Phos-Feed

[drawman]

FWIW I'm still dosing this by hand and it has been doing exactly what I need it to. Elevating phosphate and not ticking off any acros.

 

[Hans-Werner]

@Hans-Werner or @Lou Ekus can you clarify? Is this recommendation specifically for a dosing pump scenario? It’s considerably different than the listed instructions:

Half fill a container with approximately 200ml of RO water and add the calculated amount of Phos-Feed. Stir well to mix the powder and water. Pour the mixture into a high flow area of the aquarium and rinse the cup with aquarium water.



Dosage: Start with a daily dosage of 1 ml (small measuring spoon) Tropic Marin Phos-Feed per 50 US gallons of aquarium water. If after four weeks a phosphate concentration between 0.05 ppm and 0.15 ppm is not reached in the aquarium, double the dosage to 2 ml (larger measuring spoon) per 50 US gallons.



I would like to just make a stock solution I can dose a given amount daily by hand. I can shake before dosing manually.

It is not different.

1 ml of Phos-Feed is 1.2 g. 50 g of Phos-Feed would be 41.7 ml or 21 of the larger measuring spoons (2 ml) and 42 of the smaller measuring spoons (1 ml).

25 ml of the solution is 1/40 of 1 l solution. 25 ml solution per 53 US-gallons = 1.04 ml Phos-Feed powder per 53 US-gallon = 1 small measuring scoop (1 ml) Phos-Feed powder per 51 US-gallon.

I think this is close enough.

 

[spsick]

It is not different.

1 ml of Phos-Feed is 1.2 g. 50 g of Phos-Feed would be 41.7 ml or 21 of the larger measuring spoons (2 ml) and 42 of the smaller measuring spoons (1 ml).

25 ml of the solution is 1/40 of 1 l solution. 25 ml solution per 53 US-gallons = 1.04 ml Phos-Feed powder per 53 US-gallon = 1 small measuring scoop (1 ml) Phos-Feed powder per 51 US-gallon.

I think this is close enough.

Thank you Hans. I think the confusing part was the reference to 1ml but it was referring to the powder not the mixed solution.

 

[spsick]

FWIW I'm still dosing this by hand and it has been doing exactly what I need it to. Elevating phosphate and not ticking off any acros.

Is it making a predictable/measurable phosphate increase? Or is it a delayed thing like AFR?

 

[Hans-Werner]

Is it making a predictable/measurable phosphate increase? Or is it a delayed thing like AFR?

Phos-Feed are microparticles that are insoluble under normal saltwater pH. This means it will not be measured by any test kits or analysis after the microparticles are out of the water and until the phosphate is brought into the nutrient cycles by bacteria, uptake and digestion etc..

For me the indicator are the corals, everything else is more or less "chasing numbers". The signs of phosphate starvation in scleractinians are quite clear.

If you are using a product for phosphate supply you likely have low phosphate concentration in the water and/or signs of phosphate deficiency in corals. Now you start dosing Phos-Feed and observing the changes in the corals. This should be sufficient. Measuring and controlling the phosphate concentration makes sense nevertheless to not exceed target concentrations.

While dosing Phos-Feed it is very unlikely or even impossible that corals suffer from phosphate deficiency.

 

[drawman]

Is it making a predictable/measurable phosphate increase? Or is it a delayed thing like AFR?

IIRC when I first started dosing it may have taken 1-3 days to start to notice a measurable difference when dosing 1mL/day to a 60 gallon tank.

I've been dosing every day and at some point in the last month my tank went past the point of equilibrium and now I'm getting a pretty high reading. So I think it has been doing exactly what it was intended to do I just need to back off of it, let PO4 drop, then find a good daily or semi-daily dose.

 

[BriDroid]

Yes, Phos-Feed can be dosed using a dosing pump, but a magnetic stirrer or other stirrer is necessary to stirr up the phosphate microparticules.

We recommend to dissolve 50 g/l or 190 g per US-gallon.

The recommended dosage is 25 ml per 200 l (53 US-gallon).

I’m getting ready to start auto dosing Phos-Feed in the evening in my nano. Chronically low P with the one fish and lots of corals. I’m already dosing ammonium bicarbonate and trisodium phosphate. The corals don’t look as happy as they should, so I’m going to stop the trisodium phosphate and try the Phos-Feed.

I have a magnetic stirrer on a timer to keep the particles suspended. Now if I mix the solution that is posted above, I would be dosing 3.7ml everyday, right?
25ml/53 gallons=0.471ml/gal x 8 gallons = 3.77ml Just checking my math?

 

[Hans-Werner]

I’m getting ready to start auto dosing Phos-Feed in the evening in my nano. Chronically low P with the one fish and lots of corals. I’m already dosing ammonium bicarbonate and trisodium phosphate. The corals don’t look as happy as they should, so I’m going to stop the trisodium phosphate and try the Phos-Feed.

I have a magnetic stirrer on a timer to keep the particles suspended. Now if I mix the solution that is posted above, I would be dosing 3.7ml everyday, right?
25ml/53 gallons=0.471ml/gal x 8 gallons = 3.77ml Just checking my math?

Yes, 3.77 ml would be closer to 3.8 ml but otherwise it's right.

 

[BriDroid]

Yes, 3.77 ml would be closer to 3.8 ml but otherwise it's right.

One more question, is it ok to continue Plus-NP while dosing Phos-Feed, or should I move back to NP-Bacto Balance?

 

[Pod_01]

One more question, is it ok to continue Plus-NP while dosing Phos-Feed, or should I move back to NP-Bacto Balance?

I have a 10gal tank and am using Phos Feed and I dose Plus-NP. The corals look happy so the combination does work.

 

[Hans-Werner]

One more question, is it ok to continue Plus-NP while dosing Phos-Feed, or should I move back to NP-Bacto Balance?

Sorry for my late reply. It is ok to continue Plus-NP.

 

[BriDroid]

One more question: How long can I keep a solution of Phos-Feed? I mixed up 1 liter like was talked about in this thread. I have a magnetic stirrer that comes on 4 times a day to keep everything mixed and I dose once a day in the middle of a mixing cycle.

Will the solution last, or do I need to make smaller batches and change out every few weeks or monthly?

 

[Hans-Werner]

One more question: How long can I keep a solution of Phos-Feed? I mixed up 1 liter like was talked about in this thread. I have a magnetic stirrer that comes on 4 times a day to keep everything mixed and I dose once a day in the middle of a mixing cycle.

Will the solution last, or do I need to make smaller batches and change out every few weeks or monthly?

Since Phos-Feed is inorganic it can be kept in the dark nearly without limits. In a light place algae will start to grow at some point.

 

[dR3ws3r]

I know this thread is a little old, but I had a few questions.

1. Is it ok to dose into the sump, or does it have to go into the main display. I imagine the main display is preferrable, but will it just settle out in the sump or will it eventually make it to the display ... maybe the amount of movement in the sump makes this an impossible question to answer?

2. As the line from the dosing pump to the tank would be pretty vertical for me, wouldn't the particles in the line tend to settle to the bottom. Seem like if that is the case, then this just gets "difficult". I guess if the whole line volume gets pushed through it wouldn't be that bad. That is why, for me, auto dosing into the sump would be preferrable as it is a shorter distance.

 

[BriDroid]

I know this thread is a little old, but I had a few questions.

1. Is it ok to dose into the sump, or does it have to go into the main display. I imagine the main display is preferrable, but will it just settle out in the sump or will it eventually make it to the display ... maybe the amount of movement in the sump makes this an impossible question to answer?

2. As the line from the dosing pump to the tank would be pretty vertical for me, wouldn't the particles in the line tend to settle to the bottom. Seem like if that is the case, then this just gets "difficult". I guess if the whole line volume gets pushed through it wouldn't be that bad. That is why, for me, auto dosing into the sump would be preferrable as it is a shorter distance.

I dose it into my return chamber of my AIO and it seems to work.

I used to dose it and it would settle in the line, it still seemed to push into the tank. Now I’m using a pump that I can run backwards, so I dose, then suck everything back into the container while the stirrer is still running, then shut off the stirrer.