Ways to Stabalize Po4

[Sdoutreefer]

I’m having issues bottoming out my Po4. I dose reef roids and other coral foods daily, but something is incredibly good at consuming Po4 in my tank.

Are there any “conventional” strategies on maintaining Po4??

 

[rishma]

I’m having issues bottoming out my Po4. I dose reef roids and other coral foods daily, but something is incredibly good at consuming Po4 in my tank.

Are there any “conventional” strategies on maintaining Po4??

Food grade trisodium phosphate is what you need

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Food grade trisodium phosphate is what you need

Thanks for the input!

I’m assuming this is something you would dose every day??

I can’t figure out why I keep getting cyano outbreaks. My Po4 has been super inconsistent, and likes to bottom out. Last week I measured 0.04. Did a water change a few days later. I’m sitting at 0.00. This is almost 5 days after WC, and feeding reef-roids and coral candy every day except one.

 

[purpfish]

I would keep feeding the corals if your nitrates are low too

 

[rishma]

Thanks for the input!

I’m assuming this is something you would dose every day??

I can’t figure out why I keep getting cyano outbreaks. My Po4 has been super inconsistent, and likes to bottom out. Last week I measured 0.04. Did a water change a few days later. I’m sitting at 0.00. This is almost 5 days after WC, and feeding reef-roids and coral candy every day except one.

A daily dose will help stabilize it over time. The calcium carbonate surfaces (sand and rock) will bind phosphate until it stabilizes. It common to need to dose it daily for a while to get it to stabilize, then you can usually reduce the dose to keep it stable. Depending on what you feed, you might eventually not need to dose it, but it’s very cheap. Randy’s recipe…

Just to clarify, that stock solution is 1090 ppm phosphate (1.88 x 0.58 g/L or 1.09 g/L or 1,090 mg/L).

Adding 1 ml per liter of tank water will boost phosphate by 1 mg/L.

Adding 1 mL per 100 L of tank water will boost phosphate by 0.01 ppm. :)

 

[rishma]

I would keep feeding the corals if your nitrates are low too

Feeding corals is good too. TSP gives you control

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I would keep feeding the corals if your nitrates are low too

My No3 is low (2.3ppm). I do feed daily. I worry my bio-load is too small. I’ve got 4 fish in a 45ish gal system… could be part of my issues.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

A daily dose will help stabilize it over time. The calcium carbonate surfaces (sand and rock) will bind phosphate until it stabilizes. It common to need to dose it daily for a while to get it to stabilize, then you can usually reduce the dose to keep it stable. Depending on what you feed, you might eventually not need to dose it, but it’s very cheap. Randy’s recipe…

Just to clarify, that stock solution is 1090 ppm phosphate (1.88 x 0.58 g/L or 1.09 g/L or 1,090 mg/L).

Adding 1 ml per liter of tank water will boost phosphate by 1 mg/L.

Adding 1 mL per 100 L of tank water will boost phosphate by 0.01 ppm. :)

Hell ya. I’m gonna give it a try!

Thank you

 

[Reef.]

What po4 test do you use?

Could be the cyano using the po4, then what you remove some your po4 jumps up again.

Reef roids has an absolute ton of po4 so I would slow down adding that until you know where all this po4 is going.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

What po4 test do you use?

Could be the cyano using the po4, then what you remove some your po4 jumps up again.

Reef roids has an absolute ton of po4 so I would slow down adding that until you know where all this po4 is going.

Hanna.

That’s a thought. I resorted to chemi-clean a few weeks back and that did the trick. The last few days it has slowly started taking over my sand bed again, which prompted me to take a look at my Po4.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

A daily dose will help stabilize it over time. The calcium carbonate surfaces (sand and rock) will bind phosphate until it stabilizes. It common to need to dose it daily for a while to get it to stabilize, then you can usually reduce the dose to keep it stable. Depending on what you feed, you might eventually not need to dose it, but it’s very cheap. Randy’s recipe…

Just to clarify, that stock solution is 1090 ppm phosphate (1.88 x 0.58 g/L or 1.09 g/L or 1,090 mg/L).

Adding 1 ml per liter of tank water will boost phosphate by 1 mg/L.

Adding 1 mL per 100 L of tank water will boost phosphate by 0.01 ppm. :)

Do you have the link to his recipe?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Do you have the link to his recipe?

Use sodium phosphate and this calculator using the entry for phosphate from potassium phosphate. It is close enough.

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm

 

[rishma]

From the notes on my phone this is what I mix and dose…I probably used the calculator Randy posted above

Recipe for sodium phosphate:

Phosphate: 2 grams in 500 ml RO/DI water will add 0.03ppm PO4 to 100L tank

Dose for sodium phosphate:

1 ml will add 0.03ppm PO4 to 100L tank

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Use sodium phosphate and this calculator using the entry for phosphate from potassium phosphate. It is close enough.

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm

Thank you!!

 

[Sdoutreefer]

From the notes on my phone this is what I mix and dose…I probably used the calculator Randy posted above

Recipe for sodium phosphate:

Phosphate: 2 grams in 500 ml RO/DI water will add 0.03ppm PO4 to 100L tank

Dose for sodium phosphate:

1 ml will add 0.03ppm PO4 to 100L tank

Thank you!!

 

[Reef.]

Hanna.

That’s a thought. I resorted to chemi-clean a few weeks back and that did the trick. The last few days it has slowly started taking over my sand bed again, which prompted me to take a look at my Po4.

I used Red Cyano RX, cleared the tank in 1-2 days. and not noticed any side affects.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Reduce amount fed
Avoid use of tap water
Assure RODI cartridges not expired
feed foods such as Reef Roids and other plankton foods sparingly
Add a pouch of chemiPure blue or even Elite

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Reduce amount fed
Avoid use of tap water
Assure RODI cartridges not expired
feed foods such as Reef Roids and other plankton foods sparingly
Add a pouch of chemiPure blue or even Elite

Chemi-pure pulls Po4. I need to stabilize it.

I’m sitting at 0.04, which is great, but believe that what I thought was cyano might actually be dinos, ugh.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Chemi-pure pulls Po4. I need to stabilize it.

I’m sitting at 0.04, which is great, but believe that what I thought was cyano might actually be dinos, ugh.

Please post pics under white light to confirm. Been using chemipure blue for near 2 decades and it has never stripped PO4 but reduced from high leve s and stabilized as I am at .07. Elite however with GFO will strip it

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Please post pics under white light to confirm. Been using chemipure blue for near 2 decades and it has never stripped PO4 but reduced from high leve s and stabilized as I am at .07. Elite however with GFO will strip it

Sorry, I misread and meant to specify CP Elite in my response. Here’s some pictures.