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- May 11, 2019
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My phosphates have been high for 7 weeks and nothing I do seems to keep them down. At the start of January I tested my water and noticed my phosphates were high at .48. I had just fed reef roids and heard those can increase it so I waited a couple days and tested again, now I was at .54. Now I start to do some research and see what I can do to lower these. It takes a couple days and I test again and I'm at .90 . I panic now and do several large water changes over the next couple days and it drops down to .36, but just three days later it is back up to .46. It goes between .46 and .35 but I can't get it lower. I have tried the following things without much success:
1. Started by doing several large water changes over a week period- was able to drop it down to .36, hasn't gone above .46 after the water change.
2. Added phosguard into my sump, one bag in a media cup where the filter socks are, one bag in my return chamber
3. Cut feeding back; feeding less frozen food, rinsing frozen food when feeding, taking Nori out and night and not letting it sit in tank, reducing the feeding of reef roids.
4. Tested RODI water and fresh salt mix to see if high phosphates are starting there, didn't see any.
5. Cleaned bubble trap in sump, started changing filter socks every two days, cleaned covers on my power heads.
So at the end of this I'm left wondering should I stop trying and just let it be high. I thankfully have not see a huge algae outbreak. I did get several patches of GHA that showed up, but I just manually removed them without much effort. I do have a very hefty cuc, 100+ assorted snails, 50+ assorted hermit crabs, a tuxedo urchin, and a large crew of bristle worms. The majority of my corals are open and happy. Except for a torch that recently melted, a toadstool that started to shed and now wont open up, and a duncan that has been closed forever.
Is there anything else I could try, or anything that I might be missing?
Below are tank details and FTS of DT and Sump.
TANK PARAMETERS
Nitrates: 15
Alkaline: 7.3
Calcium: 430
Magnesium:1280
Phosphates: .35
Salinity: 1.025
Temperature:79
TANK SPECS
Red Sea Reefer 350
(2)Current USA IC Pro lights
(4) T5 lights- 2 Blue+, 2 Coral+
(2) 1050 power heads- Current USA(with covers)
(2) 700 gph power heads- Aqueon(with covers)
1050 return pump-Current USA
1. Started by doing several large water changes over a week period- was able to drop it down to .36, hasn't gone above .46 after the water change.
2. Added phosguard into my sump, one bag in a media cup where the filter socks are, one bag in my return chamber
3. Cut feeding back; feeding less frozen food, rinsing frozen food when feeding, taking Nori out and night and not letting it sit in tank, reducing the feeding of reef roids.
4. Tested RODI water and fresh salt mix to see if high phosphates are starting there, didn't see any.
5. Cleaned bubble trap in sump, started changing filter socks every two days, cleaned covers on my power heads.
So at the end of this I'm left wondering should I stop trying and just let it be high. I thankfully have not see a huge algae outbreak. I did get several patches of GHA that showed up, but I just manually removed them without much effort. I do have a very hefty cuc, 100+ assorted snails, 50+ assorted hermit crabs, a tuxedo urchin, and a large crew of bristle worms. The majority of my corals are open and happy. Except for a torch that recently melted, a toadstool that started to shed and now wont open up, and a duncan that has been closed forever.
Is there anything else I could try, or anything that I might be missing?
Below are tank details and FTS of DT and Sump.
TANK PARAMETERS
Nitrates: 15
Alkaline: 7.3
Calcium: 430
Magnesium:1280
Phosphates: .35
Salinity: 1.025
Temperature:79
TANK SPECS
Red Sea Reefer 350
(2)Current USA IC Pro lights
(4) T5 lights- 2 Blue+, 2 Coral+
(2) 1050 power heads- Current USA(with covers)
(2) 700 gph power heads- Aqueon(with covers)
1050 return pump-Current USA