Operating with high phosphates

[Winger]

Hello all. First time poster here. I broke into the hobby about 4 months ago. I have a 20g long tank with a mixture of LPS/Soft corals. My tank is current running at 0.5 ppm phosphates. I don't have algae problems, and all of my corals look great and are growing. My biggest problem is actually a good one, which is my pod population is so high, that my sand is constantly covered in amphipod molts, even though I vacuum it weekly. Everyone says don't chase numbers, and I don't see any issues from the high phosphates, so is there anything I should be worried about?

I believe the phosphates are coming from the rockwork. I purchased live rock from someone who had it in a tank solely for selling pods, and he was keeping the system nutrient rich.

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome!

A good target for phosphate is less than 0.03 especially for a new tank, and if you can keep it very low you will avoid many of the problems we read about.

I find when it’s raised the tank gets a ‘dirty look’ quicker on the glass.

Established tanks can run at different levels, mine are often higher than the target above, but I always keep the figure in mind. You can read up on the science behind it all and potential affects on coral etc.

 

[fish farmer]

Hello all. First time poster here. I broke into the hobby about 4 months ago. I have a 20g long tank with a mixture of LPS/Soft corals. My tank is current running at 0.5 ppm phosphates. I don't have algae problems, and all of my corals look great and are growing. My biggest problem is actually a good one, which is my pod population is so high, that my sand is constantly covered in amphipod molts, even though I vacuum it weekly. Everyone says don't chase numbers, and I don't see any issues from the high phosphates, so is there anything I should be worried about?

I believe the phosphates are coming from the rockwork. I purchased live rock from someone who had it in a tank solely for selling pods, and he was keeping the system nutrient rich.

I'd keep an eye on the level but not panic, especially if you have coral growth and not lots of algae. When my tank was all softies my phos was 1 ppm....but I wouldn't go back that high.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Hello all. First time poster here. I broke into the hobby about 4 months ago. I have a 20g long tank with a mixture of LPS/Soft corals. My tank is current running at 0.5 ppm phosphates. I don't have algae problems, and all of my corals look great and are growing. My biggest problem is actually a good one, which is my pod population is so high, that my sand is constantly covered in amphipod molts, even though I vacuum it weekly. Everyone says don't chase numbers, and I don't see any issues from the high phosphates, so is there anything I should be worried about?

I believe the phosphates are coming from the rockwork. I purchased live rock from someone who had it in a tank solely for selling pods, and he was keeping the system nutrient rich.

Plenty of tanks with LPS and Soft Coral run with phosphates at that level without a problem.

You may wish to bring it down if you start to see excessive algae growth, however keep in mind it would be a process that would take months In order to avoid upsetting existing coral.