Nitrate 5PPM, Phosphate .3

[clifg]

Having a hard time trying to decode what's going on, first here are the full specs:

53 GAL RSR XL200

SG - 35
ORP - 462
PH - 7.98-8.2
TEMP - 77.7
ALK - 9.88
CA - 471
MG - 1388

Currently:
Nitrates at 5PPM
Phospate at .3 PPM

RO/DI 0TDS
Red Sea Reefer Pro
Nyos Nitrate
Hanna ULR phosphate

Got an ICP test back from Triton and it read .3 phosphate. I freaked out a bit and tested that day (2 weeks since sending in Triton) and it was at .6. Everything looks healthy at .6 and continues to look healthy at .3. Two nights ago I got a .4 reading and changed out my chemi-pure blue and did about 10 gallons in water change. The next day I was down to .26 and today up to .3 with no feeding yet in between those tests. I think it's @Paul B that runs his phosphates higher than the norm? Anyway, I'm at .3 right now and everything continues to look healthy. I have poly extension on acros, although not super full. I have some phosban coming in shortly. Just trying to figure out why my phosphates are so high and why it doesn't really look like anything is hurting as a result. Here's the ICP & N-DOC:

 

[vabben]

Do you feed pellets? Pellets normally contain higher levels of phosphate compared to frozen food.

You could run GFO and start feeding more frozen over pellets.

 

[Jekyl]

If the tank seems healthy, that's all that matters. Chasing a magical number will often cause more issues. My nitrate and phosphate are way higher and I don't mess with it.

 

[jeffchapok]

If the tank seems healthy, that's all that matters. Chasing a magical number will often cause more issues. My nitrate and phosphate are way higher and I don't mess with it.

Same here, .5 and 50 and my tank is thriving. Focus on results, not numbers.

 

[clifg]

@vabben I just recently started mixing in pellets & flake in rotation with frozen. It's about 80% frozen, 15% nyos refrigerated (gold pods, etc), 5% flake/pellet. I do feel like I didn't start the pellet/flake until after I had already sent out that first ICP, though.

@Jekyl @jeffchapok Thanks for the encouragement, this is what I was leaning towards. My only concern is acclimation and additional food. Do you acclimate longer because more than likely it's coming from a system with lower phosphate? How do you know if you were to feed a round of reef roids/AB+ that that increased PO4 wouldn't be the tipping point?.

I did also notice that when I lower my phosphates I seem to get a reddish algae bloom. I've battled dinos before and this doesn't look anything like that. I would think my PO4 is too high for diatoms anyway, but could it be my nitrates getting lower and my phosphate staying the same?

 

[PatW]

If you are not having issues with algae and your corals are colorful and growing, I would suggest not messing with it. Or if you DO mess with it, try to lower the phosphates gradually. You could run GFO in a reactor. I understand that GFO quickly strips phosphate from the water. Fast changes are not good. So it is probably best to run small amounts of GFO in stages and monitor the phosphate.

I run phosphates at 0 with Hanna ULR phosphorous test. I have Chaeto in a refugium and a large skimmer. I have found that if I feed heavily the day before, I get a low reading the next morning. Also, sometimes I get a large reading on phosphates. Today I got .1 ppm. I reran the test and got 0. I have that happen ever few days. I think if I get a little phosphate rich particulate in the sample, it spikes the test. I have a source of particulates in my tank. I have 3 tangs who eat nori every day and poop clouds of particles. But effectively, corals are good at grabbing phosphate rich particulates. I have observed that all my corals are owing fine even the LPS corals I have. I run an SPS dominant system with LPS at the bottom.

 

[jeffchapok]

@Jekyl @jeffchapok Thanks for the encouragement, this is what I was leaning towards. My only concern is acclimation and additional food. Do you acclimate longer because more than likely it's coming from a system with lower phosphate? How do you know if you were to feed a round of reef roids/AB+ that that increased PO4 wouldn't be the tipping point?.

I don't do anything special for acclimation, just 30-45 minutes drip for fish and inverts. I don't acclimate corals at all. Drop and plop.