Hi all,
I'm working on stabilizing my phosphate levels after a bloom of amphidium dinos sprouted up on my sandbed from too few feedings and too many water changes. I've been avoiding feeding coral foods to prevent the dinos from blooming even more. My plan of attack is to dose neophos coupled with microbacter clean + new sources of biodiversity. I have added small pieces of FL live rock around the sand bed, and will begin adding more pods and dosing phyto this week. I also plan on adding a bit of FL Keys live sand as well.
After 3 weeks of dosing neophos, my phosphate still plummets to 0 after 24 hours. I'm up to dosing about .1-.12 ppm a day and it's still being used up. Now I know rocks and sand can absorb a good amount of it and this could be the cause, but would dosing microbacter clean simultaneously with neophos cause me to be in an endless 0 phosphate loop? There is no significant algae on the rocks other than a film of algae on the back wall, so I don't think it's being used by algae. I have a very small amount of chaeto as well, but I am not running my fuge light at all currently and it has not grown. If microbacter clean has the ability to limit phosphate, I am considering ditching this dosing altogether to favor a balanced phosphate concentration in the tank.
My nitrates are rock solid around 5ppm, but my inability to get phosphates stable I think is hindering my progress with getting these dinos knocked back, and irritating a couple of my corals.
Thanks for any advice!
I'm working on stabilizing my phosphate levels after a bloom of amphidium dinos sprouted up on my sandbed from too few feedings and too many water changes. I've been avoiding feeding coral foods to prevent the dinos from blooming even more. My plan of attack is to dose neophos coupled with microbacter clean + new sources of biodiversity. I have added small pieces of FL live rock around the sand bed, and will begin adding more pods and dosing phyto this week. I also plan on adding a bit of FL Keys live sand as well.
After 3 weeks of dosing neophos, my phosphate still plummets to 0 after 24 hours. I'm up to dosing about .1-.12 ppm a day and it's still being used up. Now I know rocks and sand can absorb a good amount of it and this could be the cause, but would dosing microbacter clean simultaneously with neophos cause me to be in an endless 0 phosphate loop? There is no significant algae on the rocks other than a film of algae on the back wall, so I don't think it's being used by algae. I have a very small amount of chaeto as well, but I am not running my fuge light at all currently and it has not grown. If microbacter clean has the ability to limit phosphate, I am considering ditching this dosing altogether to favor a balanced phosphate concentration in the tank.
My nitrates are rock solid around 5ppm, but my inability to get phosphates stable I think is hindering my progress with getting these dinos knocked back, and irritating a couple of my corals.
Thanks for any advice!