (2 eductors and 1 extra) and added an extra pump, each eductor powered by its own pump. One pump at 75% (~2500 gph). Now 2 at 70% for 4754 before the eductors. Not the rfg, true eductors.
Sunday po4 .01

Really strange because I fed multiple times today also and my sump is virtually still. It use to bubble a lot from the overflows but now it’s very quiet.

When I changed the plumbing and added extra flow the clams (1 squa 2 max) got a lot happier for some reason.

Kind of stumped

SoIf phosphate is being consumed at a rapid rate what is nitrate showing you?

 

[euphlife]

SoIf phosphate is being consumed at a rapid rate what is nitrate showing you?

In between 5-10. I say 10 since can’t tell well and daughter didn’t help with the color

 

[Poseidon03]

I recently had my chaeto died off and spike my phosphates to .27. I've been keeping them under .12 for the first 2 years. I don't see any adverse effects at this point, but trying to slowly lower it under .15 with lantanum.

My nitrates went for a stable 15ppm to 25ppm with the die off. Again, trying to slowly lower those too so they are back under 17ppm (stopped dosing neonitro).

Mostly sps dominant and even my homewrecker and no named spath have not shown any change at this point.

I'm still trying to root cause the chaeto dying, but it's all assumptions at this point. The most likely subjects are flow (wavemaker in refugium died a few weeks ago) or iron. I dose trace every day, but don't dose extra iron due to it causing dinos in the past.

My Trident has also been finicky, so waiting on diy kit this week and manual testers for alk. I haven't seen a decrease in alk consumption (I've actually seen an increase), but again, I don't 100% trust my Trident right now.

 

[BryanM]

I'd re-test just to make sure it isn;t a testing error.