Phosphate problems

[bobby.w.hodges]

Have you tested your source water? You could be adding phosphate via top off water and water changes if your rodi unit is needing service.

 

[Esquire805]

They’re pale bc they are starving from the gfo and phosguard. Your obsession with driving them down is doing more harm than good. Stop worrying about po4. Your acros need ammonia/ammonium from fish waste. You need to feed your fish more. How big is your tank and how many fish do you have?

It's a 40 connected to two 10 gallon tanks I would say total volume is 55 I have about 15 fish 2 Sanjay reverse clownfish 1 tang 2 naked clownfish 1 yellow goby 1 cleaner fish 6 chromis 1 devil damsel 1 other damsel

 

[Esquire805]

Have you tested your source water? You could be adding phosphate via top off water and water changes if your rodi unit is needing service.

No I will today I recently just changed out the rodi parts but will test today

 

[canadianeh]

How about Caribsea purple life rocks? Do they leach phosphate?

 

[Esquire805]

How about Caribsea purple life rocks? Do they leach phosphate?

No clue I think sand and rocks can once they become overwhelmed

 

[jda]

Any aragonite, calcite and dolomite binds phosphate and can become a reservoir. This includes, sand, rock, etc. either natural or man made. The aragonite will bind more as the water phosphate increases at an exponential rate. Most man-made or dead/dry rock is make with aragonite bound with eons of terrestrial phosphate - the levels vary by source and type.

If you want to lower it, it is important to go really slow so that the rock releases at the same rate as the media is removing. If you use too much media, the water level P will drop down very low, but as the rock unbinds, the level will get right back up almost to where it was. This bouncing up and down is an issue and will stress coral - lowering is not really an issue. It takes about a day for the rock to unbind back to "equilibrium." The goal is to use a very small amount of GFO, Al Oxide or LC and change it very often (like every day or two).

Most of the people who had issues with GFO used too much and bounced up and down - not understanding what I described above. People who use any kind of phosphate reducing media slowly do not usually have issues. You do need to slow it down and be very deliberate when you reach 1 or 2 ppb - low residual numbers is no issue, but truly going to zero is an issue and only really doable with too much media. People have blamed GFO for issue when they used too much and got to low, too. Don't be one of these folks and you will be OK.

 

[gtrider]

That's not that high. My tank was at .631 last year and now at .264 (Triton ICP tests). My tank is doing great. SPS and LPS.
I wouldn't rush to chase numbers.

 

[Esquire805]

Any aragonite, calcite and dolomite binds phosphate and can become a reservoir. This includes, sand, rock, etc. either natural or man made. The aragonite will bind more as the water phosphate increases at an exponential rate. Most man-made or dead/dry rock is make with aragonite bound with eons of terrestrial phosphate - the levels vary by source and type.

If you want to lower it, it is important to go really slow so that the rock releases at the same rate as the media is removing. If you use too much media, the water level P will drop down very low, but as the rock unbinds, the level will get right back up almost to where it was. This bouncing up and down is an issue and will stress coral - lowering is not really an issue. It takes about a day for the rock to unbind back to "equilibrium." The goal is to use a very small amount of GFO, Al Oxide or LC and change it very often (like every day or two).

Most of the people who had issues with GFO used too much and bounced up and down - not understanding what I described above. People who use any kind of phosphate reducing media slowly do not usually have issues. You do need to slow it down and be very deliberate when you reach 1 or 2 ppb - low residual numbers is no issue, but truly going to zero is an issue and only really doable with too much media. People have blamed GFO for issue when they used too much and got to low, too. Don't be one of these folks and you will be OK.

Yes at this point gfo, phosguard, protein skimmer, vodka dosing, chemipure etc is getting beat up and I have to change it out cause phosphorus must be high. I have a deep sandbed also so it might be in the sand also. The coral I got are only 3-4 weeks old 2 out of the 15 turned white other have mild polyp extension, others are ok

 

[jda]

Lanthum Chloride might be your solution. You still have to go slow, but it is not as expensive nor as time consuming to dose. Dosing a small amount into a filter sock or into the skimmer would get you there eventually.

Having success with higher P levels is a matter of degrees. There are many corals that just do not care at all. I have some that would have stopped growing long ago and would be dead at your levels. Both types are acropora. The stories of people who say that this-or-that high level is OK are indeed having some success, but not same kind as others... and they probably do not care. This is likely why you are seeing some of your 15 get mad, some not care and some in the middle. If you decide not to not worry about your P level, then some of those 15 will not care and you will have weeded out the ones that did not care for your tank.

If your tank is established, then I can save you the trouble... your N is probably between .1 and .5. This is what happens with deep sand beds. Don't let anybody worry you about not having enough Nitrate. First, .1 to .5 is where the ocean is and is not growth limiting. Second, corals will want to get their nitrogen from ammonia and ammonium from the fish waste, so this matters, not the nitrate level. Feed the fish more and the corals will get all the nitrogen that they way, but this adds P as well, so stay on top of your P level.

Once you get the P down a bit, then growing some macro in a fuge might be all that you need. It is growth limited at higher P levels and will not grow as well as if they levels are lower, but it really works if your tank is a good environment for it.

 

[Esquire805]

Lanthum Chloride might be your solution. You still have to go slow, but it is not as expensive nor as time consuming to dose. Dosing a small amount into a filter sock or into the skimmer would get you there eventually.

Having success with higher P levels is a matter of degrees. There are many corals that just do not care at all. I have some that would have stopped growing long ago and would be dead at your levels. Both types are acropora. The stories of people who say that this-or-that high level is OK are indeed having some success, but not same kind as others... and they probably do not care. This is likely why you are seeing some of your 15 get mad, some not care and some in the middle. If you decide not to not worry about your P level, then some of those 15 will not care and you will have weeded out the ones that did not care for your tank.

If your tank is established, then I can save you the trouble... your N is probably between .1 and .5. This is what happens with deep sand beds. Don't let anybody worry you about not having enough Nitrate. First, .1 to .5 is where the ocean is and is not growth limiting. Second, corals will want to get their nitrogen from ammonia and ammonium from the fish waste, so this matters, not the nitrate level. Feed the fish more and the corals will get all the nitrogen that they way, but this adds P as well, so stay on top of your P level.

Once you get the P down a bit, then growing some macro in a fuge might be all that you need. It is growth limited at higher P levels and will not grow as well as if they levels are lower, but it really works if your tank is a good environment for it.

Yes I do have some macro that have grown fast. I did a test yesterday and it was at 31ppb so it might go back up h
Who knows I will test again today