whats best way to raise PO4

[marvelousone]

baking power is Sodium bicarbonate (raises alkalinity) monocalcium phosphate increases PO4), sodium phosphate (Increases PO$) and about 20% cornstarch (carbon source).

I have used baking soda to raise alk. I don't know what baking power is. Do you have a picture. I know what corn starch is.

 

[marvelousone]

I buy this from Amazon.

2 grams into 250ml of ro/di water. Shake very well. Let rest for an hour and shake again. To make sure it all dissolves. Adding 1ml of this solution to my 40 gallon system adds .04ppm of phosphates. I use the Hanna phosphorus ulr checker.

That said, I quit dosing my tank 6 weeks ago. My phosphorus hasn't dropped below 15ppb on the checker since. Everything is looking good so far. Go slow and test often if you go this route. Don't over do it.

Thanks will look into this

 

[MTBake]

No Baking powder contains all of those ingredients, so it is something you buy at the grocery store and it will raise PO4. It will also have a slight effect on alkalinity too as it contains sodium bicarbonate. If you are looking for a quick and easy way to boost PO4 this works.

If you need to dose on a regular basis I would suggest purchasing monocalcium phosphate or dicalcium phosphate fromAmazon. Both are food grade additives.

You are correct. I miss read your first post.

First time I've heard of using baking powder in this capacity. Interesting idea.

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

You are correct. I miss read your first post.

First time I've heard of using baking powder in this capacity. Interesting idea.

That's probably because it should not ever be used as an additive for aquariums. Baking powder usually is somewhere around 20-25% sodium aluminum sulfate, which is a lot of aluminum to add to your water.

EDIT: After googling, there are "ALUMINUM FREE" forms of baking powder, but at least in the midwest they are not the norm. It could be very dangerous if someone were to try and dose a random brand without knowing exactly what they're looking for.

 

[MTBake]

That's probably because it should not ever be used as an additive for aquariums. Baking powder usually is somewhere around 20-25% sodium aluminum sulfate, which is a lot of aluminum to add to your water.

EDIT: After googling, there are "ALUMINUM FREE" forms of baking powder, but at least in the midwest they are not the norm. It could be very dangerous if someone were to try and dose a random brand without knowing exactly what they're looking for.

I'm still wondering if the person that mentioned this in the first place adds baking powder to his reef?

Can't say I ever would. Don't recommend it to anyone either.

 

[Leicobra]

No worries. I was on reef central today and come to see this
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2406948
Thought about your situation and may be helpful to read.

 

[cmcimino]

I am also having low phosphates in the undetectable range. My corals are lacking color. Tank is currently severely under stocked with a low bioload. Would turning my skimmer pump down so there is little production eventually raise my phosphates and nitrates? I like the gas exchange my skimmer offers so I don’t want to take it offline. I also have a refugium but like the ph balance it offers at night.

Would limiting skimmer production and feeding more “high nutrient foods” help raise these values over time?

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

I checked po4 with salifert tester and redsea. they where always zero so I bought a hanna. it tested .006
No3 with salifert and it read zero ( I just tested it again) Date on tester is 01/2019
I do water change every other week.
GFO has been off line for 1 1/2 months now.
I am adding bacteria I need to feed it.
Cyano is bad
Thanks for your help.

Cyano can be sneaky, because it’s ability to fix N2 allows it to live (even thrive if it can photosynthesize at a high level) in environments with extremely low NO3 levels. While cyano certainly prefers NO3/NO2/NH4, it will keep on trucking without it.

Phosphate is also a rate-limiting nutrient. You have a low PO4 level, but you also have a lot of cyano. Is your PO4 reading so low because it’s been sequestered by the cyano? Certainly a possibility.

I hate advising people turn their tanks into science experiments, but this is one of those cases where you really need more of both NO3 and PO4 for your corals to be really successful, but you would likely just be nourishing the cyano with addition of nutrients.

We have to get the bulk of that cyano out of there first. Maybe siphon out as much as you can, and then drop some GFO in. If it were me, I might also kill the lights for a couple of days. If you can knock the cyano growth back, you can ‘outcompete’ it for PO4 with GFO. If you can get to the point where the cyano is knocked back (or out), then you can retest the PO4 and NO3 and get a more accurate figure for what your PO4 and NO3 levels typically are w/o cyano using it.

That last part is tricky because of the rate at which cyano repopulates. It’s not like you have a whole lot of time after knocking it back before it comes storming back if the nutrient levels are adequate.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

I am also having low phosphates in the undetectable range. My corals are lacking color. Tank is currently severely under stocked with a low bioload. Would turning my skimmer pump down so there is little production eventually raise my phosphates and nitrates? I like the gas exchange my skimmer offers so I don’t want to take it offline. I also have a refugium but like the ph balance it offers at night.

Would limiting skimmer production and feeding more “high nutrient foods” help raise these values over time?

You should definitely turn it down. If it’s an in-sump skimmer and you don’t mind a little splashing in the sump, you can just take the collection cup off.

You can also just run your skimmer at night on a timer if you trust the pump to kick on after it has been turned off (those kinds of pumps are notorious for locking up when plugged back in).

 

[cmcimino]

You should definitely turn it down. If it’s an in-sump skimmer and you don’t mind a little splashing in the sump, you can just take the collection cup off.

You can also just run your skimmer at night on a timer if you trust the pump to kick on after it has been turned off (those kinds of pumps are notorious for locking up when plugged back in).

It runs of an external DC pump so dialing it down should not be an issue. Its a great skimmer, but I just don't think I need to be running it with a refugium on my tank at the moment with only 3 fish. Once I have a larger bioload I feel like I can crank it up. Right now I am pulling out a couple ounces of skimmate every two weeks that's the color of coke.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

It runs of an external DC pump so dialing it down should not be an issue. Its a great skimmer, but I just don't think I need to be running it with a refugium on my tank at the moment with only 3 fish. Once I have a larger bioload I feel like I can crank it up. Right now I am pulling out a couple ounces of skimmate every two weeks that's the color of coke.

For sure.

I’m a big fan of keeping it simple, so I would wage the war against the cyano mano-a-mano and then let the chem shake out on its own. Siphon, siphon again, siphon again if necessary. (Pro-tip: to get the cyano off the rocks, take your vinyl hose, remove the siphon, attach a toothbrush to the end of the hose with the head 1” or so from the opening and brush the cyano off the rocks and into the hose)

How is your refugium doing? Are you growing well? Is the refugium filled? If it were me, I would start punching away at the cyano, cut the skimmer back, and work on culturing the macro-algae in the refugium...grow, harvest, grow, harvest.

Add more stuff, add more food, let the PO4 and NO3 come up by creating and fostering that loop. It’s all about stability, and also about bio-availability of nutrients. Right now, your cyano is robbing your corals.

Others here would do it differently, and those methods work, too. But for me, the reef is about the ecosystem, and I love the interplay between the organisms trading back and forth.

 

[jzw]

my sis just mixed a batch, using amazon bought NaH2PO4

using RFH's posting for reference: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dosing-question.237764/#post-2780692

 

[ajm83]

I had a hard zero on every test possible and I used potassium phosphate to increase it. Funny thing is that after a few months of dosing up to 0.03 every day, I find the tank now maintains the level on its own without dosing.

I wondered if the surface of the rocks have now become saturated or something like that.

 

[Rick Cavanaugh]

I have used baking soda to raise alk. I don't know what baking power is. Do you have a picture. I know what corn starch is.

Baking powder is a blend of soda and an acid (typically a phosphate) that will create gas to leaven cakes.

Baking powders can vary in formulation and most contain baking soda and sodium acid pyrophosphate or monocalcium phosphate and starch. Some may contain a small amount of aluminum phosphate which are not common as ones with no aluminum. Read the label. If Aluminum phosphate is in there it is at a low level, however, I would not use that brand.

I happen to be a food chemist, so yes, I have used it as I know what is in it by reading the label and understand what these ingredients are. The reason why aluminum phosphates (trade name levair made by innophos) is used at low level is that it is a very slow acting acid and does not perform well as compared to sodium acid pyrophosphate. The speed of reaction is important in the leavening of cakes and too slow aluminum phosphates release CO2 too late in the baking process.


https://www.amazon.com/365-Everyday...&sr=8-3-acs&fpw=pantry&keywords=baking+powder Is a simple blend.

The reason I mention this t is something that many people already have in their house and can be used in a pinch. I would not suggest adding this on a daily basis, but it will work. I better choice would be purchasing pure monocalcium phosphate as this will add phosphates and calcium. Usage is very small.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

My po4 is at .006 on hanna phosphorus tester. 2 converted to po4. I know I can feed more but I have high nitrates so I really don't want to do that. What is the best way to add. store bought or home remedy.

Why do you want it higher than that? Seems plenty high to me.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I had a hard zero on every test possible and I used potassium phosphate to increase it. Funny thing is that after a few months of dosing up to 0.03 every day, I find the tank now maintains the level on its own without dosing.

I wondered if the surface of the rocks have now become saturated or something like that.

It might, yes.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

FWIW, I can't ever see a reason to risk baking powder. Mine contains sodium aluminum sulfate.

 

[marvelousone]

Why do you want it higher than that? Seems plenty high to me.[/

Why do you want it higher than that? Seems plenty high to me.

Thinking I needed to be around .01-.02 and I am at .006.

 

[cmcimino]

So turning down my skimmer I was able to raise my phosphates up to .067. A little high for my liking but surprisingly the little cyano I had seems to be receding.

 

[Rich Klein]

Are you sure that your converting the Phosphorus reading correctly? My Apex test log does the conversion for me and there is no Hanna UL Phosphorus reading that translates to that low of Phosphate. A reading of 2 on the Hanna UL Phosphorus testing converts to .01 PPM of Phosphate.