Phosphates are outta control

splooto · Jan 24, 2025

I am having an absolutely terrible time and I'm just not sure where to go from here.
Recently discovered my massive cyano issues are caused by INSANE levels of phosphates in all of my tanks, they are higher than the API test can even read, but I have absolutely no idea why.
I'm unsure if discussions like this are allowed here, but I've scowered the internet everywhere and I am just not finding anything at all.
I have 4 freshwater tanks, they all have phosphates over 10.0 ppm, even after fasting for days after doing large water changes, it will not go back down for more than 24 hours. Filters are all clean, substrate is clean, they all have one piece of driftwood and floating plants. I fear doing any more deep cleaning and risking my cycle being demolished because of it, I've already cleaned all media bags, sponges, and filters.
There are periods where my tap water is being flushed with phosphates, but even on days where the phosphates from the tap are only 0.2 max, if I leave that in a bucket overnight, with literally nothing else in it, it rises overnight to 3.0 or more.

??????????? What is happening ?????????????
I have phosphguard in media bags for a week now and it has seemed to make absolutely zero difference, or if it has, it's been undetectably so. I only put that in two tanks because I am aware if it exhausts itself it will just leech the phosphates back into the water, but all of the tanks are reading equally as insane, even just 2 days after 60% water change.

I wanted to post someplace not specific to reef aquariums as I know I really don't belong here, but I can really only find people discussing this type of issues on reef forums.
I mean, I want to fix this issue, but I have no idea what's causing it, I don't feel like driftwood and plants are enough to produce so much compost to turn the water this lousy with phosphates like this, and why on earth do buckets of water with nothing else in them also have a similar result? Surely if this was just a tap water issue, it would be bad right out of the tap, no? Why is it raising like this with nothing else being added??

I don't think I'm overfeeding? I mean I feed what they will eat in 2-3 minutes.
Please help me, I have no idea what's going on :((((((((((

I admit I will probably just have to go with RO water soon, I just don't quite have the money or setup for that just yet.

Kingsley_Reef · Jan 24, 2025

Never had luck with phos guard but GFO in the BRS mini reactor changed the game for my phosphates along with good husbandry frequent water changes and a good skimmer

Dan_P · Jan 25, 2025

splooto said:
I am having an absolutely terrible time and I'm just not sure where to go from here.
Recently discovered my massive cyano issues are caused by INSANE levels of phosphates in all of my tanks, they are higher than the API test can even read, but I have absolutely no idea why.
I'm unsure if discussions like this are allowed here, but I've scowered the internet everywhere and I am just not finding anything at all.
I have 4 freshwater tanks, they all have phosphates over 10.0 ppm, even after fasting for days after doing large water changes, it will not go back down for more than 24 hours. Filters are all clean, substrate is clean, they all have one piece of driftwood and floating plants. I fear doing any more deep cleaning and risking my cycle being demolished because of it, I've already cleaned all media bags, sponges, and filters.
There are periods where my tap water is being flushed with phosphates, but even on days where the phosphates from the tap are only 0.2 max, if I leave that in a bucket overnight, with literally nothing else in it, it rises overnight to 3.0 or more.

??????????? What is happening ?????????????
I have phosphguard in media bags for a week now and it has seemed to make absolutely zero difference, or if it has, it's been undetectably so. I only put that in two tanks because I am aware if it exhausts itself it will just leech the phosphates back into the water, but all of the tanks are reading equally as insane, even just 2 days after 60% water change.

I wanted to post someplace not specific to reef aquariums as I know I really don't belong here, but I can really only find people discussing this type of issues on reef forums.
I mean, I want to fix this issue, but I have no idea what's causing it, I don't feel like driftwood and plants are enough to produce so much compost to turn the water this lousy with phosphates like this, and why on earth do buckets of water with nothing else in them also have a similar result? Surely if this was just a tap water issue, it would be bad right out of the tap, no? Why is it raising like this with nothing else being added??

I don't think I'm overfeeding? I mean I feed what they will eat in 2-3 minutes.
Please help me, I have no idea what's going on :((((((((((

I admit I will probably just have to go with RO water soon, I just don't quite have the money or setup for that just yet.

Just to clarify, the water taken from the tap has no phosphate but sitting in the bucket does have phosphate?

VintageReefer · Jan 25, 2025

Phosguard works and what you do is put in the reccomended amount and after 4 days if numbers don’t come down you need to replace it and repeat every 4 days until you see improvement

VintageReefer · Jan 25, 2025

Phosguard also will not leach phosphates back into the water

Skywater · Jan 25, 2025

splooto said:
I am having an absolutely terrible time and I'm just not sure where to go from here.
Recently discovered my massive cyano issues are caused by INSANE levels of phosphates in all of my tanks, they are higher than the API test can even read, but I have absolutely no idea why.
I'm unsure if discussions like this are allowed here, but I've scowered the internet everywhere and I am just not finding anything at all.
I have 4 freshwater tanks, they all have phosphates over 10.0 ppm, even after fasting for days after doing large water changes, it will not go back down for more than 24 hours. Filters are all clean, substrate is clean, they all have one piece of driftwood and floating plants. I fear doing any more deep cleaning and risking my cycle being demolished because of it, I've already cleaned all media bags, sponges, and filters.
There are periods where my tap water is being flushed with phosphates, but even on days where the phosphates from the tap are only 0.2 max, if I leave that in a bucket overnight, with literally nothing else in it, it rises overnight to 3.0 or more.

??????????? What is happening ?????????????
I have phosphguard in media bags for a week now and it has seemed to make absolutely zero difference, or if it has, it's been undetectably so. I only put that in two tanks because I am aware if it exhausts itself it will just leech the phosphates back into the water, but all of the tanks are reading equally as insane, even just 2 days after 60% water change.

I wanted to post someplace not specific to reef aquariums as I know I really don't belong here, but I can really only find people discussing this type of issues on reef forums.
I mean, I want to fix this issue, but I have no idea what's causing it, I don't feel like driftwood and plants are enough to produce so much compost to turn the water this lousy with phosphates like this, and why on earth do buckets of water with nothing else in them also have a similar result? Surely if this was just a tap water issue, it would be bad right out of the tap, no? Why is it raising like this with nothing else being added??

I don't think I'm overfeeding? I mean I feed what they will eat in 2-3 minutes.
Please help me, I have no idea what's going on :((((((((((

I admit I will probably just have to go with RO water soon, I just don't quite have the money or setup for that just yet.

Got to do high percent water changes with distilled water (test first jug for phosphates 1st) Someone near your locality may have some high quality RO water they could help you with. I like ROWA phosphate remover. The root of the problem appears to be the continual build up from the tap water. I would run a high quality filter carbon at the same time as the phosphate absorber to pick up other things that may have already compounded in your systems. You can conquer this.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 25, 2025

I would not suggest water changes, as even a 100% changes may not drop phosphate as much as desired.

Any binder will be depleted in less than a day with sufficient contact with 10 ppm phosphate.

Skywater · Jan 25, 2025

splooto said:
I am having an absolutely terrible time and I'm just not sure where to go from here.
Recently discovered my massive cyano issues are caused by INSANE levels of phosphates in all of my tanks, they are higher than the API test can even read, but I have absolutely no idea why.
I'm unsure if discussions like this are allowed here, but I've scowered the internet everywhere and I am just not finding anything at all.
I have 4 freshwater tanks, they all have phosphates over 10.0 ppm, even after fasting for days after doing large water changes, it will not go back down for more than 24 hours. Filters are all clean, substrate is clean, they all have one piece of driftwood and floating plants. I fear doing any more deep cleaning and risking my cycle being demolished because of it, I've already cleaned all media bags, sponges, and filters.
There are periods where my tap water is being flushed with phosphates, but even on days where the phosphates from the tap are only 0.2 max, if I leave that in a bucket overnight, with literally nothing else in it, it rises overnight to 3.0 or more.

??????????? What is happening ?????????????
I have phosphguard in media bags for a week now and it has seemed to make absolutely zero difference, or if it has, it's been undetectably so. I only put that in two tanks because I am aware if it exhausts itself it will just leech the phosphates back into the water, but all of the tanks are reading equally as insane, even just 2 days after 60% water change.

I wanted to post someplace not specific to reef aquariums as I know I really don't belong here, but I can really only find people discussing this type of issues on reef forums.
I mean, I want to fix this issue, but I have no idea what's causing it, I don't feel like driftwood and plants are enough to produce so much compost to turn the water this lousy with phosphates like this, and why on earth do buckets of water with nothing else in them also have a similar result? Surely if this was just a tap water issue, it would be bad right out of the tap, no? Why is it raising like this with nothing else being added??

I don't think I'm overfeeding? I mean I feed what they will eat in 2-3 minutes.
Please help me, I have no idea what's going on :((((((((((

I admit I will probably just have to go with RO water soon, I just don't quite have the money or setup for that just yet.

This is a link from a forum that has dealt with excessive phosphates leeching from particular driftwood. https://www.plantedtank.net/threads/help-new-driftwood-leaching-a-lot-of-phosphate.1312347/
However you have said that your tap water continues to test high in phosphates. I would set the driftwood aside and clear most of the phosphates out of the water column. I would discontinue using that tapwater.
Someone in your local area could probably help you with some RO water if distilled is more than you could buy. Possibly someone in the rural areas may have well water that test substantially lower in phosphates. That would make your water changes more economical. Would like to see a picture of one your aquariums. All problems are solvable.

Ksturg · Jan 25, 2025

splooto said:
I am having an absolutely terrible time and I'm just not sure where to go from here.
Recently discovered my massive cyano issues are caused by INSANE levels of phosphates in all of my tanks, they are higher than the API test can even read, but I have absolutely no idea why.
I'm unsure if discussions like this are allowed here, but I've scowered the internet everywhere and I am just not finding anything at all.
I have 4 freshwater tanks, they all have phosphates over 10.0 ppm, even after fasting for days after doing large water changes, it will not go back down for more than 24 hours. Filters are all clean, substrate is clean, they all have one piece of driftwood and floating plants. I fear doing any more deep cleaning and risking my cycle being demolished because of it, I've already cleaned all media bags, sponges, and filters.
There are periods where my tap water is being flushed with phosphates, but even on days where the phosphates from the tap are only 0.2 max, if I leave that in a bucket overnight, with literally nothing else in it, it rises overnight to 3.0 or more.

??????????? What is happening ?????????????
I have phosphguard in media bags for a week now and it has seemed to make absolutely zero difference, or if it has, it's been undetectably so. I only put that in two tanks because I am aware if it exhausts itself it will just leech the phosphates back into the water, but all of the tanks are reading equally as insane, even just 2 days after 60% water change.

I wanted to post someplace not specific to reef aquariums as I know I really don't belong here, but I can really only find people discussing this type of issues on reef forums.
I mean, I want to fix this issue, but I have no idea what's causing it, I don't feel like driftwood and plants are enough to produce so much compost to turn the water this lousy with phosphates like this, and why on earth do buckets of water with nothing else in them also have a similar result? Surely if this was just a tap water issue, it would be bad right out of the tap, no? Why is it raising like this with nothing else being added??

I don't think I'm overfeeding? I mean I feed what they will eat in 2-3 minutes.
Please help me, I have no idea what's going on :((((((((((

I admit I will probably just have to go with RO water soon, I just don't quite have the money or setup for that just yet.

Try rowaphos in a reactor works perfect for me!

Reginald Reefer III · Jan 25, 2025

Are you sure it's over 1.0? That's insanely high. My 2 cents - get some high quality testing kits other than API.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 26, 2025

splooto said:
There are periods where my tap water is being flushed with phosphates, but even on days where the phosphates from the tap are only 0.2 max, if I leave that in a bucket overnight, with literally nothing else in it, it rises overnight to 3.0 or more.

That rise is test error. Whatever phosphate is in the water is the same overnight, unless the holding container has something very unusual coating it from some other use.

splooto · Jan 26, 2025

Dan_P said:
Just to clarify, the water taken from the tap has no phosphate but sitting in the bucket does have phosphate?

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
That rise is test error. Whatever phosphate is in the water is the same overnight, unless the holding container has something very unusual coating it from some other use.

Sorry for the delayed response, I wanted to repeat the experiment again to be sure the results were consistent, and they are;

No, the tap water does not have zero phosphates, although sometimes it is higher than others, today it was a bit higher than I'd like, but this happens even when it is at it's lowest level, what is occurring is that this is somehow still continuing to rise without any further engagement on my end.

Around 9 hours ago, I put some of the tap water into a simple plastic specimen container, bear in mind that last time, I was using a Home Depot 5g bucket and had the same result, this is how much phosphates have raised.
Both of the "aged" water results are on the right, and water from the same source but right now are on the left. Seachem test and API test both indicate a rise in phosphates occurred overnight in the jar with nothing else in it. Just the plastic jar and water, I added nothing.

I just don't understand this exact aspect, I get it rising in an aquarium, I get it being high in the tap, I do NOT get it rising in two separate holding containers with nothing else in them.

Sorry if the formatting is off, I never really learned how to use forum websites, hope I did the quoting thing correctly here

splooto · Jan 26, 2025

Reginald Reefer III said:
Are you sure it's over 1.0? That's insanely high. My 2 cents - get some high quality testing kits other than API.

Unfortunately, yes, I am sure :(

Three separate types of tests have consistently given the same readings, they are off the charts on all but the pool one which is able to detect up to 1000ppm, which may not be as accurate as a seachem or API test but it indicates that the true reading is actually even over 100ppm but lower than 200ppm (again, no idea how accurate it is, but it detects noting in my tap which is also consistent with the other two test indicating that is is lower than 2ppm from the tap)

I genuinely have no idea how this is possible, but seachem, api, and this pool test all consistently give the same results.
I'm all ears if you have another suggestion of brand test to try? Definitely new to this still and I will happily take my L if I'm wrong here if it means this isn't as big of an issue as I currently believe it to be.

Uncle99 · Jan 26, 2025

Both what looks like a Seachem Phosphate test and API are not fine enough to give accurate results on phosphate.
Hanna, IMO, is the only test kit that ever worked well for me.
I’d make sure I’m getting an accurate test before moving forward.
They both fooled me for months and caused me the utmost frustration.
I use the phosphorus test by Hanna for years now in PPB. I run 20-40ppb which is around .1-.25ppm.

splooto · Jan 26, 2025

Skywater said:
This is a link from a forum that has dealt with excessive phosphates leeching from particular driftwood. https://www.plantedtank.net/threads/help-new-driftwood-leaching-a-lot-of-phosphate.1312347/
However you have said that your tap water continues to test high in phosphates. I would set the driftwood aside and clear most of the phosphates out of the water column. I would discontinue using that tapwater.
Someone in your local area could probably help you with some RO water if distilled is more than you could buy. Possibly someone in the rural areas may have well water that test substantially lower in phosphates. That would make your water changes more economical. Would like to see a picture of one your aquariums. All problems are solvable.

Oh lord that's heartbreaking, I really hope that isn't the cause but I can see how it could be, I just don't understand why it's such a rare issue? I also have 3 different species of driftwood in my tanks, one only has spiderwood, two only have Malaysian, and one has Malaysian with cholla.
I'll definitely just be switching to RO once I get my new job as I am currently in-between at the moment, I guess I just wish to understand what chemically is occurring here? I mean, if driftwood consistently causes phosphate spikes over 10ppm, surely nobody would ever even consider using it, right? My feeble mind years for knowledge.

Dr. Reef · Jan 26, 2025

You can you lanthanum chloride or tropic marin elimi phos rapid which will bind and decrease phos in the tank.

splooto · Jan 26, 2025

Uncle99 said:
Both what looks like a Seachem Phosphate test and API are not fine enough to give accurate results on phosphate.
Hanna, IMO, is the only test kit that ever worked well for me.
I’d make sure I’m getting an accurate test before moving forward.
They both fooled me for months and caused me the utmost frustration.
I use the phosphorus test by Hanna for years now in PPB. I run 20-40ppb which is around .1-.25ppm.

EXTREMELY good to know! Thank you so much! It's just the little green device? I've never heard of any of these things before so this is really great data for me <:)
I see that they have 3 types but they all are the same price, Low range, Ultra low range, and High range;
Which one would be the most useful in this situation do you think? I mean every other test is indicating its over 10ppm, but does the high range one still reliably detect lower ranges as well do you know?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 26, 2025

splooto said:
Oh lord that's heartbreaking, I really hope that isn't the cause but I can see how it could be, I just don't understand why it's such a rare issue?

It’s fairly rare to have wood in reef tanks at all, and certainly not all wood types are the same.

ScottJ · Jan 26, 2025

You mention floating plants, what kind? I used to have dwarf water lettuce on some tanks. Stuff grew like crazy and I would have throw it out by the handful each week. Maybe that would help suck up some nutrients for you.

BeanAnimal · Jan 26, 2025

Reginald Reefer III said:
Are you sure it's over 1.0? That's insanely high. My 2 cents - get some high quality testing kits other than API.

Umm My reef was well above that at one point a ~12 or so years ago...

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
That rise is test error. Whatever phosphate is in the water is the same overnight, unless the holding container has something very unusual coating it from some other use.

I don't know if it is relevant or not - but I stopped using a grey Rubbermaid Brute as a storage and mixing container that appeared to be leaching phosphate. I will try to find the old RC thread with the measurements. I moved to an white food grade poly tank due to the issue.

@splooto - rise in the aged water aside - if your tap has phosphates and here is no means of export, then with every top off you are adding phosphate.

@Randy Holmes-Farley - if there is no calcium carbonate to hold the phosphate, what else in a FW aquarium would be a sink that would prevent water changes from quickly diluting?