phosphates
- Thread starter jose hernandez
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I understand your hesitance. There are certainly risks. Everything has risks. Water changes have risks. Knowing how to perform them correctly reduces those risks. Same goes for Lanthanum Chloride dosing. IMO, there is no better way to deal with very high phosphates in a big tank. It is safe when done correctly, inexpensive, and effective. It might be worth reading up on. It is a great tool to have in the bag.
sixty_reefer
5000 Club Member
I would say that in system that developed a fair diverse biome will use a lot of phosphates, systems that are bacteria driven will also use plenty of phosphates. In my opinion I wouldn’t always blame the rock for the rapid depletion of phosphates wend it could just be you tank biome trying to grow.
Pool supply store or on the internet.
Binding of phosphate to a surface would probably never yield 0 ppm of phosphate. It would reach equilibrium somewhere in the positive range. The bound phosphate would then leach back into the water column as the "Biome" consumed that in the water column. Given that, without some input, phosphates would get to 0 some day. However, there is usually some input that delays that day.
sixty_reefer
5000 Club Member
I am of a similar thought, if it’s a matter of equilibrium between the rock and the water column.
Char.toombes
Community Member
Sorry to be necropost but I am experiencing a similar PO4 uptake in my tank that started 10months ago with dry rock/live sand. Basically you’re saying that if I add say .1ppm worth of Neophos and my tank used say .07ppm daily I’d had a net of .03ppm that would stay in my water column? And as long as I dose that amount regularly and consistently my tank would stabilize it’s readout? Just trying to get a solid understanding, currently losing my 2nd favia frag and now 2 stylo frags.
jose hernandez
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Still having phosphates for some reason not understanding why don’t they drop like i mentioned before no space for a reactor so decide put rowaphos instead of chemipure elite as I was told it would work but not to out the whole container here I am 2 weeks plus and still high so decided to use nopox which seemed to dropped them but noticed some of my torches did t like it system is 200 gallons 13 fish a couple of tangs some wrasses feed 2 cubes frozen brine and mysis shrimp a day what I’m I doing wrong water changes don’t even put a dent skimmer is rated for 500 gallons 300 on heavy use filter floss in my cups change 2x a week I don’t think my tank is overstocked
sixty_reefer
5000 Club Member
I’m not sure if I mentioned earlier in this thread that it’s not only the rock that will absorb phosphates, all organisms in our systems have a phosphates demand, i for example had a large demand for phosphates as I started to promote diversity, there is a hole microscopic ecosystem that is dependent on Phosphates.
Char.toombes
Community Member
Right, so basically what we measure with out testers is the free PO4 after everything in our tabkutilizes what it needs essentially, so I have to surpass whatever equilibrium is in my tank and then be consistent with said dosage and I’ll start to have measurable readings. I will be switching from salifert to a Hanna ULR tester as I’m tired of trying to read shades of blue/white so that should help as well
sixty_reefer
5000 Club Member
What I’ve done and still do is to just run phosphates a little higher than most reefs, in my case I just keep it around 0.08 - 0.1 there’s no much difference and it just ensures that phosphates don’t get depleted.
what I also do is a daily dose of carbohydrates this ensures that the availability N and P is being used by bacteria and other beneficial micro organisms instead of nuisance algae. A balanced dose of carbohydrates will ensure that the growth of beneficial bacteria doesn’t get limited to achieve that.
I firmly believe that any reading above 0 indicates that there is enough of a given nutrient in the system. Look to food and trace elements if your corals are looking wimpy. For many corals, organic carbon is food. Others need some fine particulate organics. Other just need more light. All need enough flow to deliver those foods to them and/or take away wastes. Corals need nutrients, food, and a certain mix of trace elements (plus alk, ca, and mg for some) to flourish. The trace elements come from water changes or dosing.
FWIW, I do believe that slightly elevated nitrate discourages Dinos, so my tank runs with about 2-5 ppm nitrate and .04 to .08 phosphate. I don't sweat it when it runs a little lower or a little higher for short periods. I do add N or P if either tests 0. I try to do that by feeding. I feed heavier and add Reef Energy AB+ if nitrate is 0 and Reef Roids or extra Nori if phosphate is 0. When those fail to do the trick, N or P solutions do the trick.
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