Pulling my hair out with phosphate issue

[ChrisQ0904]

I have been battling an issue of slowly increasing phosphates and can't seem to get it to stay low. I have tried several things and it'll for for a little but it always jumps back up. So far I have tried GFO, ATS, and Chaeto reactor. I do not over feed my fish or my corals. I feed my fish once a day and I occasionally forget to to feed them for a day two. My parameters are as follows:

CA: 420-450
ALK: 7.5
MG: 1400-1500
P04: currently 0.1
N03: 0-2
PH: 7.7

The corals are looking good but the algae it's starting to drive me crazy. It's about 80g total volume and I do weekly 10g changes. I have a shallow sandbed that I am thinking about removing in hopes that may be one of the issues. I also started dosing nitrates in hopes it would bring the P04 down but no luck at all. I make my own RODI and I am getting 0tds water and all filters were replaced 2 weeks ago. I'm using fritz salt mixing to 1.025.

Any help would be greatly appreciated because this is starting to drive me crazy.

 

[jerburton]

What other equipment are you using? Lights, etc?

Also stocking information and food product used would be helpful to know.

 

[Jason mack]

Do you have a uvc unit on your tank ??
I'm in the same position as you at all he moment only I haven't tried GFO yet but I will be starting Monday .. I've just installed an ehiem 350 7 wat uvc. This can help with algae issues as well as bacteria .. just a thought .. I'm trying everything I can as well

 

[ChrisQ0904]

Lights - 8bulb ATI fixture with led strip for supplemental lighting.
Skimmer - vertex omega 150
Powerheads - mp10 and mp40
Corals - only sps and a gigantea anemone.
Fish - tomini tang, 2 clowns, 2 sapphire damsels, yellow watchman, 6 line wrasse, yellow coris wrasse, 1 dispar anthia.
Not currently running carbon or GFO because I have a chaeto reactor set up.

 

[ChrisQ0904]

Forgot food, feed reef frenzy once per day when I remember to.

 

[Scott.h]

What about blowing off all the rocks with a powerhead, vacuuming the heck out of the sand, then doing a large water change. A few weeks in a row. Back when I used Kent phosphate sponge for 3 days then changed to bulk iron based gfo. All while running a fuge with macro. Same system, I now can't run gfo because it goes too low for the corals.

How old is the system?

 

[ChrisQ0904]

What about blowing off all the rocks with a powerhead, vacuuming the heck out of the sand, then doing a large water change. A few weeks in a row. Back when I used Kent phosphate sponge for 3 days then changed to bulk iron based gfo. All while running a fuge with macro.

I blow off the rock every WC but I don't really touch the sand too often because it's not easy to get the vac around, which is the main reason I want to pull the sand and just go BB.

 

[ChrisQ0904]

The system is roughly 1 year old.

 

[Scott.h]

I blow off the rock every WC but I don't really touch the sand too often because it's not easy to get the vac around, which is the main reason I want to pull the sand and just go BB.

i edited my earlier post but how old is your system? I'm suggest really getting in there and move rocks around to get to the sand as much as possible

 

[Scott.h]

The system is roughly 1 year old.

stay really focused on husbandry. It will come around. Give it time. Especially if you didn't start with all live rock.

 

[ChrisQ0904]

stay really focused on husbandry. It will come around. Give it time. Especially if you didn't start with all live rock.

I started with dry work and sand

 

[Scott.h]

That Kent phosphate sponge is amazing stuff. I never used it for more than three days. But it would suck the nutrients out so fast it would negative negatively affect the Corals. That said you need to get the garbage out of there that's causing it too. You don't necessarily have to remove your sand. I wouldn't.

 

[ChrisQ0904]

Do you have a uvc unit on your tank ??
I'm in the same position as you at all he moment only I haven't tried GFO yet but I will be starting Monday .. I've just installed an ehiem 350 7 wat uvc. This can help with algae issues as well as bacteria .. just a thought .. I'm trying everything I can as well

I don't have a UV unit and never really thought about adding one because of price and I'm not too convinced they work as well as they're advertised. But mainly price.

 

[Scott.h]

I started with dry work and sand

in that case it's going to run its course no matter what you do. Just be patient and diligent it will go away eventually.

 

[ChrisQ0904]

I'm thinking about replacing the tomini with a yellow or a scopas because my tomini doesn't seem to touch the problem algae, or algae at all.

 

[Scott.h]

I don't have a UV unit and never really thought about adding one because of price and I'm not too convinced they work as well as they're advertised. But mainly price.

you don't need that. Move some rock, vacuum out the sand really good, do some 15-20 gal water changes. Use some gfo but be careful not to strip it. Give it another year. It will turn around. Everyone goes through it.

 

[Jmblec2]

Try phosphate rx

 

[ChrisQ0904]

Try phosphate rx

I don't want to go the chemical route right now. I would rather find the source and nip it in the butt

 

[Higher Thinking]

I have been battling an issue of slowly increasing phosphates and can't seem to get it to stay low. I have tried several things and it'll for for a little but it always jumps back up. So far I have tried GFO, ATS, and Chaeto reactor. I do not over feed my fish or my corals. I feed my fish once a day and I occasionally forget to to feed them for a day two. My parameters are as follows:

CA: 420-450
ALK: 7.5
MG: 1400-1500
P04: currently 0.1
N03: 0-2
PH: 7.7

The corals are looking good but the algae it's starting to drive me crazy. It's about 80g total volume and I do weekly 10g changes. I have a shallow sandbed that I am thinking about removing in hopes that may be one of the issues. I also started dosing nitrates in hopes it would bring the P04 down but no luck at all. I make my own RODI and I am getting 0tds water and all filters were replaced 2 weeks ago. I'm using fritz salt mixing to 1.025.

Any help would be greatly appreciated because this is starting to drive me crazy.

You don't mention it, but are you texting your RODI and also your mixed saltwater? That can at least nullify the possibility that you're adding it. Also, have you double checked with another test? Take a sample to a LFS.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Everyone is using Peroxide, Flucon, or Vibrant nowadays with Great Success at Killing Algae.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/vibrant-liquid-aquarium-cleaner-discussion-thread.271428/

Check Out the Thread Above with all the Before and After Pics.